“Achieving compliance in a cost efficient manner” – elearning can help your organisation to communicate a key message or requirement in an efficient way. Given the increases in computer literacy and broadband speeds, delivery of content using online services can outweigh more traditional methods.

We have posted an extract from our construction safety modules, which deals with the duties of the client.

The eLearning solution can be viewed here.

Note: the module may take a minute or two to load if opened over a slow network.

Useful tools are available behind the eLearning (click to enlarge)

In addition to delivering a clear description of the client role, the system also provides all of the tools that a client would need to fully discharge the role.

The module includes guidelines to the Construction Regulations, flowcharts and forms. These can be used by the client to assess the competency of the people they are going to appoint as project supervisor design process, designers, project supervisor construction stage and contractors.

Click to enlarge

In addition to providing the legislation, the module provides shortened legal text that focuses specifically on the duties of the client. This helps the learner cut through the volume of information to explicitly what they are required to do.

All of this information is contained within the module. The learner does not need to search online for the tools or download other documents. All of the tools are easily accessible and clearly laid out.

Because the content is hosted online, amendments to legislation can be easily updated and made instantly available.

This version is an extract of the main module dealing with the duties of the client. We have additional modules dealing with the other main duty-holders, including:

• Project supervisor design process.
• Designers.
• Project supervisor construction stage.
• Contractor.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss eLearning approaches for risk management or if you would like to arrange access to other modules.

You may view the client module here.

We have updated and verified the data in our accident statistics dashboard, following the Health and Safety Authority publishing their annual report for 2009.

You can access the dashboard here.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) published the 2009 annual report last week. The report is available here and the accompanying statistical report is available here.

2009 saw the lowest number of fatalities in the Irish workplaces since 1989. However there were a total of 43 work-related deaths, which could have been avoided. Once potential reason for the reduction in fatalities could be the reduction work activities throughout 2009, in particular for construction.

While the reduction in fatalities is to be commended, the challenge will be to maintain the initiatives going forward.

The interactive dashboard displays fatalities from 2002 to 2009. The statistics are distributed across NACE rev2 categories. Clicking these categories on the left of the dashboard allow you to drill down through the statistics and look at sectors in greater detail.

Figure: a closer look at construction

The dashboard is available here. Please contact if you have any queries in relation to this or other tools that we have developed.

Ros Seal from the Olympic Delivery Authority presented an excellent paper to the IOSH Ireland annual conference, on the holistic approach taken in relation to health and safety for the London 2012 olympic games.

Ros Seal has been with the Olympic Delivery Authority for over three years. In her role as Health and Safety Advisor, she oversees the safety responsibilities for nearly 20 principal contractors and a workforce of over 6,000.

The commitment of the Authority and all stakeholders in the project is clearly having a positive effect. For the most part the accident frequency rate (AFR) for reportable accidents has been lower than 0.18. Especially when you consider than in Ireland the construction sector has an illness rate of around 2.5 per 1,000 workers and an injury rate of around 18 per 1,000 workers.

Since October 2005, the London2012 development has recorded 64 reportable accidents over 37,500,000 hours worked. In fact there have been 13 periods of 1m hours worked without a reportable accident and 2 periods of 2m hours worked without a reportable accident. These are very significant achievements given the volume of work undertaken over a short time period.

Ros indicated that in the near future detailed key performance indicators will be made publicly available on the ODA’s website. We will keep an eye out for this data and will post a summary here.

Ros outlined the Health, Safety and Environmental Standard (4th edition – March 2010) which has been adopted by the Olympic Delivery Authority. This standard covers issues such as:

• Roles and responsibilities.
• Pre-qualification and tendering guidance.
• Design risk management.
• Construction risk management.
• Construction site management.
• Transport.

The standard also includes a number of useful tools.

While the standard has been developed for this large infrastructural project, there are elements that can be applied to smaller projects. The standard is available here and from the ODA website.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss your project and how we can help you manage safety successfully.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) have issued revised guidance on the requirements for safety signs in the workplace. While the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, Chapter 1 of Part 7 have not been updated, the revised guidance provides updated information in relation to existing signs.

This is important for you, if you are responsible for safety in the workplace or advise employers on compliance issues.

The main aspect of the revised guidelines is that supplementary text can now be located in the same carrier as the graphical symbol or pictogram.

The general advice is that text should not be incorporated into a signboard, however:

“Where doubt could exist as to the meaning of a graphical symbol used on a safety signboard, a supplementary signboard containing appropriate text should supplement the safety signboard. However if the meaning is clear by use of a pictogram or symbol alone, then a supplementary signboard should not be used.”

Must convey a single message

While it is permissible to combined supplementary text with a safety sign, they must convey the same message. For example a ‘hard hat‘ safety sign cannot be combined with a supplementary text for ‘Wear respirator‘.

The guidelines also clarify that where there are multiple safety signs (with supplementary text if necessary), then these can be combined on one carrier. This means that it is permissible to have a large signboard combining the appropriate safety signs.

If you have existing signs that contain text as part of the safety sign (eg text that is not set out as a supplementary signboard), then you can keep this in place until the 1 January 2011. However after than date all safety signs in the workplace must either consist of:

• a safety signboard (graphic/pictogram); OR
• a safety signboard and a supplementary signboard (eg supplementary text).

We would recommend that you download and read the revised guidelines. The amendments are clearly marked in the document.

You can download the revised guidelines here.

If you have any queries in relation to the revised guidelines, please contact us using the comments form below or click here. We are here to help you.

On Tuesday (1 June 2010), the Minster for Labour Affairs, Mr Dara Calleary TD officially launched the new Safety Management Pack for Contractors with 20 or Less Employees. The new management system was developed by the Construction Safety Partnership (CSP) with the aim of assisting small contractors in establishing and maintaining an effective safety management system.

The Minister highlighted that SMP20 made the regulations reachable and would reduce paperwork and costs for smaller contractors.

Rober Butler (CIF) said that a pilot group had started to work with SMP20 and that there had been very good feedback from the group.

Talking to delegates at the launch, it was evident that while the sector is working through challenging times, people were encouraged by the introduction of the new pack.

Details of the new system are available on the Construction Safety Partnership website.

CSP will be running a series of half-day workshops on the practical application of SMP20 over the coming months. The workshops will be an invaluable source of information and guidance for anyone involved in the construction sector who has 20 or less employees.

The workshops will be held, according to demand, in a range of locations, including:

• Athlone
• Castlebar
• Cork
• Donegal
• Dublin
• Dundalk
• Galway
• Kilkenny
• Limerick
• Meath
• Tipperary
• Waterford

Anyone looking for more details on the workshops should email smp20@csponline.ie. In the email you should indicate your name and company, stating your preferred venue and am or pm workshop.

We recommend small contractors to purchase the Safety Management Pack, which costs only €40. The half-day workshops cost €80, but this includes a copy of the pack, so is excellent value.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has recently published the code of practice for the design and installation of anchors.

This is an important development in the use of anchors in construction. The aim of this code of practice is to provide practical guidance to designers, specifiers and installers of metal anchors on the requirements and prohibitions set out in the relevant statutory provisions.

The code of practice cam into effect on the 17 May 2010 and is available to download free of charge here.