Safety-compliant money saving tips for merchants
19 March 2019
John Southall, CEO of Health and Safety Consultancy Southalls, the company that provides the BMF Safety Plus service, offers timely advice
When operating in a competitive environment, like a builders merchants, saving time and money can be crucial for your success. Thanks to over a decade of health and safety experience within the merchant industry, Southalls not only understand the key to compliance, they frequently spot opportunities to cut costs on unnecessary safety expenditure.
Stay one step ahead with the following tips to keep compliant without breaking the bank:
Tip 1: Asbestos overkill
The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations require merchants to assess and manage the risk of asbestos. This is achieved through the undertaking of an asbestos survey and complemented by an asbestos management plan. There is no legal requirement to re-survey on an annual basis, only to review the survey and management plan you have in place.
Tip 2: Legionella Sampling
Occasionally we come across merchants paying for independent Legionella water sampling, system cleaning or testing of water temperatures at taps on a rolling contract. If you operate on a domestic scale system then this expenditure is completely unnecessary.
Tip 3: Review your PAT frequency
Portable appliance testing (PAT) is an essential part of electrical safety for business merchants. However, it is a myth that portable appliance testing is a strict legal requirement or that it needs to be undertaken annually. Many merchants waste money on a blanket approach of annual testing. Whilst items that are in heavy use or exposed to the elements e.g. portable hand tools may require a six monthly PAT, office based equipment like desktop computers and screens would only require five yearly testing (2-4 yearly visual checks) and no testing at all if double insulated.
Tip 4: Implement E-learning training systems
E-learning training is a cost-effective and time-saving solution for staff safety training. Whether for day zero induction training or ongoing refresher training, Southalls E-learning on Safety Cloud ensures staff get up to speed on essential safety training such as fire safety awareness and manual handling without the time and expensive of face-to-face training providers. Further merchant specific training including, racking awareness, work at height, powerline safety, workplace transport and banksman training can all be conducted through Safety Cloud.
Tip 5: Appropriate PPE
When it comes to saving on health and safety, buying items in bulk can help. However all purchases must now be compliant with the new PPE Regulation (EU) 2016/425. PPE suppliers who are members of the BSIF Registered Safety Supplier Scheme demonstrate a commitment to compliance with the new Regulations. Purchases need to meet the new standards, otherwise you are throwing money down the drain. It is also important to consult staff on sizes. It goes without saying that poorly fitted items will either not be worn or may even increase the risk of accidents.
A number of merchants have seen reductions in lost time accidents through the provision of gloves to all yard staff, reducing hand injuries.
Tip 6: Be examination savvy
Avoiding unnecessary examinations of lifting equipment is a quick way to save money, so every business-owner should understand which reviews are legally required, and which are not. Pallet trucks are not defined as lifting equipment under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) and therefore they do not require a thorough examination.
Sometimes thorough examinations are duplicated by both an insurer and another service provider. Thereby unnecessary doubling of cost.
Where pedestrian lifting cages are used with a forklift, nominating designated forklifts to be used with the lifting cage that are then thoroughly examined six monthly is more cost-effective than simply thoroughly examining all lift trucks on the site every six months. Remaining trucks can be thoroughly examined annually thus saving the cost of an engineer needlessly examining fork lift trucks.
Finally, recent HSE reports reveal that annually UK businesses loose £15bn due to work-related injuries and ill health. It is important to regularly review the accident and injury statistics in your business. This is an invaluable way to build a picture of the effectiveness of your risk management and help you to make more informed decisions on how to spend your health and safety budget wisely.
Southalls specialise in helping builders merchants stay on top of their health and safety legal requirements, keeping their staff and customers safe, and their businesses compliant. For information about the BMF Safety Plus service or to discuss any health and safety matter, please get in touch with the Southalls team on 0345 257 4015 or [email protected] BMF members can also request the following BMF H&S Business Guides from [email protected] – Work at Height; Deliveries to Customer Sites; Workplace Transport; Material Storage and Handling; Saw Mills and Wood Working Machinery; Overarching Guide; Occupational Road Risk.
This article first appeared in the February 2019 edition of Builders Merchants Journal (BMJ) Helpdesk