Wiltshire Occupational Safety & Health Association Meeting 15 th September 2009 at RAF Lyneham The meeting was held at the Training Centre in RAF Lyneham on the 15 th September and 27 persons attended. Attendees: Derek Boulton Westinghouse Rail Systems Bob Lentell RPJ Associated Consultants Sarah-Jane French Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Mike Dodds Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Paul Elliott Hills Waste Solutions John Warner Hills Waste Solutions Dave king Honda Meryl Hamilton Swindon College K. Short TH White Chris Thomas Sureteam Richard Wright Aster Group Alex Fereday Leafield Logistics Nicky Mernagh Catalent Pharma Solutions Daniel Smith Aster Rod Packer Aster Kath Williams RAF Lyneham David Burge BD Stephen Wright BD Mark Hemphill Great Western Hospital Helen Oswald Health & Safety Advisory Service Iain Hammond Health & Safety Advisory Service Ian Whittles Health & Safety Executive Chris Bailey DTR VMS Mark Embleton DTR VMS John Willetts Independent David Delaney MOD Land (Army) Roger Johnson Green Square Group Topics: Permit to Work Systems Facilitators: Bob Lentell and Derek Boulton Driver CPC presented by Derek Boulton WOSHA Business Derek Boulton
The Chairman opened the meaning with a welcome to the RAF establishment thanking Kath Williams and her team for hosting the event. He stated that the first half of the meeting would be an interactive session with the attendees divided in to groups in order to answer some case study questions and report back to the whole group. Bob led the presentation and opened by asking the audience for a definition of a permit-to-work. This opened up a small debate but essentially there was agreement that it is a formal recorded process used to control work which is identified as potentially hazardous requiring strict means of communication between site and installation teams, supervisors and operators. The next question was asked: When is a permit to work required? This was open forum and Bob listed a comprehensive set of situations including hot work, cold work, confined space entry, excavation, diving and electrical isolation. The group then divided into groups to consider and report back the key elements of a permit to work. The three groups reported back much the same information including: Date of permit, Type of permit Serial number Issuing/Authorising person Receiving Person Start time/finish time. Activity to be conducted specific detail and location of the work required Duration of the permit Breakdown of tasks ID of person competent to authorise work, check appropriate documents e.g. method statements ID of persons carrying out the work, competencies and training checks Isolation of plant and equipment Tools required Fire precautions PPE required Emergency procedures Sign off of work, dated and timed Any changes shall be discussed before the start of work Detail of who holds the copies of the certificates and retention period. This exercise served as a usual refresher to those experienced in permits and provided a worthy insight to those new to the regime mixing with the more experienced. Everyone contributed. Lone working issues were briefly discussed but essentially it was agreed that no lone working should be permitted in a permit to work situation. Bob then provided a typical permit contents list from HSG 250.
To complete the session two real case studies were issued to the teams for them to identify any shortcomings and potential for improvement. Case Study One Contractors were engaged to demolish redundant oil storage tanks in a tank farm on an oil blending and storage site. A pump house was still in operation in the vicinity of the redundant tanks and the occupier was aware of the fire risk. A method of work was agreed with the contractors which involved cold cutting those parts of the tanks nearest the pump house and taking them to a safe place on site for hot cutting into smaller pieces. The contractors did not follow the agreement and began hot cutting the tanks close to the pump house. Flammable vapours from the pump house were ignited and the resulting fire caused considerable damage to the plant. Five firemen were taken to hospital suffering from the effects of the fumes. Case Study Two On 23 July 2004, James Adams, and another engineer from RCP Macpress engineers, were at SCA Recycling UK Limited premises in Herringham Road, Greenwich, London to repair a large waste paper recycling machine, known as a shredder or hogger. The shredder had been damaged when the fork of a forklift truck was inadvertently loaded into it hidden within a load of waste paper. Although the engineers filled in their company s risk assessment form before starting the job, they had only been instructed on how to fill in the form, and not how to actually make an assessment of the risks. When the panel of the shredder that allowed access to the damaged area failed to open as easily as the engineers had expected, they resorted to attempting to push the panel open using a hydraulic jack able to exert a force sufficient to lift 25 tonnes the estimated weight of the panel being approximately 100kg. The panel opened suddenly, but immediately shut again, trapping Mr Adams right ring finger and little finger resulting in the loss of the tips of both fingers. The teams reported back the following: 1) Lack of suitable risk assessments, not all hazards identified 2) A total lack of communications 3) No permit!
4) Insufficient training and supervision 5) Lack of monitoring 6) Lack of clear responsibilities 7) Competency of employee in question 8) Insufficient maintenance reporting 9) Lack of suitable equipment After this session the chairman thanked Bob for his leading of the session and thanked the group for their participation. Copies of HSG250 Permit to Work were handed out to the attendees. Bob s presentation slides can be obtained from the WOSHA website www.wosha.btik.com After the networking break the chairman conducted the hot topic on Driver CPC. Driver CPC Driver CPC (certificate of professional competence) is being introduced across the European Union to maintain high driving standards and improve road safety. All professional bus, coach and lorry drivers must hold a Driver CPC if they want to drive for a living (there are a few exempt groups) NB: any drivers of lorries of 3.5 tons and upwards, and minibuses with 9 seats or more must obtain a Driver CPC The existing Transport Manager s CPC is also known as the Operator s CPC is a separate qualification and anyone holding one who still drives professionally as part of their job will also need to hold a Driver CPC. If you are an existing driver you will have acquired rights as you already hold a vocational driving licence (C, C1, CE, C1E, D, DE, and D1E) on the relevant start dates. Bus and coach drivers will hold acquired rights up until 9th September 2013 and lorry drivers until 9th September 2014. To keep your Driver CPC and continue driving professionally beyond this date, you will need to undertake regular periodic training. New drivers will need to pass a new initial qualification to gain their vocational driving licence and qualify for their Driver CPC. For a new driver, their requirement to undertake a minimum of 35 hours periodic training to retain their Driver CPC will start once they have passed the initial qualification. Periodic training is continuing professional development for bus, coach and lorry drivers. It carries on throughout the professional driver's career - no matter how infrequently they drive. Driver CPC requires you to complete a minimum of 35 hours of periodic training during every five year cycle for as long as you wish to continue driving professionally. Periodic training is fairly generic across PCV and LGV training and includes:
Defensive driving techniques Drivers hours regulations and tachographs Safe and fuel efficient driving Legal requirements Health and Safety, service and logistics I hold both a PCV and LGV licence; will I need to undertake two sets of periodic training? No only one set of periodic training is required owing to the significant crossover between disciplines and generic nature of the training. You will be able to prove you hold Driver CPC by a Driver Qualification card (DQC). The card will be issued to new drivers automatically on successfully passing the initial qualification. Existing drivers (holding a GB photo card licence) will be automatically issued with the card on completion of the 35th hour of periodic training. For existing drivers, their acquired rights means that their driving licence will be accepted as proof of their Driver CPC status until they have completed their 35 hours training within the first 5 year cycle at which point they will be issued with a DQC. The following provide exemptions to the Driver CPC requirements: Used for the non-commercial carriage of passengers or goods, for personal use Undergoing road tests for technical development, repair or maintenance purposes, or new or rebuilt vehicles not yet put into service Used in the course of driving lessons for any person wishing to obtain a driver licence or Driver CPC Carrying material or equipment to be used by the driver in the course of his or her work, provided that driving the vehicle does not constitute the driver s principal activity With a maximum authorised speed not exceeding 45km/h Used by, or under the control of, the armed forces, civil defence, the fire service, and forces responsible for maintaining public order Used in states of emergency or assigned to rescue missions. This generated a question which the speaker would follow up after the meeting with the Driver Standards Agency. Do school teachers need a driver CPC for driving minibuses during school operating hours and/or outside normal hours. The CPC is now in force (10 th September 2009). More information can be obtained from www.dsa.gsi.gov.uk. WOSHA Business The meeting was rounded off by the Chairman reporting back from the Elected Officers meeting: The visit to Wadworth s Brewery in Devizes has been confirmed and
members will be able to see how they manage their company transport and manual handling issues. The visit will take place on Tuesday Oct 13 th 2009. Those interested should contact the chairman or Ken Adams as soon as possible as there are restrictions on numbers. The WOSHA Membership Achievement Award was aired again as there have been no entries submitted with time running out. The Chairman gave examples of what the EO team were looking for and again full details are on the website. www.wosha.btik.com The chairman handed out copies of INDG417 Leading Health and Safety at Work covering an issue on corporate governance but also the checklist provided a good test to determine the leadership in the members organisations. Increase in membership There was no reaction to the request made by the Chairman for members to make contact with 3 small enterprises in close proximity to themselves and make them aware of WOSHA and the benefits of membership. The Chairman requested the completion of a satisfaction survey provided which also gave the opportunity to request venues for visits and topics for main or hot topic discussion. The Chairman closed the meeting at 4.15pm thanking everyone for their input and attention, and detailing the next meeting to be held at the Waterside at Cheney Manor on 17 th November with another Interactive session, this time on Accident Investigation. The Chairman then once again thanked Kath Williams for hosting and provision of refreshments Derek Boulton Chairman Wiltshire Occupational Safety & Health Association