Birmingham University

Workforce First has been accepted to provide occupational hygiene and local exhaust ventilation practical sessions. Leila Kirk will be guest lecturer on the MSc course in Occupational Health in December.

Birmingham University will be using the Workforce First LEV demonstration model from September this year. It is also available for our LEV Awareness workshops. Please contact us if you would like to know more about the workshops.

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New Home at Hilton Hall

Following an upheaval in the summer when our office had to move through no fault of Workforce First, we have finally settled in the rather grand premises of Hilton Hall. The facilities are good but the twisty scenic drive up through rhododendrons tipped the balance. Clients are more than welcome to visit ust at:

Workforce First
Hilton Hall
Hilton Lane
Essington
WV11 2BQ

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Partnership with the Ryder Partnership - expanding into Wales

Workforce First is working in partnership with The Ryder Partnership. Workforce First provides specialist knowledge and testing to the health and safety and training clients of the Ryder Partnership. Equally, should any of our clients require health and safety help or training, we can put people in touch. The Ryder Partnership advises all businesses but specialises in the food and drink industry and covers North Wales, Shropshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire.

A free seminar will be held in February in Newport, Gwen, followed by an LEV awareness seminar in the afternoon. Contact us should you require more information.

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The HSE Long Latency Disease Reduction Strategy

 Occupational disease caused by breathing in dusts and fumes is costing the country well over 2 hundred million pounds. The government has set the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) the target of reducing this cost by whatever means possible. The HSE are embarking on a new long term strategy and to do this they are recruiting more occupational hygienists in both policy making and field operations. See HSE.gov.uk/careers.

On the ground,  HSE are targeting ineffective controls, that is extraction (LEV) and masks (RPE). In 2008, HSG258, new guidance on the design, ownership and testing of LEV systems was brought out. Early in 2009, all of the HSE Inspectors were trained to look for control and LEV management. The HSE are committed to making this strategy work and will advise and then penalise companies that do  not meet the standards in HSG258. LEV Awareness one day courses have been developed between the HSE and the BOHS to show health and safety managers what is expected. Workforce First is an Approved Provider of LEV Awareness courses.

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Newsletters for small engineering businesses and BOHS-WM

We want our small engineering businesses to find out a little bit more about hidden hazards at work, how to avoid them and how to stay healthy into old age. We want to tell you what we are up to in case you are interested. And of course we want you to remember who we are in case you ever need us. We are also linked to the British Occupational Hygiene Society in the Midlands and we are endeavouring to bring members together more with the production of a small newsletter related to occupational ill health issues. Following the success of the first issue, our next instalment will soon be due for issue in December. If you would like to receive both newsletters, please email me.

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LEV Short Course

Unlike any other LEV Awareness provider, Workforce First brings the training INTO the workplace, with hands on measurement and examination of the company’s systems by the company’s own maintenance staff and users.  This is based on the Japanese style of Participatory Action-Oriented Training. This is a half day course for up to 6 people, with 2 hours of practical work and a certificate on completion. Theory covers LEV design for optimum control, checks and log books and the effects on health of airborne contaminants, relevant to the individual site.

The first short form workshop was successfully given at Grange Fencing in Telford and there are requests for short form training from automotive engineering companies in Wolverhampton and Coventry, to be carried out in 2010. The following feedback was emailed from Grange fencing  “The general consensus of opinion was that most benefit was gained from the 'hands-on' work using the instruments to gauge performance of our own systems. Other comments were made about how well the model showed movement of smoke from tubes around the capture hoods & also about the good use of photos to highlight certain points.

As we discussed maintenance personnel are not really into the paperwork side of things however I think they understood that this has to be included to cover legal requirements etc.
From my own point of view the 'Phil the Welder' video sequence struck a chord with the guys, especially with those who undertake welding.”

No course dates are available until January 2010. The course fee for the short course is £85 per person with a minimum charge of £300.

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LEV Awareness full day badged workshop

This is the standard approved-by-our- BOHS workshop with presentations on LEV design, contaminant control and control failure as well as the legal responsibilities of employers. It is suitable for health and safety managers. There is a one hour practical session on identifying control failure using the full size model with a series of exercises.
Courses for 2010 will be held at Hilton Hall near Cannock, just off J11 of the M6 and J1 of the M54.

Dates are; 16 February, 11 May, 14 September and 16 November.

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BOHS West Midlands meeting dates for 2010

10/2  REACH update at the Birmingham Medical Institute
19/5 Thermal environment at Jaguar Visitor Centre
16/6 Managing asbestos full day seminar, Birmingham
15/7 Dermal exposure at BMI or Dust and fume at Jaguar Visitor Centre
13/10 visit to fire service training centre

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Legionella risk assessment of ALL water systems.

Legionella bacteria live in all natural water sources, in small numbers. When they multiply to greater numbers and spread to people, they can infect the lungs. To people with poor health or compromised immune systems, the infection can lead to fatal pneumonia.

A foreseeable risk of exposure to Legionella comes from cooling towers, systems with an evaporative condenser, hot and cold water systems and other water containing systems that may exceed 20oC and release a spray during operation or maintenance.

Under the Health and safety at Work Act 1974 and under the Management Regulations 1999, a suitable and sufficient risk assessment must be made.
To make a simple risk assessment that will alert you as to whether you need further advice do this.

• Draw diagrams of all water containing systems on site. This will include hot and cold water systems and possibly coolants and washes and rinses.

• Identify all water/ contents that are, or may reach a temperature between 20oC and 45oC.

• Identify potential reservoirs of contamination such as holding tanks and redundant pipework where water can stagnate.

• Determine where system contents could be made into a mist form.

If you have any of the above situations, then controls must be put into place. These can be:
Maintain the temperature below 20oC or above 50oC,
Eliminate water stagnation,
Maintain the cleanliness of the system,
Control the release of water spray.

Further information can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/legionnairesdisease

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