health and safety inspection report - university of brighton inspection... · gas shut off valve...

University of Brighton

Health and Safety Department

Health and Safety Inspection Report

Report of unsafe working conditions, equipment, practices or unsatisfactory arrangements for welfare. The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977

Location: School of Environment & Technology

Inspection Date: 20-07-11

Area Inspected: Laboratories & Workshops

Report Reference No: LAE 07/11

Persons Present: Name Position

Lorraine Everett University Health & Safety Adviser

Bill Whitney School Technical Manager

Pete Mathers Laboratory Services Manager

Dave Stansbury Principle Technician (Network Manager)

Complete column F (on inspection report), sign below and return to the Health and Safety Department, Exion 27 Hollingbury OR e-mail to [email protected]

Receipt/Confirmation

University Safety Adviser: Date:

Head of School/Department: Date:

mailto:[email protected]

Health and Safety Department Health and Safety Inspection Report

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School / Department: School of Environment & Technology Date of inspection: 20th July 2011 Ref: LAE 07/11

Persons present:

Lorraine Everett (University Health & Safety Advisor) with Bill Whitney (School Technical Manager), Pete Mathers (Laboratory Services Manager) and Dave Stansbury (Principle Technician (Network Manager))

Overview The inspection that was carried out looked only at the laboratories and workshops for the School, and any associated paperwork for those areas. It should be noted that the School has some good practices in place notably:

- A safety committee - Internal inspections with active participation from senior academics - A permit to work system for high risk equipment - A folder for all laboratories/workshop containing COSHH material safety data sheets - A centralised computer database of COSHH material safety data sheets

Some of the failings identified in this report are in part due to the lack of a Faculty or School Safety Advisor; these issues will hopefully be remediated once a person is in post, to help guide the School in the necessary policy and procedures that need to be in place to generate a good safety management system.


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No Location (a) Safety problems identified (b) Remedial Action Proposed (c)

Responsibility (d)

Priority (e)

Proposed Completion Date (f)

1

General Health & Safety Policy

School Safety Policy is out of date (the one given to me was written in 2005) and does not incorporate the (fairly) newly formed School of Environment & Technology. The policy refers to the School of Engineering, which no longer exists. A policy review by the H&S Department has not been conducted as the policy was only provided on the day of the inspection and therefore there was insufficient time to review practice against policy, also the policy is so far out of date it is not considered a worthwhile exercise. Bill Whitney reviewed the policy in June 2010 and made recommendations to update the policy but these as yet have still to be implemented. With no dedicated H&S advisor for the School it is difficult to get the policy actioned in an appropriate timescale, other staff have other responsibilities and so this has become a resource issue.

Review and update the School Safety Policy. This will be supported by the forthcoming appointment of a Faculty Safety Advisor

HoS HIGH

2 General – Records COSHH

It should be noted that Pete Mathers has done a lot of work in trying to get records up to date. However he did admit that COSHH risk assessments have not been carried out for routine uses, although all labs have a file with MSDS within them. Also specific experiments are risk assessed.

Perform COSHH Risk Assessments for the chemicals used within the School

Technical Staff MEDIUM


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Responsibility (d)

Priority (e)


3 General – Records Risk Assessments

Risk Assessments are carried out within the School, however several were found not to have been dated, this is important from a review and monitoring point of view.

Ensure all risk assessments are dated and have a review date on them

HoS/Technical Staff/Academic

Staff MEDIUM

4

General – Records Statutory Inspections

Not all records of statutory inspections are kept centrally by the School. Some equipment is inspected under the insurance scheme but those records are not sent to the School. Therefore there is no assurance that all required equipment is being inspected. The School could be in breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) section 6

Implement an asset register of equipment, document what equipment requires inspections and ensure records are obtained for these pieces of equipment

HoS/ Technical Staff

HIGH

5 General – Records Maintenance

Maintenance of equipment is carried out within the School, however this is not documented, with no documentary evidence the School cannot prove that preventative and corrective maintenance is being carried out. This is a breach of PUWER section 5

Each piece of equipment should have a maintenance log, this could be a checklist of items checked and dated each time the equipment is maintained.

Technical Staff HIGH


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Responsibility (d)

Priority (e)


6 General – Records Training

Work has been carried out to put in place training records for every staff member, including forms on training still required. Each staff file has a sheet for every piece of training received including what was covered. However the file needs to have a top sheet for easy reflection of needs, so that at first glance you can see what training that staff member has had, when, and if further training is required. The top sheet should be a list of training carried out, when that training took place and if refresher is required, it should also list training still needed to be carried out.

Incorporate a top sheet for each staff member stating what training has been carried out, if refresher is required and any identified training needs still required.


7 Identified Training Requirement

LEV, Local Exhaust Ventilation training has never been carried out by any staff member

Attend LEV Training that will be arranged through the Health & Safety Department


8 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Face fit testing to ensure respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) fits and provides protection against inhalation of carcinogenic wood dust has not been undertaken since 2008. Face fit testing is required on an annual basis

Arrange for all staff to attend face fit testing and schedule for future years. This can be arranged through the H&S Department


9 Lone Working

There are many small laboratories within the engineering block where staff & students could be working on their own. There are no documented arrangements for lone working.

A lone worker procedure needs to be written. Guidance can be found on the H&S website with the Code of Practice on Safe Lone Working. Ensure all laboratories have a telephone and emergency contact details (i.e. number of first aider)

HoS/ Technical Staff

MEDIUM


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Responsibility (d)

Priority (e)


10 412/413

Environment & Public Health Research Unit (EPHRU Lab). There is a safe working code for the EPHRU Lab which states no bags or outdoor coats to be brought into the lab, however no lockers are provided for staff/students to store their belongings, so hence they are being brought into the lab area.

Provide lockers or somewhere secure for staff and students to store their belongings


11 412

Very hot water supplied from the hot water tap with no warning sign. Staff/Students must wash their hands before leaving this room. Potential to suffer burns or for staff/students to wash their hands ineffectively.

Put up signage to warn staff and students of hot water. Investigate whether temperature can be turned down or whether a mixer tap may be more suitable.


12 412/413 Gas shut off valve not labelled, also a yellow sticky post it note is attached to the door to remind staff/students to turn off the gas.

Label gas cut off valve. Have professional laminated signage to remind staff and students to turn off gas.


13 412/413 Information from Technical Staff was that there is no Biological Safety Officer (BSO) appointed for the School

Seek advice on the appointment of a BSO, and protocols required for handling biological samples, by contacting Dr Brian Jones, BSO for PABS

HoS/Technical Staff

MEDIUM

14 414/415

Carbon Dioxide fire extinguisher in both rooms but not stored on an appropriate bracket or fire plate/stand. Fire extinguishers need to be located in named places to ensure they are serviced and also so staff know where to find fire fighting equipment in an emergency. These places are defined by having a labelled bracket or stand.

Remove fire extinguishers to correct location



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Responsibility (d)

Priority (e)


15 416

Fume cabinet, no statutory inspection has been carried out on it, not since PABS moved out which is over a year and a half ago. The absence of an asset register exposes the School to Statutory breaches such as this because there is no tracking or scheduling of inspections. Legal Requirements under COSHH as well

as the Maintenance, examination and testing of local exhaust ventilation HSG54 is that Statutory maintenance, examination and test is carried out: at least once every 14 months (or more frequently for some types of contaminant), and that you

keep all records for at least five years.

Ensure fume hood has statutory inspection A prohibition notice was serviced on the equipment on the 28th July 2011


16 417

Cannot run fume hood and ICP unit at same time due to shared extractor system. Need to climb on a ladder to flick a switch on the fume hood in room 416 to use ICP in room 417. This is inconvenient but not a safety issue according to technical staff.

Risk assess the situation and identify a suitable course of action to resolve.

Technical Staff LOW

17 417

Fire blanket obscured by gas cylinder, would be unable to get to it in an emergency The University of Brighton Code of Practice on Fire Safety Management states that: ‘all fire fighting equipment must be kept free from obstruction and be readily available for use in an emergency’

Move fire blanket Technical Staff MEDIUM


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Responsibility (d)

Priority (e)


18 417

Ladder with a failed inspection tag was in this room, could be used by accident. Under the University Code of Practice Working at Heights any defective ladder should be taken out of service, that means taken somewhere where it cannot be used by someone by accident.

Take ladder out of service Technical Staff MEDIUM

19 418b Carbon Dioxide fire extinguisher in room but not stored on an appropriate bracket or stand/plate.



20 E6

Woodwork shop. Since the installation of the extractors some five years ago, it is not possible to confirm the equipment is in a safe condition, no statutory inspections have been carried out. This is a breach of COSHH regulations.

Legal Requirements under COSHH as well as the Maintenance, examination and testing of local exhaust ventilation HSG54 is that Statutory maintenance, examination and test is carried out: at least once every 14 months (or more frequently for some types of contaminant), and that you

keep all records for at least five years.

Ensure Local Exhaust Ventilation has statutory inspection A prohibition notice was serviced on the equipment on the 28th July 2011



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Responsibility (d)

Priority (e)


21 E7f

Storage Room A very hot room, by virtue of the large fridge, with large pieces of equipment being stored above head height. The storage of equipment in this room does not comply with the Manual Handling regulations or with the University of Brighton Safety Guidance Note on Shelving.

Look at rearranging equipment in this storage room in line with the manual handling code of practice


22 E7e

Geochemistry Lab This room contains a hand held laser of unknown class, only two people have access to this piece of equipment and the key is kept with the academic, however there is no Standard Operating Procedure for use of this equipment.

Document Standard Operating Procedure for this equipment. Arrange for an inspection to be carried out by the laser safety advisor. Contact the H&S Department to arrange this.

Academic Staff MEDIUM

23 E1

Concrete Lab A fire blanket and fire break glass point was obscured by wood & cages that had been left by the exit for disposal. The University of Brighton Code of Practice on Fire Safety Management states that: ‘all fire fighting equipment must be kept free from obstruction and be readily available for use in an emergency’

Ensure fire fighting equipment is not obscured by paraphernalia



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Responsibility (d)

Priority (e)


24 Outside

Gas Storage Cages Untidy gas storage cage, wood is being stored next to highly flammable gases. The gas bottles within the container are not secured, this could lead to bottles falling over and injuring someone, there is a build up of leaf debris. However this facility has shared occupancy use, and therefore assigning responsibility for housekeeping has been inadequate. See Photograph.

EFM to speak to keyholders to find out who is responsible and to ensure that the debris is cleared up in and around storage cage and ensure all gas cylinders are secured.

EFM MEDIUM

25 E10

Hydraulics Lab Large volume water storage tanks are in this room, one is above head and another tank is stored underground. Water is not tested and tanks have not been cleaned for many years due to old technician having left the University who was responsible for this area. Possible Leptospirosis risk due to river/sediment projects in this lab. Also a build up of silt and scale over time can provide nutrients for potentially harmful bacteria to grow. If cleaning was to be undertaken of the tanks then the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 would need to be consulted and complied with.

It is unclear as to the full extent of safety related issues regarding the storage and use of water in this laboratory. Investigate further the safety risks presented by a closed loop water system. Report findings to the Health and Safety Department.


26 E10 & E2

Hydraulics Lab and Soils Lab Historically mercury was used in these rooms in manometers, however all mercury has now been removed. It is therefore possible that there have been spillages of mercury in the past. Staff reported incidences of containers of up to 4 gallons being moved within the room.

Health and Safety Department can assist in the investigation into possible mercury contamination

Technical Staff and H&S

Department MEDIUM


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Responsibility (d)

Priority (e)


27 C315

Computer Suite Heat in the room is an issue, the room is south facing and gets a lot of sunlight. There is also parquet flooring in the room which is an issue with the computer chairs with castors as they roll very easily over the floor, and could have the potential to roll away when someone goes to sit down.

Replace chairs with chairs suitable for use on parquet flooring


28 C317

Computer Technicians Room Items are being stored on shelving above head height above a bench that juts out further than the shelving, meaning that the use of a step ladder would be inappropriate as you would have to lean over to reach the shelf. The room itself is very full with equipment; there is insufficient space for the storage of all the items.

Identify area where archive items could be stored, look at design and layout of room.


29 C319

Computer Suite Carbon dioxide fire extinguisher found in room. Not on bracket or fire extinguisher plate/stand.



30 419

Computer Technicians Room Very small room with insufficient space for the work being carried out, and no area for storage of computer drives.

Identify area where computer drives could be stored, look at design and layout of room.


31 418a No problems were identified - - - -

32 E5a No problems were identified - - - -


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Responsibility (d)

Priority (e)


33 E11a No problems were identified - - - -

34 E7a/E7b/E7c/E7d No problems were identified - - - -

35 E4/E4a No problems were identified - - - -

36 E3 No problems were identified - - - -

37 E2/E2a No problems were identified - - - -

38 E10e No problems were identified - - - -

39 C316 No problems were identified - - - -


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