HSE People Network | Health and Safety Jobs

Workplace safety can appear very daunting for many employers. Creating a safe work environment for workers is not only morally right, but also a legal right in this country. There are many important tools available to ensure that all of the necessary precautions are taken to avoid and reduce accidents in the workplace.

1. Hazard Assessment/Job Safety Analysis (JSA)

Hazard assessment or job safety analysis (JSA) helps identify potential safety risks in the workplace and what measures should be taken to avoid these hazards.

2. Implementing controls at work stations

Implementing safety controls and devices to work stations based on the findings of your JSA will reduce the occurrence of workplace accidents. This includes built-in safety devices, such as a chemical eyewash station, or requiring employees to wear hard hats and protective eye wear on the job. This year alone, 78% of eye injuries were due to a lack of protective eye wear.

3. Provide proper safety training to employees.

View training as an investment. The better the training your employees receive, the less likely an incident will occur. Many employers forgo educating their workers on topics that could potential save them thousands in workers’ compensation claims and lawsuits.

Today there are more choices than ever when it comes to safety training. Many employers think the only option is the traditional classroom setting, but thanks to technology – online training is the quickest, easiest, cheapest and most environmentally conscious choice. Many online safety training companies offer their own tracking systems to alleviate the administrative burden from employers and some offer free courses (www.safetyskills.com) or trials. But always make sure that your training provider is IACET certified and has the proper credentials.

Whatever type of training is chosen, setting high standards of training completion on employees is crucial and any incidents of negligence by an employee should be deemed unacceptable. This ensures your financial security as a company, as well as the safety of all of your workers.

4. Staying current.

Keeping up with the latest guidelines and trends in safety is very time consuming, but necessary. OSHA sets the standard in safety. If an employer doesn’t have time for this task, finding a training provider that does is the best route to take.

It is also important to pay attention to any news coverage about emerging workplace safety issues. For instance, incidents of Heat Stress have become more and more common resulting in heat-related illness and death. Providing training on Heat Stress is a new trend that is becoming necessary, especially for those who work outdoors.

Besides training, all gear and equipment should be regularly maintenance and replaced when it becomes outdated or a potential hazard. This is another topic that has been in newsstands across the country due to the recent metro tragedy in Washington, D.C. It was reported that the metro train that crashed needed to be replaced for a newer model, which would have saved the lives of many.

5. Refresher courses.

Like any student who finishes a class, sometimes a refresher course is needed down the road. Issues in safety are constantly changing because our technology keeps advancing. This also means that with new advancements means new problems. Giving refresher courses every year is a great way to reduce the likelihood of workplace accidents.

Hi HSE People

The site has had another very successful week, with many jobs being posted and the new document library off to a great start. A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes in terms of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) It has took a lot of work but we are now fast moving up the major Search Engines Rankings.

The sites advertisers in the business directory will be delighted to know that the Recruiters page is now coming up as number 1 listing on Google.co.uk when searching for HSE Recruiters, The Trainers page is coming up number 5 when searching for HSE training providers and HSE Suppliers is number 4. On top of this other big search terms such as HSE Documents and HSE Jobs are working there way up, now appearing on the second and third pages.

It takes a lot of time and effort to receive top rankings and everyone using the site can help. Most Search Engines now rate sites by how many other links they can find on the net to that site. Any link counts and all I ask is that each one of our members mentions HSE People somewhere on the Net. It can be pretty much anywhere including your Twitter pages, Face Book, Bebo, LinkedIn, Company website, Forums, Blogs and News pages. Pretty much anywhere on the web counts. It’s easy to do and all you have to do is post our URL www.hsepeople.com. So give a little something back and help the site grow.

The Document Library is now live and lots of people have been downloading documents, however I have been disappointed by the amount of documents uploaded. If everyone on the site just uploaded one high quality document we would have a massive library in no time. It’s very easy to do and only takes a few seconds. Just go to the document library page where you will have to sign in again and then click upload a document. Take a few minutes to select the most relevant category, making sure your document contains no company logos or details enter a brief description of your document and hit upload. You document will now be available to any member of the site and you can also link to your document from any where on the net.

We have this week added a new page to the site called Global HSE Regulations. I have already added links to most UK and USA Regulations and I am keen to expand this to include many different countries. Only one problem I don’t have the experience to even know where to look for most countries so I’m putting a call out to out International members to point us in the right direction in terms of Regulations specific to your country. Just drop me an email kevin@hsepeople.com

The HSE News page has also been updated this week and now includes feeds from the HSE, OSHA, The Unions, safetynews.co.uk and EPSC If you know any other useful HSE News sources again please let me know and I can very easily add them to the site.

Also wanted to mention another website which some of our members may find useful, www.safetyphoto.co.uk has a huge collection of safety photos and documents and could be very handy when putting together presentations etc. If you have any pictures you would like to share then drop them an email I have added some pictures this week.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Kevin Forbes

www.hsepeople.com

The summer temperature is rising by the day and so are the rates of heat-induced illness and death. The first report of heat-induced illness took place in Memphis, TN on June 24, 2009, but deaths have been occurring all season and are sure to continue. These incidents remind us to provide employees with the proper training to ensure their safety when working in these conditions.

“Working in extreme temperatures is not only uncomfortable, it can be life-threatening,” said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab. “It is important for workers and their employers to minimize the chances of heat-induced illnesses, and imperative that they recognize the signs of heat stress and take the proper precautions to reduce the chances of illness or death.”

Many employers who spend the majority of their time indoors tend to lose sight of the risks that dramatic weather conditions can have on their outdoor workers. By simply taking the time to administer safety training on this issue can save everyone involved from getting burned.

“This heat is taking a toll on everyone, but especially to those who have to work in it day in and day out. We wanted to help these employees stay safe by creating a SafetySkills™ Heat Stress course that tackles this issue and what preventative measures should be taken,” said Trey Greene, CEO of noodleStream.com.

CONGRATULATIONS HSE PEOPLE!!! 

 

We have reached over 1000 members. An amazing achievement in less than 2 months!

 

I have today made the much anticipated Document Library live on the site. This is a great new page that I am sure will benefit most of our members. You are able to upload, browse, search and download all sorts of HSE documents including:- Presentations, Procedures, Lessons Learned, Checklists, Toolbox Talks, Risk Assessments and almost any document relating to Safety.

 

The page has been designed to be very simple to use and you just need to sign in with your usual site login and password. On the first page you will find the categories and File list. You can browse by category or/and sub category or you can use the smart search feature to find files by keywords.  When you have found a file all you need to do is click it and it will start to download to your computer. By right clicking you can also copy the link and then paste links to individual documents in the forums etc

 

I would like to invite everyone with useful content to contribute it to the site. This will allow us to build up a huge data base of documents and next time you are starting a new job and looking for some information on it, the chances are you will find it on the site...

 

When uploading documents all we ask is that you take the time to chose the correct category and sub category and name the file appropriately as this will be the name that enables it to be searched.

 

Please only upload documents that you own or have permission to distribute and ensure that all company logos and details are removed.

 

Lets make this a great and useful feature of the site!

 

The new Business Directory has also gone live this week. For a small fee you can have your company listed in what is also proving a very popular page. The site is currently receiving over 500 hits and 6000 page views per day so this is a great way to gain exposure for your business. A whole year in the directory will cost you less than a single add in your local paper and is a great way of supporting the site.

 

Please get in touch if you would like more information. Kevin@hsepeople.com

 

Cheers

 

Kevin

                         

Hi HSE People

Just an update on the site! Things are coming along fantastically, we are now well over 750 members and thanks to everyone continuing to spread the word that is increasing every day.

As a thank you I have added some more features to the site. Members will be able to, from next week, use the new Micro Feed button on the videos page to download and view any videos on the site offline. This feature will require a download of the Micro Feed software which is free (as usual) to site members. You will be able to subscribe to a feed from HSE People which can automatically update with all the videos on the site. This software allows users to download you tube videos also and subscribe to other feeds and free TV channels across the Net. Please note the Micro Feed won’t work properly with HSE People until next week but you can still download the software just now and get started.

An additional feature is also the new Events Tab. This is designed mainly for training companies and course providers. Anyone can add an event which will require Moderator approval before appearing on the site. As a way of helping HSE People cover costs all we ask is for a small percentage of the course fee per candidate attending your Event through the site. We think this is fair and there is no charge to list the event so you have nothing to lose by giving it a go. Please contact me if you are a Trainer or Course provider and want more details Kevin@hsepeople.com

In an attempt to make HSE People the one stop site for everything safety related we intend to offer a Links Page in the very near future that will offer links to Recruiters, Trainers and Consultants. Again if you would like your company link to appear on a main page on the site please contact me Kevin@hsepeople.com

A Product review page is also in the making and we hope to be able to use this page to make members aware of the latest safety products on the market. I would very much like to hear from PPE Companies and suppliers interested in this.

The much anticipated Document Library is well under development and we hope to bring this to you very soon. Members will be able to upload, share, search and download any document relating to Health and Safety this will prove to be a very valuable resource and I am sure a very popular page. I would be interested to hear from our members on how you think the contents should be broken down and what categories would like to see.

The final addition to the site is the Music player. Anyone can upload music to their profile and create their own play list to listen to as they browse the site. This then gets added to the main music player page where you can browse all the music on the site. Warning the first person to upload any Dolly Patron or Frank Sinatra will be deleted from the site! (just joking) ;)

Finally thanks to all the people who have provided links back to HSE People on their own websites. This is really helping us get up the search engine rankings and making the site a big hit.

Have a great weekend

Kevin

The new Events page on the site is designed for Training and Course providers to advertise courses they provide and available places.

The event is free to list and can be added very easily from the create events icon on the sites main control panel that is available to members on every page when signed in.

HSE People will charge a fee of 10% of course price per delegate signing up through the site. I think this is fair and a great way of supporting the site and giving a little back without paying for advertising that may or may not work.

When you create an event you will be emailed a forum to fill out with your company details.

If you wish to discuss this or want more information drop me a line. kevin@hsepeople.com