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DOES THE FOLLOWING
SOUND FAMILIAR
......
a colleague tells you something heard at a conference about HSE
Regulations. It could be important to you and needs pursuing. Who can
help? .......
A newspaper does a feature on new
electricity regulations but does not explain how to get more advice. You
need to know more. What information is available? You are given a new job
at work which involves health and safety. Where do you start to look for
relevant information? People in all types of workplaces are looking to
answer questions like these in order to work safely, effectively and at
reasonable cost. The United Kingdom (UK) has a vast range of health and
safety information sources and products which can answer health and safety
questions. The benefits of using these services are that many services are
free or inexpensive and expert information and advice is on offer.
Professional service s are available with a response time to suit
individual needs and most importantly an opportunity for finding
solutions and answers to your health and safety problems
What does HSE
Do
Ensure
that risks to people's health and safety from work activities are properly
controlled. The law says: employers have to look after the health and
safety of their employees; employees and the self-employed have to look
after their own health and safety; and all have to take care of the health
and safety of others, for example, members of the public who may be
affected by their work activity. Our job is to see that everyone does
this. We are interested in the health and safety of people at work - that
includes people who may be harmed by the way work is done (for example
because they live near a factory, or are passengers on a train). In some
situations, we are also concerned with the way work affects the
environment. We develop new health and safety laws and standards, and play
a full part in international developments, especially in the European
Union and: inspect workplaces; (Does HSE inspect all places where people
work?) investigate accidents and cases of ill health; enforce good
standards, usually by advising people how to comply with the law, but
sometimes by ordering them to make improvements and, if necessary, by
prosecuting them; publish guidance and advice; provide an information
service; carry out research; carry out various activities such as nuclear
site licensing and accepting off shore installation safety cases.
Some key points to remember:
The
Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
are statutory bodies whose overall purpose is to ensure that risks to
people's health and safety from work activities are properly controlled.
Local authorities do the same for certain other premises. the Health and
Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires the Health and Safety Commission to
provide an "information and advisory service" to help the
public. This service is extensive and respected throughout the world. many
other organisations in the United Kingdom provide similar or complimentary
services. the amount of information has grown in quantity over the last
twenty-five years. the systems and services for collecting, storing,
disseminating and retrieving information have diversified during the same
period. In addition to print on paper, there are online databases,
cd-roms, email, fax, videos, multimedia and the Internet. the more
traditional sources such as publications, journals, reference books,
training courses and word of mouth still have a part to play.
General Enquiries
and Information
HSE run a national
telephone public enquiry service - HSE Infoline. Staff there draw on
extensive resources of HSE information to answer general enquiries and
tell you about their publications.
HSE Infoline
Tel. 0541
545500
open 8.30am to 5.00pm
Monday to Friday.
HSE Office Addresses
and Phone Numbers
Inspectors are based in
offices organised into regions.
The asterisk (*) shows an office
where you can also contact inspectors dealing with the manufacture,
processing and storage of chemicals and onshore major hazards including
gas transmission and distribution, pipelines and the road transport of
dangerous substances.
WALES & WEST REGION
Covers Wales and
the unitary authorities of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, North West Somerset,
Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire,
Gloucestershire, Hereford & Worcester, Shropshire and Staffordshire.
(*) Brunel House, 2 Fitzalan Road, CARDIFF CF2 1SH
Tel: 01222 263000
(Fax: 01222 263120)
Inter City House, Mitchell Lane, Victoria
Street, BRISTOL BS1 6AN Tel: 01179 886000 (Fax: 01179 262998)
The
Marches House, Midway, NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME ST5 1DT Tel: 01782 602300
(Fax: 01782 602400)
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