Category Archives: New and changing publications

British Standards Institution has published a second edition of “A Guide to Emergency Lighting”. The guidance is aimed at users, designers, installation and maintenance engineers and explains the obligation to provide and maintain suitable systems to enable occupants to leave premises safely.

There is advice on all aspects of the design, installation, maintenance and testing of battery powered emergency lighting systems. The main changes from the original edition are updates to assist with the hazards identified by risk assessments, and expanded guidance on how to protect occupants from sudden loss of the normal lighting supply. Available from BSI Sales (tel: 020 8996 9001) at a cost of £50.00.

A new edition of HSG33 “Health and safety in roof work” has been released. This is the fourth version of the document which seeks to reduce accidents associated with what is a high-risk activity involving working at height, sometimes with fragile materials such as roof lights and roofing sheets.

This 94-page publication explains the main causes of accidents and ill health in roof work and ways to prevent or control risks. It is available from HSE Books and other booksellers (ISBN 9870717665273) at £17.50 or as a free download at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg33.pdf

A new seven-page leaflet has been published by the Health and Safety Executive to outline the requirement of RIDDOR, and bring the guidance in line with recent changes. It can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.hse.gov. uk/pubns/indg453.pdf

Whilst there is nothing of significance to report in the last couple of months, as part of the Löfstedt Review, HSE is obliged to review all 53 Approved Codes of Practice in the first few months of 2012. This will inevitably lead to a number of revisions and potentially the amalgamation of some Codes.

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has published a new standard on lighting. It is called “BS EN 12464-1 2011 Light and lighting. Lighting of work places. Indoor work places.” The full standard specifies the lighting requirements for people in indoor work areas to meet their needs for visual comfort and performance.

All tasks for people with normal visual ability are taken into account, including workers with display screen equipment. This new document, part 1 of the standard, specifies requirements for lighting solutions for most indoor workplaces in terms of quality and quantity of illumination. Aimed at those who design or specify lighting in workspace layouts, it seeks to encourage the planning and introduction of appropriate lighting controls for regular lighting layouts in buildings. It is especially useful when subdividing lighting for use only when a specific area is occupied. The document is available from BSI at a cost of £182 but subscribers to PHSC’s advisory service contracts can obtain a 25% discount through our office.

The Health and Safety Executive have issued a new version of first-aid leaflet “Basic advice on first-aid at work”. It can be bought in packs of 20 for £3.50 from HSE Books (tel: 01787 881165) or downloaded from http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg347.pdf

Guidance booklet HSG 261 “Health and safety in motor vehicle repair and associated industries” has had a revision to the advice relating to vehicle lifts and the requirements for periodic thorough examination. Where anyone is raised within a vehicle, or works below a vehicle that is raised, six-monthly is the appropriate examination frequency to comply with the Lifting Opertions and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.

Research Report RR743, “Exercises to reduce musculoskeletal discomfort for people doing a range of static and repetitive work” has been published by the Health and Safety Executive and can be downloaded from: http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr743.pdf

The report concludes that “a selection of exercises have been identified that may reduce musculoskeletal discomfort that can be experienced by people who carry out a range of static and repetitive tasks at work”. It goes on to point out that whilst much of the evidence considered related to display screen equipment work, the principles will apply to other tasks involving intensive upper limb activity. The advice states that the exercises identified are likely to benefit people carrying out any repetitive or static upper limb related tasks, and can be performed during breaks throughout the working day, at the workplace, and only require a few seconds to perform. The final suggestion is that a leaflet could be put together containing clear and easy to follow advice on all the recommended exercises.

A new edition of “Safety in the installation and use of gas systems and appliances Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, Approved Code of Practice and guidance” has been published and is available from HSE Books at £10.95 (tel: 01787 881165) or as a free download at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l56.pdf

The principal amendment is to reflect the change from CORGI registration to Gas Safe, which took effect in 2009. There are also updated cross-references to other standards and publications.

By 1 April 2011, all first-aid training materials must be changed to reflect the new protocols adopted by the Resuscitation Council. They must reflect the following changes in basic life support guidelines which have been made to reflect the importance placed on chest compression, particularly good quality compressions, and to attempt to reduce the number and duration of pauses in chest compression:

1. When obtaining help, ask for an automated external defibrillator (AED), if one is available.
2. Compress the chest to a depth of 5-6 cm and at a rate of 100-120 min-1.
3. Give each rescue breath over1s rather than 2s.
4. Do not stop to check the victim or discontinue CPR unless the victim starts to show signs of regaining consciousness, such as coughing, opening his eyes, speaking, or moving purposefully AND starts to breathe normally.
5. Teach CPR to laypeople with an emphasis on chest compression, but include ventilation as the standard, particularly for those with a duty of care.

The full guidance can be found at: www.resus.org.uk/pages/bls.pdf