Health and Safety Made Simple
There are many challenges of managing health and safety in-house, including having the time and focus to making sense of HSE legislation and regulations, having a detailed knowledge of health and safety and keeping up to date with changes in legislation. It isn’t always easy to be sure that your policies and procedures are compliant with the most up to date legislation and you may be unaware that you are exposing your staff to unnecessary risks.
Whether or not you decide to outsource, you have a legal duty to ensure that you have competent Health and Safety cover. All employers must ensure that people are safe during their business activities, and that all employees have a proportionate level of health and safety understanding. We deliver cost-effective outsourced health and safety management that improves business performance and culture while ensuring total compliance.
The ever-changing legislation is wide-ranging and industry-specific. By outsourcing, you reduce the risk of legal and financial penalties if your business does not operate within health and safety law.
The benefits of outsourcing health and safety to Pentagon Assurance are plentiful. We keep health and safety simple, pragmatic and jargon-free. Our consultants have a wealth of training and experience and we regularly update you on legislation changes and will notify you of amendments that might affect your organisation. We allow your staff to focus on their main roles thereby saving on management time and we generate confidence that all health and safety issues are being managed properly and in accordance with the regulations.
Services can include:
CDM SITE MANAGEMENT – PRINCIPAL CONTRACTOR AND/OR PRINCIPAL DESIGNER
Using Pentagon Assurance as your outsourced CDM Site Management will ensure that your construction project is fully compliant. The Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations are designed to keep everyone working on or visiting your construction project safe.
Pentagon Assurance will act as Principal Contractor and/or Principal Designer, to ensure that the requirements of CDM 2015 are fulfilled, so you can be confident that your project is completed in a safe and fully compliant manner.
RISK ASSESSMENT
Identifying potential hazards and managing risks to health and safety is essential in ensuring a safe working environment. Pentagon Assurance will identify the need for specific risk assessments during Health & Safety Audits and Inspections and provide a range of risk-assessment templates to cover different activities.
We will carry out any specialist risk assessments and inform employees about risk-control measures, and then include regular reviews to ensure long term compliance.
H&S AUDIT
Your Health & Safety Audit is carried out by an experienced and fully qualified consultant. Following the audit we carry out a workplace Health and Safety inspection which includes a comprehensive inspection of the workplace, an overview of health & safety compliance and advice and guidance on compliance with legislation and best practice. We then present our findings and recommendations which are recorded in a comprehensive report, including an action plan covering all findings and recommendations, photographs, Management audit checklist, workplace inspection checklist and a comprehensive Health & Safety audit document.
REVIEW OF POLICIES & PROCEDURES
Policies & Procedures are an essential part of any organisation. By outsourcing with Pentagon Assurance, we can help to ensure consistency within your teams, give guidance for decision-making, and streamline internal processes. We have experience of working with organisations of all sizes to help them implement policies and procedures that are meaningful and relevant, providing real value.
Whether you simply want us to conduct a review or need help building a brand new set of policies, we can support your every requirement.
PUWER ASSESSMENTS
Since 1998, employers have been required to carry out risk assessments and meet certain standards for equipment used in their workplaces. Many employers just assume their equipment meets requirements, but meeting regulations can be a lengthy and confusing process if attempted without help, and it may land you in legal trouble if you don’t give PUWER the proper attention.
Put your mind at ease and save yourself a headache – leave it to our experienced team!
SAFE SYSTEMS OF WORK PRODUCTION
A safe system of work (SSoW) is a formal procedure based on a systematic examination of work in order to identify the hazards. It defines safe methods of working which eliminate those hazards or minimise the risks associated with them. Put simply, a safe system of work is a defined method of doing a job in a safe way.
Employers must ensure that safe systems of work are available for all work activities that create significant risk, in the same way that it’s their responsibility to carry out risk assessments for all work activities.
Safe systems of work become particularly important when significant residual risk remains after all practicable control measures have been introduced into work processes and where control measures that are usually present need to be removed so that a task can be completed, for example, during maintenance, servicing, inspection work, cleaning and/or construction activities.
FIRE RISK ASSESSMENTS
Fire is an unlikely event in most buildings but has the greatest potential to cause harm to people and damage to property interrupting business continuity. A fire risk assessment should identify the potential causes of a fire to start, i.e. sources of ignition (heat or sparks), flammable substances or materials that burn, as well as the people/employees who could be at risk.
Our Fire Risk Assessment guidance assists companies meet their legal duties regarding fire safety. Compliance with these duties may be routinely checked by the Fire Authority, or as the result of a fire-related incident. The Company insurer will also require a suitable and sufficient risk assessment as any failings in fire safety management may invalidate an insurance claim in the event of a fire.
MANUAL HANDLING ASSESSMENTS
The last thing any employer wants is for someone to be injured at work, so we provide manual handling assessments to look at the risks facing your workforce. We’ll assess your employees training requirements and any policies which need to be put in place. We’ll look at manual handling techniques and your teams understanding of the manual handling process.
Manual handling accounts for a large amount of injuries at work which not only results in personal suffering but can also result in legal action against the business. In addition this also means lost work days, more absenteeism and can lead to a low moral. By outsourcing with Pentagon Assurance you’ll also get a fresh pair of eyes looking at your environment – often we’ll spot things you’ve missed and we can quickly identify any areas that need attention.
PPE ASSESSMENTS
A major contributory factor to accidents in the workplace is the misuse, incorrect selection or lack of maintenance of personal protective equipment (PPE). Lack of information, instruction and training is often the root cause of a lot of these incidents.
PPE can lose its effectiveness or become damaged due to exposure to grit, dirt, chemicals, UV light, misuse, or general wear and tear. That's why regular inspections are essential for making sure that the PPE is fit for its purpose, in date, and fully compliant.
PAT TESTING
Health and safety regulations require that electrical appliances should have a current pat test certificate ensuring they are safe to prevent harm to workers. Health and Safety requires that all electrical systems (including electrical appliances) are maintained to prevent danger. A competent person must inspect the installation regularly in any public building or a place that people work. We provide simple, cost effective PAT Testing solutions, enabling companies and organisations to comply with the Electricity at Work Regulations.
FACE FIT TESTING FOR RESPIRATORS
If you wear a mask at work that relies on making a seal with your face then you need a face fit test. When worn correctly RPE (respiratory protective equipment) should protect the wearer from airborne hazards (particulates, dusts, gases etc).
As people come in all sorts of shapes and sizes it is unlikely that one particular type or size of RPE face piece will fit everyone. A face fit test will help ensure that the RPE selected is suitable for the wearer.
Legally, face fit testing is a requirement of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, the Control of Lead at Work Regulations and the Control of Asbestos Regulations. These regulations state that PPE must be “suitable” for its purpose – in this case it should protect the wearer from the airborne hazard.
ASBESTOS SURVEY
If you own or maintain none-domestic premises that were built before the year 2000, then it is a legal requirement for you to manage any asbestos containing materials ACM’s that are present. This is usually done by commissioning an asbestos survey from a qualified surveyor.
Our fully trained, experienced and accredited asbestos surveyors and consultants provide high quality, UKAS accredited, cost effective asbestos surveys for all manner of properties from commercial or industrial to Health care and schools.
CHAS, Constructionline, Safecontractor, Acclaim & other SSIP schemes
Applying for CHAS accreditation can be a daunting task for many businesses. It can be costly and time consuming with questions about accidents, risk assessments, training and employee inductions and can often seem like too much work to get that contract - we are here to take the anxiety and burden away from you.
As accredited Safety Schemes in Procurement auditors we conduct audits of applications on behalf of CHAS. With a vast track record of embedding safety management systems we understand the requirements of applications and support clients in creating their submissions with a track record of 100% approval on first submission.
The benefits of CHAS accreditation are plentiful, it emphasises to your current and potential clients that you are taking health, safety and wellbeing obligations seriously and improves your companies brand reputation and gives you an advantage over your competitors who may not be accredited.
SALSA, Safe and Local Supplier Approval Accreditation
SALSA is as robust and effective food safety certification scheme which is appropriate for smaller food producers and processors. It is aimed at micro and small food and drink manufacturers and offers a more appropriate standard than BRC Global Food Standard.
Approved suppliers can demonstrate that they operate to standards that are recognised and accepted across the industry and exceed the minimum standards expected by enforcement authorities.
The benefits to your business are vast, it primarily demonstrates that you are producing products in a safe and legal manner and is highly recognised within the industry.
All of our health and safety professionals are members of IOSH and are NEBOSH qualified. We provide tailored advice and guidance, bespoke to your business policies, procedures and staff training.
The benefits to your business:
- We keep Health and Safety simple, practical and jargon-free.
- All of our health and safety professionals are members of IOSH and are NEBOSH qualified.
- We regularly update you on legislation changes and will notify you of amendments that might affect your organisation.
- We allow your staff to focus on their main roles thereby saving on management time.
- We generate confidence that all Health and Safety issues are being managed in accordance with the most up to date regulations.
- We assist you to reduce risks and hazards in the workplace.
To read more about our Health and Safety services click here or Download PDF
To discuss your requirements further please contact us or for a free no obligation quotation click here.
