General Questions
How can I find out about changes in regulations?
What is the best way to measure overall performance?
How should I report an accident?
What is RIDDOR?
What support can RFS offer and when?
Who can I speak to at RFS?
Which areas do RFS cover?
When is a construction project “notifiable”?
Does the 30 days include weekends, bank holidays etc?
What about Demolition?
Answers
How can I find out about changes in regulations?
RFS Consultancy produce bi-monthly newsletters, where we try to provide the latest health and safety news, updated legislation and details on how this may affect your company. If you would like to recieve a copy of this by email, please contact us. Alternatively, the HSE website is an extremely useful website with detailed yet easy to understand information.
Please contact us to request a copy of our newsletter to be emailed to you.
What is the best way to measure overall performance?
Whether you're involved in construction, manufacturing, production, warehousing and logistics or the service sector, an unannounced workplace inspection and audit will give you a 'real time' overview of how effective your health and safety arrangements and controls are working. This has proven to be a 'pro-active' mangement tool in the prevention of accidents.
For more information, please visit our 'Audit' information under 'H&S Management'
How should I report an accident?
Any accidents suffered at work should be investigated to determine the causes and ensure that they cannot happen again. Serious accidents also have to be reported to the Health & Safety Executive.
For more information, please visit our 'Audit' information under 'H&S Management'
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) requires the reporting of work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. It applies to all work activities, but not necessarily to all incidents.
For more information, please visit our 'Accident' information under 'H&S Management'
What support can RFS offer and when?
Here at RFS we pride ourselves on our proactive approach and assistance with any of your concerns regarding health and safety. We appreciate that whether you are an employer or employee, you have responsibilities regarding health and safety as well as your day to day activities and we will make every effort to support you and ensure that you have all controls in place necessary to comply with these duties.
RFS also offer a support plan, for more information please visit our 'Monthly Support Plan' information under 'H&S Management@
Any member of our team would be happy to discuss your query/request at any time. As our team come from a variation of working backgrounds our collective knowledge and experience enables us to assist our clients confidently, whether it is a general question or subject specific, we will ensure you obtain the answers you need.
Over the years RFS have provided support, both remotely and site-based to companies UK-wide. Our portfolio of sites include Glasgow, Swansea, Kent, Southampton as well as closer to home; Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Mid-Wales.
When is a construction project “notifiable”?
A project is notifiable to the HSE if the construction phase will be longer than 30 days or 500 person days of construction work.
Does the 30 days include weekends, bank holidays etc?
Any day on which construction work takes place is counted. What matters is how many days of construction work the project entails, not when these days occur.
A plan detailing the arrangements for how demolition work will be carried out must be prepared before demolition or dismantling work begins. This applies to all demolition work regardless of size, duration or whether the job is notifiable. Demolition means the deliberate pulling down, destruction or taking apart of a structure, or a substantial part of a structure. Similarly, dismantling will be considered to be the taking down or taking apart of all, or a substantial part of a structure. Construction operations such as the making of openings for doors, windows, services or removing non structural elements such as, stripping cladding, removing roof tiles and similar operations is not considered to be demolition or dismantling in themselves. Where these operations are combined with other operations they may together form demolition and dismantling projects. The erection and taking down of a scaffold used for the purposes of construction is construction work. The striking of a scaffold will not be considered to be the demolition or dismantling of a structure.
