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Insight by

Bob Evans

Bob Evans

Published on

14 December 2024

Health and safety blog

Introduction

Our fully approved, health and safety online training courses are perfect for gaining qualifications for you and your employees. We can deliver all the training you need for an SSIP assessment and all essential health and safety awareness.

Our engaging courses can be taken at any time, in any place and on any device. All courses are approved and priced to offer the best possible value to your business.

FREE Trial

You can sign up here for a free trial of our health and safety online training courses.

A trial account gives you free access to the first module of all our available courses.

Any progress you make will be saved, so if you decide to buy, you can continue from where you left off.

So complete the form on this page to get instant access, and let’s get started.

Start your FREE trial

Available health and safety online training courses

You can also select a course you are interested in and click on the FREE trial button on the course. Select any courses from the list below:

The courses available are:

Need support

Once you have seen what we offer, don’t hesitate to get in touch, and we will be happy to set you up with your health and safety online training solution.

If you get stuck or need some help feel free to get in touch.

Testimonial

Hyperion

I just wanted to send you a quick email about the amazing staff you have on your team.

Natasha has been dealing with Hyperion for a couple of years now, and we have received nothing but exceptional service from this young lady. I get the quickest responses, with as much help as possible provided every single time. She has gone above and beyond for myself and Mark every time I have spoken to her.

I thought I would just share this with you as I feel her remarkable customer service and attitude towards the job should most definitely be recognised, and she’s an absolute credit to yourself and the rest of the team.

Thanks to all at Seguro

Kind Regards

Saskia

Download our FREE Toolbox talks

Insight by

Bob Evans

Bob Evans

Published on

Health and safety blog

70 FREE Toolbox Talks

Download our FREE Toolbox talks – Toolbox talks are short health and safety talks. The talks are designed to inform workers about potential hazards they may encounter while performing their duties on site.

The topics discussed directly relate to the tasks and hazards at the worksite. For example, if drainage trenches are to be excavated on site, the site supervisor can talk about the dangers, hazards, good practice and working close to deep excavations, to keep people safe.

Key Benefits of Tool box Talks

Our Free tool box talk documents are written in house by our consultants and cover all the main topics including:

TT1 – Abrasive Wheels

TT2 – Accident Prevention & Control

TT3 – Accident Reporting & Investigation

TT4 – Alcohol and Drugs

TT5 – Asbestos

TT6 – Benefits of Safety

TT7 – Buried Services

TT8 – Cartridge-Operated Tools

TT9 – Chainsaws

TT10 – Control of Dust & Fumes

TT11 – Control of Noise

TT12 – COSHH

TT13 – Electricity on Site

TT14 – Excavations

TT15 – Fire Prevention & Control

TT16 – First Aid

TT17 – General Safety Legislation

TT18 – General Site Health & Safety

TT19 – Health & safety at Work Act 1974

TT20 – Health on Site

TT21 – HFLs & Petroleum Based Adhesives

TT22 – Hoists and Hoist Towers

TT23 – Hydro Demolition

TT24 – Ladders

TT25 – Lead Hazards

TT26 – Legal Duties of Employees

TT27 – Lifting Accessories

TT28 – Lifting Equipment & Operations

TT29 – LPG & Other Compressed Gases

TT30 – Manual Handling

TT31 – Mobile Elevating Work Platforms

TT32 – Mobile Plant

TT33 – Mobile Scaffold Towers

TT34 – Needle-stick Injuries

TT35 – Personal Hygiene

TT36 – Personal Protective Equipment

TT37 – Piling

TT38 – Plant & Equipment

TT39 – Pollution Control

TT40 – Portable, Hand-held Tools

TT41 – Powers of the HSE

TT42 – Protection of Eyes

TT43 – Protection of Skin

TT44 – Risk Assessment & Method Statements

TT45 – Road & Street Safety

TT46 – Safe Stacking of Materials

TT47 – Safe Working at Height

TT48 – Safety in Demolition

TT49 – Safety Inspections & Consultation

TT50 – Safety Nets & Suspension Equipment

TT51 – Safety with Steelwork

TT52 – Security on Site

TT53 – Signallers and Slingers

TT54 – Site Transport

TT55 – Slips, Trips and Falls

TT56 – Sun Safety

TT57 – System Scaffolds

TT58 – Trackside Safety

TT59 – Trestles and Stepladders

TT60 – Tube & Fittings Scaffolding

TT61 – Vehicle Fuels

TT62 – Vibration

TT63 – Waste Management

TT64 – Water Jetting

TT65 – Weil’s Disease

TT66 – Welfare Arrangements

TT67 – Woodworking Machines

TT68 – Working in Confined Spaces

TT69 – Working over Water

TT70 – Young People on Site

Free Toolbox Talks Download

All toolbox talk documents are in MS Word Format so you can easily amend them and bespoke them to your needs. There are over 70 in the pack including an attendance register.

Download 70 FREE toolbox talks

What is PQS accreditation

Insight by

Bob Evans

Bob Evans

Published on

1 December 2024

PQS accreditation

PQS accreditation

Find out what PQS accreditation is and how it can save you money and streamline health and safety assessments.

A PQS accreditation is an approved SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) accreditation.

SSIP is an umbrella organisation formed in 2009 to reduce the duplication of health and safety assessments.

SSIP does not carry out the assessments; 30 companies, including PQS, do that.

Why PQS

PQS has designed the most efficient and affordable SSIP accreditation certification process.

PQS was set up to be the most affordable and straightforward SSIP member scheme in the UK market while retaining great value and simple processes.

The deem to satisfy scheme developed by SSIP means a PQS certificate is equal to all other suppliers, for example, CHAS, Constructionline, and Safe Contractor.

While SSIP schemes save money on processes and simplify health and safety procurement for suppliers, they are priced quite differently in the UK market.

SSIP approval is recognised UK-wide, and its purpose is to save contractors time tendering for work.

PQS is approved for all SSIP Categories and/or CDM Duty holders across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

For organisations in the United Kingdom, we can provide all the following categories:

– SSIP Approved
– SSIP Approved: Contractor
– SSIP Approved: Principal Contractor
– SSIP Approved: Designer
– SSIP Approved: Principal Designer
– SSIP Approved: IE Contractor
– SSIP Approved: IE Project Supervisor Construction Stage (PSCS)
– SSIP Approved: IE Project Supervisor Design Process (PSDP)
– SSIP Approved: IE Designer

PQS assessment criteria

The PQS assessment criteria are the same as those of all SSIP suppliers. SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) is an umbrella organisation formed in 2009 to reduce the duplication of health and safety assessments.

The PQS assessment standards and requirements are listed below.

  • Policy
  • Arrangements
  • Occupational Health
  • Behavioural Management
  • Enforcement Actions
  • Accident Reporting and Investigation
  • Fleet Operations / Management Scheme
  • Competent Advice – Corporate and Construction
  • Drug and Alcohol Policy
  • Training and Information
  • Individual Qualifications and Experience
  • Monitoring, Audit and Review
  • Risk Assessment Leading to a Safe System of Work
  • Workforce Involvement
  • Co-operation and Co-ordination
  • Welfare Provision
  • Subcontractors and Sub-consultants
  • Contractor
  • Principal Contractor
  • Designer

PQS Support

Completing the PQS application takes time and resources, as well as completing lots of forms and health and safety documentation.

We can make it easy for you by doing all the leg work for you. We carry out over 500 applications a year with 100% success.

For a small fee, we can take the pain away for you.

Complete the form, or call us on 0800 031 5404 and we will tell you how it works and how much the whole process costs, including the PQS fee for your circumstances.

    Do I need to be a CHAS accredited contractor?

    Insight by

    Bob Evans

    Bob Evans

    Published on

    24 October 2024

    CHAS

    Table of contents

    Do I need to be a CHAS accredited contractor?

    If you are self-employed or a small contractor do you need to be a CHAS accredited contractor. You may be asked to get CHAS or other SSIP certificate. Let us explain the situation to you.

    Domestic Market

    If you work in the domestic market and want to sail close to the wind, the answer is no, as homeowners will not insist that you work safely.

    However, you have a duty of care for yourself and others under UK health and safety legislation. Even working in the domestic market, you will be in trouble if you have a terrible accident or cause harm to others.

    Construction Market

    The answer is yes if you work in the construction market or want to work there. You will need to have a recognised standard of health and safety.

    Main contractors and clients such as local authorities insist that everyone who works for them has a standard of health and safety. They insist as it is part of their health and safety systems.

    The most well-known standard is CHAS, but there are other providers of the same standard under the SSIP umbrella. SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) is a organisation that manages accreditation suppliers, to ensure they work to the same standards.

    The size of your business matters

    If you are self-employed or a small contractor with less than 5 employees, you need CHAS or similar, SSIP but you will not be required to employ a competent person safety advisor.

    You must employ a competent person safety advisor if you employ 5 or more people, including sub-contractors or other self-employed people. The easiest way to do this is to use a remote competent person safety advisor. We offer this service.

    What is CHAS

    The Core Criteria and the threshold standard of CHAS and all the other SSIP accreditations  is as follows:

    • Health & safety policy
    • Competent Advice
    • Training arrangements
    • Monitoring, audit and review
    • Workforce involvement
    • Accident reporting and enforcement action
    • Subcontracting/consulting
    • Risk Assessments and Safe Systems of Work
    • Cooperations with others
    • Welfare provision
    • Hazard elimination

    Learn more about CHAS

    We have a series of articles where you can learn more about CHAS. The list of articles is below:

    The Good News

    We are here to support you through the process; we can prepare all the documents, complete the registration forms, and simplify the process. CHAS is expensive, but other providers are very economical. The best thing to do is chat with us and learn more; we can tell you about the costs and the time frame. Our number is 0800 031 5404, or you can complete the form below.







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      Bespoke Risk Assessment & Method Statements

      Insight by

      amanda

      Amanda Lambert

      Published on

      7 October 2024

      Health and safety blog

      Table of contents

      Bespoke risk assessment and method statement

      Get customised risk assessment & method statements for your projects, or select one of our many ready to go templates.

      You can easily tailor the template to meet your specific needs.

      We provide standard and bespoke RAMS (risk and method statements).

      Standard RAMS

      We provide a wide range of risk assessment & method statements in template format on our website. Each can be five to sixteen pages long and contain between 3,000 and 9,000 words.

      The RAMS are within a template and cover all the principal risks and methods to carry out a specific job. The RAM Templates need the client’s involvement as there will be a comprehensive sequence of work that could apply. As the client, you would be responsible for ensuring that this sequence was relevant to yourself and, if not amended to reflect your process.

      Our standard RAMS cost from £6 to £12 per RAM or are provided free as part of our Safety Advisory service or Competent person service.

      Review our standard RAMS

      Bespoke risk assessment and method statements

      Bespoke RAMS are when the client has a very specific request that does not fall into any template we have available. Bespoke RAMS are tailored to include the process you carry out and ensure that all risks are appropriate to the job and site you are working on.

      Writing a bespoke RAMS requires input from one of the consultants, so we will charge a fee. Whatever your requirements, we will have the solution to support you.

      Use the form on this page to tell us about your requirements, and we will give you an economical fee to write it up for you using one of our templates.

      Please complete the form below and give us some details about your requirements.

      Complete the form below and we will get in touch







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        CHAS assessment criteria

        Insight by

        Bob Evans

        Bob Evans

        Published on

        27 September 2024

        CHAS

        CHAS assessment criteria

        The CHAS assessment criteria are the same as those of all SSIP suppliers. SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) is an umbrella organisation formed in 2009 to reduce the duplication of health and safety assessments.

        The CHAS assessment standards and requirements are listed below.

        • Policy
        • Arrangements
        • Occupational Health
        • Behavioural Management
        • Enforcement Actions
        • Accident Reporting and Investigation
        • Fleet Operations / Management Scheme
        • Competent Advice – Corporate and Construction
        • Drug and Alcohol Policy
        • Training and Information
        • Individual Qualifications and Experience
        • Monitoring, Audit and Review
        • Risk Assessment Leading to a Safe System of Work
        • Workforce Involvement
        • Co-operation and Co-ordination
        • Welfare Provision
        • Subcontractors and Sub-consultants
        • Contractor
        • Principal Contractor
        • Designer

        Below is a flavour of the detail required for the first five parts of the CHAS application.

        Policy

        The Health and Safety Policy should be:

        • In the correct company name (As listed on the CHAS 2013 Ltd application)
        •  Dated within the last 12 months
        • Approved by the appropriate company director / responsible person
        • Lists the persons with health and safety responsibilities and sets out the responsibilities of H&S management throughout the organisation.

        We can make the process of the CHAS application easy for you by doing it for you.

        Arrangements

        The arrangements section of the Health and Safety policy should include but not limited to the following:

        • Accident reporting, including RIDDOR, first aid and work-related ill health 
        • Training
        • Information, instruction & supervision
        • Communication
        • Risk assessment
        • Monitoring
        • Emergency procedures
        • Asbestos
        • COVID -19

        Occupational Health

        The policy or arrangements should include the following:

        • Measures to raise awareness of these issues such as posters and toolbox talks

        • How the workforce can access help and support if suffering from these issues Health & Safety Assessment Guidance v1.0 (website) 05/07/2023 Uncontrolled document when printed Page 2 of 13 Classification: PUBLIC • How the workforce is trained to handle these issues such as access to accredited mental health first aid training.

        Behavioural Management

        The supporting evidence must confirm that there are documented arrangements in place for a behavioural management or behavioural safety programme.

        Enforcement Actions

        Details of any enforcement notices (Prohibition, Improvement or Crown) or prosecutions served on your company in the last five years by the HSE or Local Authority and the remedial actions taken to prevent a reoccurrence. A prosecution or notice will not debar the business from registration but a failure to declare one could – please note that CHAS will check the HSE public register of convictions.

        Accident Reporting and Investigation

        Supporting Information:

        • Documented arrangements for the recording, reporting, and reporting of accidents (Including RIDDOR reportable accidents).

        • Records of all RIDDOR-reportable and other incidents for at least the last three years, including remedial actions to prevent a reoccurrence.
        • Records of any other accidents within the last three years, including the remedial actions to prevent a reoccurrence. The accident statistics for the last three years incorporating the following categories: Health & Safety Assessment Guidance v1.0 (website) 05/07/2023 Uncontrolled document when printed Page 3 of 13 Classification: PUBLIC
        • Deaths
        • Specified Injuries
        • Over 3 days incapacitated
        • Over 7 days Incapacitated
        • Injuries to non-workers
        • Occupational Diseases
        • Dangerous Occurrences
        • Gas Incidents

        Chas assessment standards

         

        Learn more about CHAS

        We have a series of articles where you can learn more about CHAS. The list of articles is below:

        CHAS Support

        Completing the CHAS application takes time and resources, as well as completing lots of forms and health and safety documentation.

        We can make it easy for you by doing all the leg work for you. We carry out over 500 applications a year with 100% success.

        For a small fee, we can take the pain away for you.

        Complete the form, and we will tell you how it works and how much the whole process costs, including the CHAS fee for your circumstances.







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          Asbestos awareness training – Keep your team safe

          Insight by

          amanda

          Amanda Lambert

          Published on

          10 September 2024

          Asbestos

          Asbestos Awareness Training

          Stay compliant and prioritise safety with asbestos awareness training. Provide your employees with the necessary training to handle asbestos safely. Developed by health and safety training experts.

          It is your employers responsibility to ensure that any employee who may come into contact or disturb asbestos carrying out their normal daily work tasks have been given the correct level of training. Enabling employees to have the knowledge to ensure that they can work safely and competently without risk to themselves or others working around them.

          There are three main levels of information, instruction and training.

          • Asbestos awareness
          • Non-licensable work with asbestos including NNLW
          • Licensable work with asbestos.

          Asbestos Awareness

          Asbestos Awareness Training can be provided in a number of forms but the most common and easiest form is to provide employees with access to Asbestos Awareness Online Training. The training is intended to provide the employees with the the information you need to avoid work that may disturb asbestos during any normal work which could disturb the fabric of a building, or other item which might contain asbestos. The training is not intended for anyone who will be involved in the removal of Asbestos.

          Asbestos Awareness training should cover the following:

          • how to avoid the risk of exposure to asbestos
          • the effects of asbestos on health and its properties, including the increased risk of developing lung cancer for asbestos workers who smoke
          • asbestos materials in buildings and plant, the types, uses and likely hood of it being present
          • the general procedures to deal with an emergency, eg. an uncontrolled release of asbestos dust into the workplace

          We can provide access to an Asbestos Awareness Online Training for any employers looking to ensure their employees are covered.

          All other levels of asbestos and the information and training needed can be found on the HSE website.

          Available health and safety online training courses

          You can also select a course you are interested in and click on the free trial button on the course. Select any courses from the list below:

          The courses available are:

          Health and Safety Policy

          Insight by

          amanda

          Amanda Lambert

          Published on

          7 September 2024

          Health and safety blog

          Do I need a health and safety policy?

          Find out why even small businesses need a health and safety policy. Learn how to write a policy that meets legal requirements and keeps your employees safe.

          If you employ less than five people, you still need a health and safety policy; you can verbally communicate to employees or others who may be affected by your business activities.

          Businesses with more than five people must have a more detailed health and safety policy that includes the organisation and arrangements.

          The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain. It’s sometimes referred to as HSWA, the HSW Act, the 1974 Act or HASAWA.

          How to write the policy

          A policy is a written statement which has three essential parts:

          1) Health & Safety Policy

          The health and safety policy details a statement of intent. The statement of intent details your aims and objectives, health and safety policy, processes and systems to prevent accidents, train your employees, supply PPE, etc. The policy is signed and dated by the most senior person, the managing director.

          (2) Organisation of Health and Safety – Roles and Responsibilities

          The organisation of health and safety is best done by developing an organisation chart, with the most senior person at the top, then detailing the people who are responsible for the day-to-day running of all matters concerning health and safety. An example is:

          • Managing director
          • Health and safety advisor
          • Fire safety manager
          • Health and safety training manager
          • Risk assessments and method statements manager
          • PPE manager
          • Control of substances hazardous to health COSHH manager

          In small businesses, one person may have many roles

          3) Arrangements for health and safety – How are risks managed?

          The arrangements for health and safety should detail how the organisation aims to achieve its aims. For example:

          • Develop risk assessments
          • Training of people
          • Consulting with people
          • Fire and emergency arrangements
          • First aid arrangements
          • Reporting of accidents, injuries and dangerous incidents
          • Arrangements for working at height, manual handling, etc.

          Tips to write a health and safety policy

          Here are some tips for creating a health and safety policy:

          Be specific – Tailor it to your business and clearly state who is responsible for what. 

          Get buy-in – Involve all stakeholders, especially those with significant safety responsibilities, to ensure the policy is accurate. 

          Review regularly – Update the policy annually or when there are changes to the business, such as a new management structure or expansion. 

          The benefits of having a written policy for businesses of any size including: 

          • Demonstrating a commitment to the health and safety of employees, customers, contractors, and the public
          • Clarifying responsibilities
          • Building confidence when seeking new contracts or tenders

          Buy a policy

          We have written several health and safety policies. Click on the link to review them: Health and safety policies.

          We can write a policy for you if you can’t see your company type above.

          SEGURO Support

          If you would like and advice on a Health & Safety Policy, call us on 0800 031 5404 or complete the form below, and we will contact you.







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            What is Builders Profile?

            Insight by

            amanda

            Amanda Lambert

            Published on

            14 August 2024

            Health and safety blog

            What is Builders Profile?

            Find out how Builders Profile streamlines subcontractor procurement. Get all the details you need in one convenient location.

            Builder’s Profile provides a service enabling clients and contractors to procure the services of subcontractors who have demonstrated compliance and provided the necessary PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaire) information.

            The accessible database allows companies to submit their information and keep it up to date easily for clients and contractors to review. If you are a client or a contractor, it gives you one location to view all the details you need to manage a supply chain, no matter how large or small.

            The idea is that subcontractors are able to fill in one PQQ instead of having to fill in different ones for each contractor they want to work with.

            The benefit for contractors of Builder’s Profile is that all the information you need to select a subcontractor is in one place.  This can help reduce the cost of procurement as well as administration.

            There are various levels of membership available

            • Main Contractor Membership
            • Subcontractor Premium Membership
            • Subcontractor Basic Membership
            • Members of our Partner Trade Associations, Premium Membership
            • Members of Supporting Trade Associations share a discounted Premium Membership

            The Key Benefits

            • You do not need to manage multiple profiles and documents over several platforms.
            • A secure system that allows you to keep your PQQ files and documents all in one place.
            • Access to Marketplace allows you to see and tender for thousands of private and public construction market projects.
            • Access to Acclaim. Acclaim is one of the founding members of SSIP to obtain SSIP accreditation.

            What does a Builder’s Profile cost?

            For a sub-contractor, the membership fee depends on your turnover; the price range is between £149 to £349 + VAT per annum. (January 2025)

            If you hold a constructionline membership, a combined membership is possible.

            SEGURO Support

            The world of PQQ’s SSIP accreditation suppliers, such as CHAS, Constructionline, PQS, and Builders Profile, is complex.

            If you would like FREE support to help you work out the best option, please call us on 0800 031 5404, or we can contact you. Complete the form below, and we will get in touch.







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              Do you need a Fire Risk Assessment?

              Insight by

              amanda

              Amanda Lambert

              Published on

              22 July 2024

              Fire safety

              General Fire Awareness TrainingDo you need a Fire Risk Assessment?

              1. Who’s responsible

              If you’re an landlord, business owner, occupier, or other non-domestic premises, you’ll be the person responsible for fire safety. You’re known as the ‘responsible person’. The Fire Safety Order also applies if you run a bed and breakfast, guesthouse or let a self-catering property as you have paying guests.

              Responsibilities

              As the responsible person you must:

              • carry out a fire risk assessment of the premises and review it regularly
              • tell staff or their representatives about the risks you’ve identified
              • put in place, and maintain, appropriate fire safety measures
              • plan for an emergency
              • provide staff information, fire safety instruction and training

              Non-domestic premises

              Non-domestic premises are:

              • all workplaces and commercial premises
              • all premises the public have access to
              • the common areas of multi-occupied residential buildings

              2. Fire risk assessments

              As the responsible person you must carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment of the premises. This will identify what you need to do to prevent fire and keep people safe.

              You’ll need to consider:

              • emergency routes and exits
              • fire detection and warning systems
              • fire fighting equipment
              • the removal or safe storage of dangerous substances
              • an emergency fire evacuation plan
              • the needs of vulnerable people, eg the elderly, young children or those with disabilities
              • providing information to employees and other people on the premises
              • staff fire safety training

              Help with the assessment

              You can do the fire risk assessment yourself with the help of standard fire safety advice documents.

              You’ll need to appoint a ‘competent person’ to help, eg a professional risk assessor, if you don’t have the expertise or time to do the fire risk assessment yourself.

              Your local fire and rescue authority might be able to give you advice if you’re not sure your risk assessment’s been carried out properly. However, they can’t carry out risk assessments for you.