Getting a Safety Statement

The Safety Statement is a written document, based on the Risk Assessment, which describes the risks and hazards of a workplace, the Control Measures that have been put into place and how safety in the workplace will be evaluated on an ongoing basis.

In order to comply with current legislation, an up to date written Safety Statement must be implemented by all employers, including the self-employed. Safety Statements must be reviewed and updated on a regular basis.

Steps involved in getting a Safety Statement

The first step in putting together a health and safety statement is to carry out a detailed and specific Risk Assessment of work practices and procedures within your organisation. Following on from this specific risks and hazards in your particular workplace are identified and control measures to address and minimise each risk and hazard are recommended. Within an organisation, the Safety Statement brings together all health and safety issues and addresses best practice in work safety procedures.

Steps in preparing a Safety Statement

In order to prepare a Safety Statement the employer must appoint a competent person to carry out this task. If a competent person is not available within the company then the director or senior manager must engage or employ a competent health and safety consultant to provide a site specific health and safety statement for the organisation.

It is imperative that an organisation's Safety Statement is specific to its activities and work safety procedures. Issues which must be taken into account include:

• The number of employees in the company
• What the company actually does –
  Is it a manufacturer of goods?
  Does it use hazardous chemicals in its manufacturing process?
  Do employees use machinery or other equipment in their daily tasks, which may be considered medium or high risk?.
  If so, how do we control such risks and ensure work safety?

Risk Assessment

Quite often in the workplace, an employer, director or senior manager may not identify a risk or hazard because it has become more serious over a long period of time. SafeHands will cast an independent eye over all Health & Safety issues in your organisation and sit down with you to discuss the most cost efficient way to address the issues which may be identified. Sometimes in organisations, a lot of the Health and Safety issues are down to what we call 'poor housekeeping' and are quite easily addressed with the right advice.

• NOISE
  Are employees exposed to high levels of noise whilst carrying out their daily duties? Has the employer provided PPE (personal protective equipment) for their protection? If so, do you actively encourage your employees to use this equipment?

If your work environment is consistently noisy it may be above the permitted noise levels. If this the case you may need to carry out a Noise Risk Assessment to establish the levels of noise exposure of your employee. If this is the case, the Noise Risk Assessment will suggest recommendations to control levels of exposure to noise. SafeHands can provide a cost efficient solution.

• FIRE SAFETY

Another issue which often arises in organisations is Fire Safety. Again, this matter is often quite easily addressed when the risk assessment is carried out and proper work safety procedures are put in place.

Our Health and Safety advisor will go through each step of the health and Safety Statement and Risk Assessment process with you when we visit your premises and answer any questions or concerns, which you may have.

How can SafeHands help You?

We will come and talk to you at your premises to assess your requirements (free of charge and give you a fair and reasonable quotation).

• SafeHands will carry out a complete survey of your site and premises evaluating work procedures, work processes, work equipment, management and workers themselves
• SafeHands will provide you with a Health & Safety Manual which incorporates a complete and site specific hazard analysis and Risk Assessment Survey. It will also include control suggestions to eliminate all risks, forming the foundation of your Health and Safety Statement and reflecting your organisations commitment to safety in the workplace.
• SafeHands will arrange a meeting to handover and familiarise management with the contents of the Safety Statement.

Call us on 01 7979836 or email - It costs nothing to talk!

Our Clients Say...

Noel brought our company up to standard in relation to Health and Safety standards. The first benefit was that it was hassle free. We had a very tight deadline and I had other things on. If I had got bogged down with it, it would have distracted me from other things. Safehands did all the running around for me.

The other benefit was that Safehands made me understand that Health and Safety had moved along a lot more than I had realised. From now on, we'll review our Health and Safety compliance annually.

Noel gives a good service and he gives a very personal service. He listens to what you want, and doesn't delay.

Dave Fitzgerald
Cunas
(Read the full interview on pickapro.ie)