As a consequence of this we have extended our training to ensure that our clients may be secure in the knowledge that any Brunel Surveys Ltd staff working on site are fully conversant with the relevant H&S procedures.
Safety ManagementPaul Haydon has been recently attended a Health and Safety traing course, the NEBOSH General paper.
Working with Colin Dollery (our Health and Safety consultant) we are now putting in place a health and safety management system which complies to HSG65
Our ability to actively manage Health and Safety enables us to take on jobs that other companies may not be able to do.
Some examples are working at height, working in rivers and lakes, lifting manhole covers in highways, entering sewers, working on quarries and landfills, entering old buildings where asbestos may be an issue and using a quad bike on rough terrain.
How do you find the depth of a manhole? If it is 2 metres deep easy, use a staff.
When it is 6 metres deep with an intermediate platform the only way is to enter the manhole
Entering a manhole without the proper training and procedures being used is a criminal offence. Our staff are trained, and we own the necessary equipment to effect entry safely.
Quarry Passport
Some quarrying companies insist that people working on their sites have an SPA quarry passport.
Two of our staff have these.
Working in Water
There are no specific regulations concerning working in water.
We have taken advice from a power boat training company in Poole, and have come up with our own set of risk assessments and safe working practices for working in, on or near to water. This includes such things as using a boat on a lake, drysuits in rivers, right down to the use of wellies in ditches.
The Working at Height regulations 2005 state that any member of staff working at height must be competent to do so.
We have three members of staff trained to level 2 working at height which includes the planning and management of working at height. Our staff, therefore, are qualifed not only to work at height, but to manange themselves and others (including trainees).
Many of our staff are trained to streetworks 2. This is a City and Guilds qualification that enables people to set up temporary traffic lights, and other lower grade traffic management procedures on County and urban roads.
This is a legal requirement for such things as lifting a manhole cover in a road. If we need to do this work we can liaise with the local highway authority and obtain the necessary permissions to do this work.
We have two vans set-up specifically to do this work, and own countless signs, cones, stop-go boards etc.