21st February 2006, 03:23 PM
Hi everyone
Not really wishing to be a bit of a party-pooper here but I feel that the desired result of your endeavours will have not the slightest effect on site H&S. I wirte as someone who was previously responsible for H&S at one of the UKs biggest field units and therefore some experience in the matter (and yes - I do have COSHH and IOSH certification).
The SCAUM manual basically tells archaeological units which H&S regulations, policies and guidance are likely to apply to their work. In this it is fairly accurate and up to date, but there are some contentious issues. For example, with regard to the CDM Regs. the SCAUM manual states that archaeological units may become 'Contractors' undere these regs. but nothing beyond that. In actual fact, the unit that I worked for had been Contractor, Principal Contractor, Designer and Client - everything in fact other than Planning Supervisor, a role that we had declined on several occasions due to lack of experience, qualified personnel etc.
The SCAUM manual does not provide practical guidance on how to actually implement safe working paractice, and is couched in the usual H&S terminology of 'reasonably practicable'. what is more crucial for site staff to see is the company H&S policy, as this is the document that lays down how the unit has interpreted H&S guidance etc. and taken it forward to a practical level that can often be tighter than the actual HSE material.
For instance there is the issue of the safe depth of excavation with vertical sections. A common misconception is that there is a legal limit of 1.2m depth for vertical; sections. Not so - there used to be an HSE guidance note that suggested 4 feet (c. 1.2m) as a safe working limit, but note that this guidance, not legislation. It was then superceded by another guidance note that refered only to 'safe working depth' according to conditions etc (see HSE document 'Be Safe and Shore'). One way that a unit can deal with this is to have a policy that limits vertical sections to 1.2m maximum. Therefore excavation beyond this depth, whilst not illegal, is contrary to company policy and leaves the person responsible open to internal disciplinary action.
Risk Assessments can therefore cross-reference to company policy as well as HSE documents. Remember - any company with 5 or more employees needs a written H&S policy, and it is a legal requirement that that all employees (including temps) are entitled to see the policy on request. The Risk Assessments for any project (and all projects need them) must be easily available and read by all site staff - one way to achieve this is to set up a system whereby they are displayed in the site office and countersigned by all staff to agree that they have seen them.
Beamo
Not really wishing to be a bit of a party-pooper here but I feel that the desired result of your endeavours will have not the slightest effect on site H&S. I wirte as someone who was previously responsible for H&S at one of the UKs biggest field units and therefore some experience in the matter (and yes - I do have COSHH and IOSH certification).
The SCAUM manual basically tells archaeological units which H&S regulations, policies and guidance are likely to apply to their work. In this it is fairly accurate and up to date, but there are some contentious issues. For example, with regard to the CDM Regs. the SCAUM manual states that archaeological units may become 'Contractors' undere these regs. but nothing beyond that. In actual fact, the unit that I worked for had been Contractor, Principal Contractor, Designer and Client - everything in fact other than Planning Supervisor, a role that we had declined on several occasions due to lack of experience, qualified personnel etc.
The SCAUM manual does not provide practical guidance on how to actually implement safe working paractice, and is couched in the usual H&S terminology of 'reasonably practicable'. what is more crucial for site staff to see is the company H&S policy, as this is the document that lays down how the unit has interpreted H&S guidance etc. and taken it forward to a practical level that can often be tighter than the actual HSE material.
For instance there is the issue of the safe depth of excavation with vertical sections. A common misconception is that there is a legal limit of 1.2m depth for vertical; sections. Not so - there used to be an HSE guidance note that suggested 4 feet (c. 1.2m) as a safe working limit, but note that this guidance, not legislation. It was then superceded by another guidance note that refered only to 'safe working depth' according to conditions etc (see HSE document 'Be Safe and Shore'). One way that a unit can deal with this is to have a policy that limits vertical sections to 1.2m maximum. Therefore excavation beyond this depth, whilst not illegal, is contrary to company policy and leaves the person responsible open to internal disciplinary action.
Risk Assessments can therefore cross-reference to company policy as well as HSE documents. Remember - any company with 5 or more employees needs a written H&S policy, and it is a legal requirement that that all employees (including temps) are entitled to see the policy on request. The Risk Assessments for any project (and all projects need them) must be easily available and read by all site staff - one way to achieve this is to set up a system whereby they are displayed in the site office and countersigned by all staff to agree that they have seen them.
Beamo