Places are limited so book early to reserve a space on the worlds only IOSH course for theatre and production.

This course is being run in one of the most prestigious West End Theatres. This will allow candidates to learn in an environment which is relevant to the industry and allow a unique insight into theatrelands health and safety.

This is a 4 day course with the next course taking place on the following dates:

21st, 28th Sep and 5th and 12th Oct.

Call 0845 2571489 to reserve a space .

To view full details of this course visit www.rbhealthandsafety.co.uk

Copy of some of the press received in this ground breaking course.

On a personal note I passed my exams which having taken five years was something I thought I would never do, so thank you to all my friends supporters and brains that I have picked!

Work wise it has been fascinating, each day is different never knowing whom I may get to speak to and where my path will cross. It could be having a quick conversation with Stephen Seagul or sitting next Garth Gates in make-up and I owe this entire name dropping to my work. What job could bring such diversity?

I am due to retire in the next few years and can honestly say I will miss the excitement of working.

This past year has seen RB continuing to  work across the UK and into Europe – helping small unique companies through to large European Agencies getting to  grips with health and safety in a common sense cost effective manner. We take the applause and criticism willingly the applause is great but the criticism is welcome also  because we are competitive and strive to be industry leaders which can only be achieved by continuous improvement and pushing back the boundaries sometimes we get it wrong, but no experience is ever wasted.

So what new for the ABTT this year? Well my friends and blog readers why not come to the show in the new venue @ the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London E16QL   on June 13^th and 14th and see us on the stand just beside the Catering area.

And what a year has passed! It began in January with excitement preparing for the IOSH Managing Safety for Theatres and Production and what a success that was. Gaining accreditation and showing the theatre world the new product. Gaining Trade praise was praise indeed.

Alongside this other opportunities were coming through allowing RB to work with other industries and Client groups.

RB others a diverse range of expertise so during the year our staff have trained and supported all types of health and safety activities from Blast Cleaning, Engineering, Nursery and Playgroups, Care Homes, and Live Theatre, the list is endless but I would just like to share one or two highlights.

You will have already read the account of our IOSH launch so I won’t repeat myself.

But what about the Gym who found themselves opening with less than a week to go without ANY health and safety arrangements in place? They did what most people do these days and “Goggled” and up popped RB. The conversation ran something like this

Good Morning RB……

Can you help we are opening next Thursday , a week from today and I need a H&S policy, training, fire risk assessment, extinguishers, workplace audit can you help?

Thinking on my feet I say very confidently “yes of course” you see RB has a good team who can always be relied on to provide an excellent service without the fuss.

The job was done in time for the opening and more importantly in time for the EHO visit.

My job is not always so dramatic there is a lot of making friends with customers building on relationships over years and sometimes it takes years for the customer to actually need your services, but when you get that phone call saying we spoke a few years ago and I would like to speak again about a service that gives me a warm glow.

Finally I would like to share a recent exciting trip which took me to a new country Switzerland, never having been to the Alps to see so much snow and not feel cold was amazing. The views were lovely the people friendly and to think I was getting paid for it as well was the icing on the cake.

So what adventures will 2012 bring me? I can honestly say I don’t know until that phone rings but what I do know is that without the RB team around me I could not do my job which would make me very sad.

So raise your glasses and share with me in saying “Happy New Year”

RB was given first class hospitality from the Delfont  Mackintosh theatre staff,  the Bar in the Prince of Wales Theatre, was beautiful, staff were made available lighting  our displays, to serve the wonderful food and champagne
and welcome our guests.

RB Team at the IOSH launch. Left to right: Justin Jarret (Operations Manager), Andy Willard (Graphic Designer), Richard Beale (Managing Director), Mark Collyer (Admin and Marketing), Jan Hall (Consultancy Manager), Kevin Haywood (Lead Trainer).

Inside I was a bag of nerves this was a big day for RB but also a big day for me, I had invested a lot into the project and despite what
you say I do take it personally, I wanted this day to be a great success. So with a new suit, haircut and Nails……………. yes nails let the day begin.

Our guests arrived, you could hear positive comments around the room, people smiled at our characters, were interested in the new board games and complimentary about the video clips. Food was enjoyed not to mention the drinks.

Soon it was time for the speeches ……….. Richard looked confident, Steve Granger President of IOSH delivered an informative address, Kevin Burgess talked passionately about why this training was needed and then all too soon it was my turn.

Richard Beale (Managing Director) talking at the IOSH launch

Over my career I had addressed various meetings but I can honestly say none were as important to me as the next few minutes, here sitting before me were people I admired, people who knew far more than me and people waiting to hear what I had to say.

Shaking inside and maybe on the surface I began to speak the mouth went dry but somewhere the words come. Looking out I saw encouragement from familiar faces. I truly believe in my work wanting first and foremost that people go to work and return home safety.

Steve Granger Talking at the Launch (president of IOSH)

I gave a short demonstration of the training materials which we at RB are very proud; the graphics were designed by a genius Andy Willard who was able to illustrate the subject in a fresh way.

It was then back to Richard who presented two celebratory drawings specially designed by Andy to thank both Cameron Mackintosh Limited and Delfont Mackintosh Theatres.

The launch was coming to a close our guests were leaving the room was cleared and finally I could relax with words or praise and encouragement ringing in my ears.

Now the work begins encouraging the decision makers to invest in this training,

In this present climate with every penny counting training is often the area to cut, however with the moves from the Theatre
Professionals, Unions and Enforcement Officers health and safety standards are constantly under review, the new IOSH Training is a great step forward, the syllabus of the training meets the needs for the professional and the accreditation gives
the delegates a industry recognised qualification.

Jan Hall (RBs Consultancy Manager) presenting a snapshot of the course.

Since the launch we have run the course and now realise that it can be a four day course not five days as suggested at the launch this can only be good news to the profession as this will be reflected in the price of
the course.

If you wish to know more about the course please contact me directly or RB

Well as a mother of two girls I am well used to planning great events from birthday parties to weddings and am glad to say all this experience came in very useful leading up to the launch on September 7th at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

After months of work, focus groups, research and burning the candle at both ends the day come to launch our newly accredited IOSH Managing Safety for Theatre and Production.

Many people contributed to the project however it was the foresight of the Cameron Mackintosh Limited and Delfont Mackintosh Team who saw the need for this ground breaking training which includes practical exercises, games and video clips all of which were designed/ produced by theatre professionals in actual theatres. RB were given unprecedented access to The Delfont Mackintosh Theatres to film, take photos and interact with the staff who all may be potential delegates allowing a unique insight to the theatre world.

The preparation paid off and the final version includes a delegate workbook full of bright illustrations taking the delegates through health and safety issues step by step.

Delegates gain pearls of wisdom from the Chief Electrician, Master Carpenter, Stage Manager, Wardrobe Mistress, Wigs, and finally the Actor.

What is health and safety

Not wanting to point out the obvious, but one question which has been asked of me on a few occasions is, what is health and safety?. Most of you reading this probably have a very good idea of what health and safety is, being that the subject has had a lot of publicity in the press and you will probably have come into contact with it at work. A lot of the press and interaction you may have had with the subject might have been seen in a bad light, the press often publish stories whereby health and safety is blamed for stopping things, such as stopping children form playing conkers at school. Well I would like to achieve two things with this post, firstly I would like to explain what health and safety is and secondly I hope to show how, if applied properly, health and safety can help in your working life, without stopping things from happening.

So what is health and safety. Frankly in my opinion it is common sense, we all apply it in every day life, you don’t cross a road without checking that there are no hazards such as moving cars, if there were cars coming then you wouldn’t cross the road if there was a strong likelihood of the cars colliding with you (ie if the risk is high). You would probably base this decision on how far away the cars are, how fast they are going and how far you have to go to get to safety.

At the workplace the health and safety executive (HSE) enforce what is known as the health and safety at work act 1974. This act has a number of sections which place a duty on both the employer and employee. From an employers point of view, your required to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable the health, safety and welfare of your employees. The question asked by most employers is how do I do this? To achieve this a range of supporting regulations have been written to help you, if you follow these then you will achieve the aim of ensuring your staff’s safety. Examples of health and safety regulations include:

- Management of health and safety
- First aid at work regulations
- Work at height regulations
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) regulations

Basically if you can think of a subject at work there is likely to be a regulation somewhere which will tell you how to do it safely and these can be found on the HSE website.

So how do we apply common sense to health and safety? Well good practice is to apply the 5 simple steps of risk assessment (which will be explored in a further blog). In applying these steps take a common sense approach, consider if someone can be harmed by what your doing and if they can then do something to make it safe. To me that is simple and common sense, something which you would be doing anyway, only we are giving it the name of “risk assessment”. It is not about stopping what your doing, it’s about making it safe, remember you can’t remove all the risks in everything you do, there will

always be some risk but its about controlling that risk and reducing it as far as is reasonably practicable. So you can get on with doing what your good at, only with the knowledge that you have done everything reasonably practicable to ensure safety of anyone who can be affected.

Occupational Safety and Health Consultant Register

Whilst consultants can still operate without being on the register it is acknowledged that checking this register and ensuring that either your consultant or their company director is listed will offer you the piece of mind to know that they have been through the robust approval process. Access to the register is free and can be found at http://www.oshcr.org/ as you will see it hold a simple search function where you can find details of consultants such as RB Health and Safety who are listed at RB Health and Safety Solutions Ltd. 

The HSE took a fantastic opportunity to speak with Chris Grayling the employment minister about the register and why it is important.  This interview can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/oshcr/index.htm or see the attached file below.

Health and Safety Consultants Register London

For us to ensure we supply the service you require at the quality you expect, we have one or two Quality Assurance systems in place which I have listed below, but before I go into them lets have a look at the definition of Quality Assurance.

Definition (Oxford Dictionary):- the maintenance of a desired level of quality in a service or product, especially by means of attention to every stage of the process of delivery or production.

So we have systems in place that make sure you get the service you want at its best from inception to the final delivery and beyond. The systems we use to ensure this takes place are as follows:

• ISO 9001 Quality Management Standard (recognised throughout the world) including the following:

1. Processes that create and control the products and services we supply.
2. Prescribes systematic control of activities to ensure that the needs and expectations of our customers are met.
3. Annual internal audit completed by Operations Manager utilising all department managers and staff and recorded within the QM standard which is then over viewed as per item 4
4. Annual audit carried out of this system by ISOQAR ensuring compliance for now and the future.

• Consultants, Trainers and Fire Extinguisher Engineers audited annually by either internal or external (accredited) auditors i.e. BAFE, HSE.
•  Training/CPD plans required/adhered to for all staff within their chosen field and additionally if required as agreed with management (including all administration staff and management).
• Feedback forms for candidates and Clients for overview of the service supplied.
• Non- Compliance Procedure in place for any eventuality, i.e. incorrect equipment supplied, poor service etc. A full report is completed after discussion with the client, the member of staff involved and the relevant manager. The report advises of the reason of the non-compliance and the agreed Corrective Action and if required the Long Term Preventative Action and is forward to all concerned, whilst being recorded internally.
• Rigid complaints procedure for clients and staff recorded and audited within the ISO 9001 system (please see non-compliance procedure above).
• Training materials (e.g. books) audited by external auditors where required i.e. IOSH, CIEH and HSE

As you can see we have excellent Quality Assurance Systems in place and we are very proud of the achievement. It helps us time and time again to gain work from local education, Colleges, SME’s to large business of all types in the UK and abroad, we believe this is because they know we take pride in everything we do, starting from the Managing Director and throughout the company.

Noise at Work

An estimated 9 million people who are hard of hearing live in the UK. The vast majority have presbycusis or age-related hearing loss, but there a considerable number with noise-induced hearing loss, often abbreviated to NIHL. The main difference between the two and the subject of this article is that NIHL is preventable because it caused by exposure to a noise source.

Noise induced hearing loss

What Goes Wrong When Noise Induced Hearing Loss Happens?

On a simplified level, there are three main areas of the human hearing system. These are the outer ear that can be seen alongside the earcanal; the middle ear and finally the inner ear where sound is processed and transmitted to the auditory cortex in the brain for interpretation. Loud noise damages the hair cells in the inner ear and can cause hearing loss, ear ringing and distortion of sounds. The three factors which will determine the hearing loss are how close the person is to the noise source, how long the exposure lasted for and how loud was it. 

Ear

Taking Action Against NIHL

In line with the Noise Regulations of 2005, employers have a duty to prevent or reduce risks to employees from exposure to high levels of noise at work. The way to reduce the possibility of noise induced hearing loss is by no means a simple task. It takes a combination of steps, including adhering to safety procedures and using hearing protection.

Areas with noise levels exceeding 85dB will need to be subject to noise reduction controls.

In order to identify these areas, a noise assessment is required, usually carried out by a health and safety consultant. Once an area is defined and targeted, the following can be used to reduce the noise.

1. Make hearing protection mandatory – These comprise earplugs, earmuffs and ear defenders. Each has a different upper ceiling level in terms of dB reduction and two aids can work together to enhance this upper ceiling level. Some degree of sound must be heard and employees should never be completely isolated. The most popular are earplugs which offer noise reduction of up to 20dB and earmuffs which provide higher noise reduction levels based on their standard.

2. Make hearing health professionals available to staff – employees should be given access to regular hearing tests and allow the required time off work in order to have these carried out.

3. Enable employees to report noise hazards – Noise in the work place is caused by equipment and processes that place their hearing under risk from volume or duration of exposure. A quiet area one day can turn into a noisy area the next so it is essential to allow employees to report a change in condition and for such a report to be taken seriously.

4. Offer on-going training – The use of any process or protection aid is only effective when used correctly. Where hearing protection is mandatory suitable training should be given.

Article written by Joan McKechnie BSc Hons Audiology & Speech Pathology. Joan works for Hearing Direct, which offers a range of hearing equipment for the deaf and hard of hearing from hearing aid batteries to such devices as mobile phones for hard of hearing and other accessories.