A key challenge for any business that operates
out of multiple sites is to effectively convey health & safety
messages to all of its employees. Crucially, every manager and team
member must understand how to translate the theory into practice
and, for the avoidance of error, policies and activities should be
carried out in a standardised way across all sites.
As any business grows, the ability of senior
management to keep tabs on every aspect of its day-to-day running
becomes increasingly difficult. Staying up to date with current
legislation and making sure that all staff have sufficient
knowledge of what’s required of them with regards to health &
safety is practically a job in itself.
EVERYDAY PROCEDURES
Dave Spurgeon, who is Stellison’s allocated
Health & Safety Consultant at Mentor, says that the Mentor
certified course is aimed at directors, managers and supervisors
who need to learn about the practical application of health &
safety duties and activities in the workplace. It’s not enough to
know the legislation; business leaders must also be able to live
it, by translating the requirements into everyday procedures.
Explains Dave: “We begin with an overview of
current health & safety law and go on to cover the benefits and
costs of good and bad health & safety practices. We discuss how
to address risk assessment and control, assess manual handling,
deal with hazardous substances and manage accidents, and show how
consultation and training can help in all of these areas.”
One of the beneficiaries of Mentor’s
comprehensive one-day course has been Stellison Ltd. The leading
electrical appliances, accessories and fittings retailer has
multiple outlets in Essex and East Anglia as well as a central
warehouse and distribution centre at its head office site in
Benfleet, Essex. As the company’s allocated consultant, Dave put
all of the company’s store managers through the one-day course
after it became clear that a standardised approach to health &
safety was needed for the growing business.
After Stellison had been made aware by Mentor
of its duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises, the
company duly had the required asbestos surveys conducted and
registers put in place at each of its sites. It was decided that,
wherever possible and as identified in the asbestos survey, any
asbestos found was to be removed. Each site then arranged locally
for a licensed contractor to safely remove and dispose of the
asbestos, as is legally required.
Unfortunately, one of the sites failed to
conduct a full check of its chosen contractor’s credentials.
Stellison Managing Director Steve Scogings explains: “Although the
contractor said he was licensed to remove asbestos, we didn’t check
to see if he had the licence and it turned out that he didn’t. We
inadvertently used someone we shouldn’t have and we came unstuck,
which wouldn’t have happened if we’d followed the rules
properly.”
Steve turned to Mentor for help immediately
after the initial visit by the enforcing officer. As well as giving
guidance and practical support to deal with the immediate
enforcement action, including assisting Stellison to successfully
meet the requirements of the improvement notice, Mentor provided
Stellison’s legal defence. Mentor’s legal defence providers – whom
Steve describes as “superb” – dealt directly with the enforcing
authority and saw the case through to the court appearance.
24-HOUR ADVICE SERVICE
Stellison has since clarified its company
policy and now full licence checks are made as a matter of course.
The company knows it can call on Mentor through its 24-hour Advice
Service for further guidance, knowing its Consultant will be made
aware of the call and will contact the relevant site manager to
offer any further assistance.
In addition to putting its store managers
through the Mentor Managing Health & Safety: A Practical
Approach course, Stellison made sure this learning filtered down to
store teams. Dave continues to deliver management training, helping
the business to stay up to date with staff instruction.
Following the breach, the company was keen to
address all pertinent health & safety risks. As a business
built on the sale of heavy white and brown goods, specialist manual
handling training for its warehouse managers and operatives was
another priority. Mentor delivered this practical training
in-house, along with guidance on risk assessments used when
handling goods at all stages of the process from intake at
warehouse to customer deliveries. Practical guidance on managing
road risk and vehicle fleet operations has also been given by
Mentor.
Stellison uses the Employment Law & HR
Service and Steve speaks highly of the company’s longstanding
relationship with Mentor. “The Advice Service is there for
day-to-day issues – my managers all have the number and an account
code, and they can phone in and ask any questions about their
site.
“Our Consultant helps us with loads of
different things, not just with problems. He shows us how to keep
records efficiently and checks that everything’s neat and tidy.”
Using the Mentor document system at its stores and head office
means that Stellison now has very good standardisation of its
health & safety practices. After an environmental health
officer (EHO) pays an impromptu visit to one of the stores, Dave
delivers follow-up support. Where recommendations are made by the
EHO, Dave will visit the outlet to help the local manager comply
with the actions identified.
Stellison opened its flagship store in
Chelmsford a couple of years after the asbestos breach. The
positive and conscientious response of the company to the
enforcement action stood Stellison in good stead and the business
is thriving. It was named Best Domestic Appliances Retailer at the
ERT Industry Awards 2010, and the company has been nominated for
another award this year. And following a visit to the Chelmsford
outlet, the local EHO gave Stellison and the Mentor management
system a very commendable report.
“When we began working with the Health &
Safety Service, we had just three or four sites. As we got bigger,
we wanted someone to help us keep up with the requirements,” says
Steve. “At Chelmsford we’d done everything Mentor had told us to do
to keep things up to date, including fire risk assessments and fire
marshal training. It was good to have our efforts recognised by the
local council.”
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Mentor
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here.
For details on
how
NatWest
Mentor could
help your business in situations like this and many
others, contact
us today. If you already subscribe
to Mentor, please call the Advice
Service.