Legionnaires Disease Awareness

Officials are disinfecting Hong Kong’s new government headquarters building after the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease was discovered there.

Traces of legionella bacteria up to 14 times higher than acceptable levels were identified in the £432 million building after the education secretary was infected with the potentially deadly illness last month. The bacteria was found in water samples from his office’s new bathroom.

Tests found that the bacteria was present in nine more water sample. Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease include high fever, chills and a cough. The best living conditions for the bacteria is warm water. In 2011, the bacteria was discovered in the Playboy Mansion grotto, Los Angeles, after scores of guests at a fundraiser became ill.

What is Legionnaires’ disease?

Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially fatal type of pneumonia, contracted by inhaling airborne water droplets containing viable Legionella bacteria. Such droplets can be created, for example, by: hot and cold water outlets; atomisers; wet air conditioning plant; and whirlpool or hydrotherapy baths.

UK Outbreaks:

Last October a Merthyr Tydfil-based recycling company was fined for failing to take appropriate measures to control the risk of exposure of its workers and the public to the potentially fatal Legionella bacteria.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Merthyr Industrial Services (Biomass) Limited following an investigation of its premises as part of HSE’s response to the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease along the Heads of the Valleys corridor in September 2010.

HSE inspectors visited the Penygarnddu Industrial Estate premises on 8 September 2010 and found that over a period of five weeks, the company had sporadically been operating a cooling tower on site without taking appropriate measures to control the risk of proliferation of the Legionella bacteria.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Stuart Charles said:

“While it is not alleged this company was one of the sources of the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak last year, it is essential that companies operating cooling towers fully understand the risks of Legionella, and the steps they need to take to control that risk.”

“Operating a cooling tower, even for short periods, without the proper controls in place can present a significant risk to employees and members of public.”

“It is important companies comply with the legal requirement to notify Local Authorities if they are operating a cooling tower. If an outbreak occurs, this information is vital to the Outbreak Control Team when planning a response.”

For more information on our Legionnaires’ disease awareness online training, please visit our website,
Legionnaires Disease Awareness, download our brochure, or call us on : +44 207 164 2024

Asbestos Awareness

At a recent Health and Safety Executive board meeting, it was announced that the award winning Hidden Killer campaign would be relaunched in 2012.

The Hidden Killer campaign was launched by the HSE in 2008 and warned construction workers, particularly those involved in maintenance and refurbishment work, of the dangers of asbestos. Although construction workers are particularly at risk of exposure to asbestos fibres, there is still a very high level of ignorance of the on-going dangers.

Each week approximately 8 joiners, 6 electricians and 4 plumbers die from asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos is the single greatest cause of work related deaths in the UK.  The vast majority of these deaths could easily be prevented.

And the risk is not confined to contractors; Lincoln University has been fined for putting staff, students and contractors at risk of exposure to asbestos. Lincoln University pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on November 16th.

After the hearing at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court HSE inspector Edward Walker said:
“Exposure to asbestos fibres is a well-known health hazard that results in approximately 4,000 deaths a year.”

“The university had an asbestos management plan but had failed to follow it and failed to take appropriate steps to manage the risks associated with asbestos over a number of years, putting staff, students and contractors at risk of potential exposure.”

Eazysafe has launched a new asbestos awareness online training course. This training can be delivered to your employees or contractors to help them to understand the risks involved in working with asbestos and provide them with an introduction to the HSE ‘good practice’ guidelines for any work involving asbestos.

Further details of the course content can be found on our website: Eazysafe Asbestos Awareness
Or download our Asbestos Awareness brochure

Did you know that back pain is a major reason for long term sickness in much of the UK and Ireland? Prolonged periods of time sitting incorrectly at a computer workstation could lead to chronic back pain and absenteeism among your staff members, unless you take action to provide workstation health and safety training.

As an employer, you have a legal duty to provide DSE (Display Screen Equipment) training, and carry out a DSE assessment of all employee workstations. An online workstation assessment provides you with a simple solution to fulfil this legal requirement, and protect your employees from injury.

Employees fill in an online workstation risk assessment about their personal work environment and the results of this assessment alerts you to who needs follow up assistance. This allows you to prevent and detect injuries, before it’s too late!

Find out more about Eazysafe’s Workstation Safety Training Course and Self-Assessment

Often in the run up to the Christmas season new retail staff are introduced to the shop floor just in time for the big rush. Wouldn’t it be great if your new recruits could come in on the first day already trained? For Primark and other major retailers this has proven to be the safest and most flexible way to manage their employee inductions.

Employee safety inductions are traditionally held on the first day of the job, introducing new staff to company policies and safe lifting procedures to prepare them to safely work on the shop floor and stockrooms. Online employee safety inductions allow employees to learn in the comfort their own home, and successfully complete their safety training before their first day on the job. Feedback from learners has shown that they feel more comfortable beginning on their first day and that they view their new employer in a positive light due to the importance places on both safety and training.

Eazysafe provide an online self-registration training system meaning that that all new staff can register for their training and complete in advance of their start date. This will provide them with a safety certificate that they must print out and bring in on day one to prove their successful completion.

Having your temporary and permanent staff safety trained in advance allows them to hit the ground running, and that is literally what the Christmas retail environment is all about.

Learn more on the Eazysafe website

Basic Security Awareness Training

 Since April 2010 there is a requirement for all persons applying for or renewing an airport ‘Airside Identification Card’ to have successfully completed Module 1 Basic Security Awareness Training (BSAT).

 This is applicable to all staff employed by airport operators, aircraft operators, catering and cleaning companies and any other agencies (including handling agent personnel) operating on their behalf, who may or may not be directly engaged in aviation security tasks. This course must be successfully completed for an Airport Identification Card (AIC) to be issued by the Airport Authority. An AIC card must be obtained before taking up duty.

Module 1 can be completed online with Eazysafe’s DoT approved BSAT online training.

At the end of the BSAT Module 1 course, learners will be aware of:

• The need for aviation security.
• Relevant legal requirements.
• The work carried out by, and roles of, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, security departments and agencies employed by airports and airlines.
• How to assist in the prevention of acts of unlawful interference with civil aviation.
• Their responsibility to ensure the measures outlined in the National Civil Aviation Security Programme (NCASP).

Download BSAT Brochure here

For more information on delivering BSAT or other online training to your employees please contact us for a trial.

UK: +44 (0) 207 153 9920

IRE: +353 (0) 1 653 1616

FR: +33 (0)1 70 99 31 66

Electricians on-site

Do these people work on your premises?
Cleaners – maintenance staff – temps – catering staff – consultants – security staff.

Under the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Act 2005, companies have a duty to provide relevant safety information about their site to contractors, and other temporary staff through induction or another training process. This raises a host of challenges related to safety training.

Traditionally, safety inductions were provided in-house, using company trainers in a classroom setting. However, this method of providing training to transient temporary staff and contractors is both time and resource heavy.  Not to mention the difficulty of getting such a diverse mix of people into one room at one time.

What about giving induction training without worrying about times and locations? The flexibility offered by online induction training allows contractors to complete training at their own time and pace. An online induction system puts the onus on the contract company to ensure the safety of their staff. This gives you more time to concentrate on your own business successes.

How can companies impart knowledge to employees who are constantly on the move?

Having issues training shift workers or employees who are constantly on the move?

Apart from adopting e-learning, some trainers are now using tablets or smart phones rather than fixed workstations to train their employees. This has brought about the phrase m-learning or mobile learning.

There are some obvious advantages of training employees through tablets such as the flexibility which is offered in terms of time and location. Tablets are designed for learning in the 21^st century where the economic environment is in a state of constant change and knowledge needs to be transferred in short and snappy bite-size chunks.

Smartphone apps offer the same anytime/ anyplace advantages with multimedia learning tools in the palm of your hand. While tablets are more suitable for corporate use, Smartphones are useful due to their growing popularity – as a result, many employees are already equipped with the hardware required to complete the training. They offer an ideal opportunity to teach snippets of safety information to those at risk.

Before choosing your hardware there are some important points to consider such as battery life and whether flash is supported. Contact EazySafe if you’re considering this type of training and we can advise you on the best hardware for the Learning Centre.

How does the new legislation affect you?

With the introduction of the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, many are unsure of the implications to their business or to their specific job. The following information explains the background of GHS and offers a solution for communicating the information to employees.

For starters – what is GHS?

Each country has their own system for classifying the hazardous properties of chemicals and how this information is passed to end-users through labels and data sheets. A chemical which is classed as being toxic in one country may not have the same classification in another country. The requirement for a ‘harmonised system’ became increasingly apparent with products being transported globally and people increasingly travelling across the world.

As a result the UN took the action of bringing together experts from different countries to create the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The aim of the GHS is to have uniform standards worldwide for:

1. Criteria for classifying chemicals depending on their health, environmental and physical hazards.
2. Communication of these hazards in the form of labels and safety data sheets.

Among the benefits of GHS is the facilitation of trade due to the promotion of regulatory efficiency and improved hazard communication procedures. You should be aware of your role and responsibilities as an employee or an employer and how these have been affected by the new regulations. They will vary depending on the part your business plays in the supply chain.

I am an employer – how does GHS affect me? As a manufacturer or importer you may be required to register some substances.

I am a worker – how does GHS affect me? If you are a downstream user or you work with chemicals you may be required to supply information up the supply chain.

EazySafe have developed an online GHS course meaning that you can inform and train those affected by the new regulations quickly and efficiently. The course covers areas such as:

The criteria and legislation used to classify, label and package hazardous substances
The differences between the CPL and the new CLP Regulations
The substances and mixtures which are exempt
The four steps of notification
REACH
GHS has been adopted into the new EU Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) regulations (in force as of January 20, 2009). These regulations must be used for new products which are pure substances by December 1, 2010 and mixtures by June 1, 2015. There is a two-year transition period for existing products labelled and packaged according to EU Directives (67/548/EEC and 1999/45/EC, both as amended).

Request a trial through our contact page or call us for more information:

UK: +44 (0) 207 153 9920

IRE: +353 (0) 1 653 1616

FR: +33 (0)1 70 99 31 66

When investing in training, companies can sometimes assume that it will eat from their bottom line rather than add to it. Internally this attitude can be reinforced by a reactive culture which engages in training “for compliance sake”. However, learning and development can have a big impact through behavioural changes, sometimes even resulting in an organisational culture shift.

Strong examples of this can be seen when there is a greater awareness of hazards and risks due to safety training. According to the 2007 EU Labour Force Survey over 35% of employees reported that work affects their health with 22% reporting a work related health problem which resulted in considerable limitations to normal activity.

Why not encourage those involved in budgeting for training to prove a positive return on investment? By evaluating training and proving its effectiveness trainers will also identify improvements to keep the company ahead of the game. The Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model is a good place to start.

Level 1: Reaction – How did the learner feel about the training? (Questionnaires, surveys and informal verbal reactions)

Level 2: Learning – Have they taken in the knowledge or skill? (Assess learners before and afterwards. Observation, interviews, role plays and projects.

Level 3: Behaviour – Has there been a change in related behaviour on-the-job? (Get buy-in from managers. Observation and information gathering from various sources, HR appraisals)

Level 4: Results – Has the training affected the performance of the business? (Evaluate impact on sales, costs, quality, frequency of accidents, profits, management styles and customer feedback)

Sean Fennell, managing director of EazySafe said that “IBTS will managing their contractor training initiatives using The EazySafe Learning Centre, our online training service. This kind of induction programme reduces the risk to contractors but also to IBTS staff.”