Mamma Maya

Posts Tagged ‘IOSH’

There have been many studies linking excess work pressure and heart ailments in male workers. But there is not much data to show the effects of work pressure on women. Now, a survey by Occupational and Environmental Medicine shows that women who feel pressurised during work are more likely to suffer from heart ailments.

This is the second report related to occupational ailments in women after a recent HSE study showed the link between shift work and breast cancer.

The study took into account 12,000 female nurses between the ages of 45 years to 64 years and asked them about the level of work pressure they felt. It also looked at their medical records from 1993 onwards to 2008. It was found that around six hundred of them had been hospitalised during that period due to ischaemic heart disease. Out of these, there were 369 cases of angina and 138 cases of heart attacks.

Before calculating the contribution of stress, the study accounted for elements like smoking habits and other diseases. It found that those who felt excess pressure at office were 50% more prone to heart ailments. Those who felt that pressure was still a little too high were 25% more likely to suffer from heart diseases.

Companies need to be sure that they are giving the correct instructions to employees with regard to health and safety issues; accredited IOSH courses, by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, can assist organisations to be aware of the proper health and safety procedures for all kinds of workplace situations, and make sure they are fully aware of the most up-to-date requirements.

A large number of people using hands- free phone while driving assume it is safe. However, the notion has now been challenged by a new research at the University of Utah.

The study shows 97.5 per cent of people are distracted even as they talk on hands-free while driving. Researchers noted that drivers talking on hands-free take much longer to hit breaks and often fail to keep pace with the moving traffic. The study also found that phone conversations while driving reduce memory performance by 11 per cent while the ability to do math comes down by 3 per cent.

Using a driving simulator, scientists found that only 2.5 per cent of people have the mental ability to concentrate on the road even as they chat over the phone. Researchers have named this group the ’supertaskers’.

Although nearly all of us would like to think of ourselves as supertaskers, this is not the case evidently, pointed out Jason Watson of the research team. He said even their team was surprised to find that only a few people could multitask and chat over the phone while driving, especially because a significant majority of people routinely engaged in such conversations.

Commenting on the findings of the study, Ellen Booth, Campaigns Officer for road safety charity Brake, said it is about time the government made a law banning hands-free phone while driving. She also said the study had quite clearly established that the use of hands-free phone is dangerous while driving as one’s attention is more on the conversation rather than on the road. She added that just because one’s hands are free driving does not become safer since half the driver’s attention is held up by the caller and one may not be able to see something that comes up on to the road unexpectedly.

Emphasising that driving needs full attention Booth urged drivers to pull over at the road’s side if they urgently have to receive a call or read texts.

NEBOSH courses can assist companies in training staff to be aware of the proper health and safety procedures for all kinds of workplace situations. The NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health is a qualification designed to help those with health and safety responsibilities to carry out their duties at work more effectively and to protect the organisations for which they work.

In a recent case, Health and Safety Executive has warned employers that they will face serious consequences if they fail to produce the mandated Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance certificate. The Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance Act of 1969 mandates that all those employers who are covered under the provisions of the Act have to obtain the necessary certificate showing that they have complied with the rules of the Act, as well as produce the same when requested.

In the present case, Dipak Kumar Kantial Solanki, owner of a retail shop named Melbourn Stores in Melbourn, failed to produce the required certificate when demanded by the Environmental Health Officer from South Cambridgeshire District Council during his visit in April 2009. It is pertinent to note that the employer failed to produce the certificate even after a notice was issued to him by HSE to produce the same after a period of time.

According to Andrew Saunders, HSE Inspector, businesses that are bound by the provisions of the Act should have the relevant certificate and should be able to produce the same when asked. In the present case, the employer Solanki pleaded guilty to violating section 1(1) of the Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance Act and he was asked to pay a fine of £500 for each offence and costs up to £539.60 by the Magistrates’ Court at Cambridge.

HSE, reiterating the importance of the certificate, stated that the act and its provisions are created for safeguarding the interests of the employee in case of any accident or health related problem is caused due to work, as failure to do so will result in increasing the vulnerability of the staff.

Health and safety training is essential; for managers and supervisors IOSH training is designed to provide you with the knowledge to manage safely and effectively in compliance with both your organisation