Neal's Notes For February 2011

Clearing snow and ice yourself - guidance published

There's no law stopping you from clearing snow and ice on the pavement outside your home or from public spaces. It's unlikely you'll be sued or held legally responsible for any injuries on the path if you have cleared it carefully. Follow the snow code when clearing snow and ice safely.
The snow code - tips on clearing snow and ice from pavements or public spaces. If you clear snow and ice yourself, be careful - don't make the pathways more dangerous by causing them to refreeze. But don't be put off clearing paths because you're afraid someone will get injured. Remember , people walking on snow and ice have responsibility to be careful themselves. Follow the advice below to make sure you clear the pathway safely and effectively. Prevent slips Pay extra attention to clear snow and ice from steps and steep pathways - you might need to use more salt on these areas. Clear snow or ice early in the day It's easier to move fresh, loose snow rather than hard snow that has packed together from people walking on it. So if possible, start removing the snow and ice in the morning. If you remove the top layer of snow in the morning, any sunshine during the day will help melt any ice beneath. You can then cover the path with salt before nightfall to stop it refreezing overnight. Use salt or sand - not water If you use water to melt the snow, it may refreeze and turn to black ice. Black ice increases the risk of injuries as it is invisible and very slippery. You can prevent black ice by spreading some salt on the area you have cleared. You can use ordinary table or dishwasher salt - a tablespoon for each square metre you clear should work. Don't use the salt found in salting bins - this will be needed to keep the roads clear. If you don't have enough salt, you can also use sand or ash. These won't stop the path icing over as well as salt, but will provide good grip under foot. Take care where you move the snow When you're shovelling snow, take care where you put it so it doesn't block people's paths or drains. Make sure you make a path down the middle of the area to be cleared firs, so you have a clear surface to walk on. Then shovel the snow from the centre of the path to the sides. Offer to clear your neighbours' paths If your neighbour will have difficulty getting in and out of their home, offer to clear snow and ice around their property as well. Check that any elderly or disabled neighbours are allright in the cold weather. If you're worried about them, contact your local council.

Wasting money on your PPE?

It is thought British industry spends in excess of £1 billion1 a year on personal protective equipment (PPE) yet poor selection and misuse means that much of this investment is wasted. As the safety industry's leading trade body, the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) is aware of issues regarding the difficulties in accessing suitable safety equipment and would like to ensure manufacturers and distributors are offering appropriate advice.
The provision of appropriate safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) has increasingly become a top priority butssss, there is sometimes an issue with selection, especially within smaller organisations where there may be a lack of specific knowledge. The BSIF would like to encourage manufacturers and distributors to engage with everyone at all levels of responsibility to ensure that they can access clear and easy to understand information. They would also like to encourage potential purchasers to seek the correct advice and information before purchasing safety equipment. By working with a Registered Safety Supplier, which can be easily identified through the BSIF scheme shield, purchasers can be assured that they are using a reputable supplier who is committed to issuing genuine and suitable products and offering trustworthy advice.
It is essential for manufacturers and distributors to be aware of the different sales outlets their products are destined for to ensure better point of sale materials are produced alongside easy to understand user material providing clear guidance without commonly used jargon. The BSIF sees it as part of its role to educate its members to ensure that this clear and accurate information is passed to the marketplace through their customers and retailers and ultimately onto the end user.

Online risk assessment weighs up office hazards in 20 minutes.

The Health and Safety Executive has produced a web tool to help employers to consider relevant hazards in their office and think about how to control them to keep staff safe. It will help avoid unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy for office-based businesses. Safety officials will take account of the results of the assessments when they carry out inspections - evidence that businesses have taken appropriate steps to manage workplace risk.
Many people assume that risk assessments need to be long, formal documents covering every hazard, no matter how minor or unlikely to occur. That's not the case and the new 20-minute risk assessments make it clear that this can be done for any office quickly and easily. The HSE has provided example risk assessments to help people identify the sort of risks they should be considering, but this goes one step further in helping employers do the assessment for offices.
Employers know their businesses better than anyone - and with a little helping hand they can easily consider what is necessary to protect workers. Complying with the law in a low risk business can be done with common sense by anyone. This online tool works by prompting employers to answer a series of questions about their workplace and then generates a unique risk assessment with actions required.

Winter driving tips

Interactive Driving Systems has issued a few simple tips to help drivers make their journeys as safe as possible during the cold weather.
(1) Check your vehicle: • Has been maintained/serviced and you have a good battery. Your battery has to work much harder in the winter (working lights and wipers, for example) and can fail completely with hardly any warning. • Tyres have a good tread depth and are inflated correctly (including the spare) . • Cooling system contains antifreeze at the correct strength. • Windscreen wipers and washers are working properly - in cold temperatures use high strength screen-wash. • Lights are clean and working.
(2) Check the weather conditions: • Look at local and national TV and Radio for travel and weather information. • See that all your vehicle windows, mirrors and lights are clear from mist, frost and snow. Snow and ice reduce what you can see, and can be dangerous to other road users as it falls off your vehicle.
(3) In extreme weather conditions such as falling snow: • Ask yourself is my journey essential? • Check to see if you have a full tank of fuel. • Let someone know your destination and your expected time of arrival. • Take a mobile phone if you have one, but remember you could break down in a "dead area", so take warm high visibility clothing, hot drinks, food, boots, a torch and shovel as well - it could be a long walk to a phone.
(4) If you are out on the roads in poor conditions: • Use the main roads which have been salted as much as possible. Map of routes that Councils salt are normally available on their websites. • Allow extra time for your journey. • Avoid the rush hour to help reduce congestion.
(5) Generally, when driving in wintry weather: • Drive according to the conditions - on treated and untreated roads. • Reduce speed in poor visibility, where there is snow, or if ice may have formed • Use the highest gear possible to help keep control of the vehicle and avoid harsh braking and acceleration. • Maintain larger safer stopping distances - two seconds between vehicles is for good conditions! A wet road surface means you'll take twice as long to stop, so you need to be at least four seconds behind the vehicle in front. • Use dipped headlights in poor visibility and snow, so others can see you! • Use rear fog lights in poor visibility but remember to switch them off when conditions improve. • Watch out for other road users, including motorbikes, pushbikes, pedestrians and children, who may also be having difficulties in the conditions.
(6) If you do break down: • If you get into trouble, stay with your vehicle if possible, until help arrives. • If you do have to leave your vehicle, make yourself visible to others. • If you have to abandon your vehicle, give local police the details and park safely to avoid obstruction to maintenance vehicles such as snow ploughs when they are trying to treat the roads.
(7) Advice for particular weather conditions: Fog is especially a danger in autumn and winter, and is a major cause of collisions. • Slow down, keep your distance, and turn your lights on in fog. Drive very slowly using dipped headlights. Use fog lights if visibility is seriously reduced, but remember to switch them off when visibility improves. • Don't hang on the tail lights of the vehicle in front - this gives you a false sense of security and means you may be driving too close. • Don't speed up suddenly - even if it seems to be clearing, you can suddenly find yourself back in thick fog. Ice, snow and slush drastically reduce the ability of your tyres to grip the road, which means that slowing down, speeding up, or changing direction all become hazardous. The trick to driving in these conditions is to be as smooth as possible. Drive slowly, allowing extra room to slow down and stop. • It can take ten times longer to stop in icy conditions than on a dry road. • Use the highest gear possible to avoid wheel spin, manoeuvre gently, and avoid harsh braking and acceleration. • To brake on ice and snow without locking your wheels, get into a low gear earlier than normal, allow your speed to fall, and use the brake pedal gently. • If you skid, ease off the accelerator but do not brake suddenly.
Floods: It is best not to enter floodwater at all - if you can take an alternative route, do so. If you enter floodwater: • Drive slowly in first gear, but keep the engine speed high by slipping the clutch - this will stop you from stalling. • Go through the water one vehicle at a time. • Avoid the deepest water, which is generally near the kerb. Don't attempt to cross if the water seems too deep. Watch others! • Remember - test your brakes a few times after you are through the flood before you drive at normal speed.
REMEMBER: • Be sure to give cyclists and motorcyclists extra room in bad weather. • Dazzle from the low winter sun can be dangerous. Carry a pair of sunglasses in the car just in case it's too low for the visor. • It takes twice as long to stop on a wet road as it does on a dry one, and up to ten times longer in icy conditions.

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