Health&Safety Officer in office based working environment

babystrawberry

Hi,

I have recently been appointed as the Health&safety Officer for our offices.
We are a small company with about 12-15 in the offices at one time.

I have no H&S background or qualifications.
I have identified issues that need to be rectified in relation to smoke alarms, trip hazards, fire exits, fire assembly point, servicing fire extinguishers.

I have looked up the relevant sites in order to research what needs to be done.
Even though we work in an office, it can be classed as a low risk environment, however is it still a requirement that we get manual handling training?
The heaviest item any of us would have to move is the box of printing papar.

Also,is it essentail that the H&S officer be trained in some form of First Aid?

Any help with this would be much appreciated.

tinnuvial

The health & safety officer doesn't need to have first aid but some staff should do. There should always be a person on site with first aid skills. AFAIK you only need to provide manual handling training if there is an element of manual handling involved in the job. Having said that, I trained everybody in my last job to reduce the risk.

Mimojo

Hi

I am in a very similar position, was appointed H&S Officer and Food Safety Officer where I work a couple of months ago. It is in the retail sector so obv a bit different, and we would have about 100 people working here.

In terms of Fire Aid, you should have someone trained in First Aid on the premises. Our guidelines say that one person is sufficient up to 50 staff members.

In terms of Manual Handling I am unsure as to your circumstances, I woudnt image that you would need manual handling in an office environment, and any office I have ever worked in before I havent had it, but I will say a relative of mine is a clerical officer with the HSE and they receive MH training.

The MH Trainer course is pretty expensive (about €1000) and is valid for 5 years. Once you train someone the training is good for 3 years.

I am not trained myself, have done other courses including Fire Safety, and am looking to do a Fetac Health and Safety Course in the coming months (was booked on one but fell through) so hoping that will help. At the moment the company have an ex-employee who carried out the MH training. Obv for the type of work people do they have to have it. Everyone is training, including office personnel.

dreamgirl18

Hi OP,

Regarding your queries:

First aid - the H&S officer doesn't have to be the first aider once you have at least one trained first aider onsite (given your small number of employees). The course required is called Occupational First Aid - its a 3 day course - and is a good general skill to have. (also covers AED which many people find interesting).

Manual handling - best practice would say yes all staff should receive this training as "manual handling" is a very broad definition in legislation " any transporting or supporting of any load by one or more employees, and includes lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving a load, which by reason of its characteristics or unfavourable ergonomic conditions, involves risk, particularly of back injury, to employees".
This is a 3 hr course for a max of 12 people per course, which costs about €350. As another poster said it may be more cost effective to train someone internally as a trainer.

Important thing to note is that your company must have a safety statement (this outlines the company's safety management system). Can't emphasise this enough as you (the employer) could be prosecuted without it. If you are not qualified to complete this you may need the assistance of a consultant.
A useful website for all your H&S queries is the www.hsa.ie - the HSA are the regulatory body in Ireland for H&S and take prosecutions, provide guidance etc. They also have a helpline for general queries 1890 289 389. There is also a section on the website for small business which may help you in particular.
Finally, if your employer has made you their H&S Officer they need to provide you with the appropriate training, such as H&S Certificate etc

Best of luck OP

Yumee

Hey Guys,

I was called for an interview for a health and safety position in an office-type environment next week. Now I have a degree in health and safety I just don't know what type of questions to prepare/expect for the interview itself! Any pointers?

Thanks in advance!

dreamgirl18

Questions relating to safety management systems - they might have a formal one in place depending on size of company (OHSAS 1800, British Standards or ILO one etc)

Questions re: Safety Statement and risk assessments
(workstation assessments, maternity risk assessments, fire risk assessments, equipment risk assessments etc)

Questions re:Training (can you provide fire safety, induction, manual handling, first aid training)

Read up on company and have a good idea of their business, then you'll have an idea of the risks relevant to them e.g. do they have a fleet of vehicles? do their staff work on clients sites?

How would you influence change in the company in relation to H&S?

Hope this helps,
D