Newsletter - January
 2018

GOSHA news

• Kate Adamson of MSA, UK who gave an excellent presentation relevant to her role in maintaining safety in motor sport in the UK. There was so much of relevance to the way we manage business health and safety in Guernsey, including an appreciation of the characters we work with and for and how to achieve good results, despite obstacles sometimes put in our way.
• Geomarine (Gary Stevenson and his colleagues) for giving us an excellent visit to the new Waste Transfer Project at Longue Hougue. They have provisionally indicated that we can make a return visit this year to see how the site is being (and has by then been) transformed.
• Our new Committee members – Mick Cooper, Chris Minta and Paul Freeman for volunteering to serve on our management committee and for being voted to their new positions at our AGM (and thanks too, to the existing committee members who were re-elected).

• Date to be agreed                                - Dial before you dig
• *22^nd January 2018                             - Advanced Driving  - John Tostevin of Guernsey Electricty
• *24^th January 2018                              - Manual Handling - Robin Gonard (Guernsey HSE)
• *26^th January 2018                              - Silicosis - Matt Coggins (Guernsey HSE)
• * Safety & Health at Work Week is kindly sponsored by Rossborough Insurance
• 15 February 2018                                                - The Use of Unmanned Aerial Devices (Drones) – by CIs Air Traffic Control
• 22 June 2018                                        - annual awards at La Grande Mare

• 11 July 2018  - what happens when someone is seriously injured at work – hear from Jason Anker who has suffered greatly from very serious injuries but is now  a great motivational speaker and  promoter of good practices. Event  arranged in conjunction with CIGPE and BIFM, supported by GDA

• Passport to Safety (GBTEA initiative)

• New Guernsey HSE Website

• Health and Safety in the Workplace – General Guide
• Report an accident or a concern about workplace health and safety
• Accident Statistics 2016
• Employers’ Liability Insurance Guide
• First aid in the workplace
• Licences and permits
• Unwanted chemicals and hazardous waste
• www.gov.gg/foodbusiness

 
And some thoughts as we approach Safety & Health Week:
 
SAFETY AND HEALTH IN GUERNSEY WORKPLACES – WHY BOTHER?
 
Use the words safety and health in the same sentence and many people’s eyes glaze over and interest in a conversation is lost.
I have always puzzled over why workplace safety and health takes such a back seat on so many business agendas.
 
For most organisations, the safety and well-being of staff, those who run the business, their customers, visitors and neighbours is an important issue. Managing safety and health will almost always make a business more efficient, ensures staff motivation is good and protects the reputation of any enterprise. Those who do not look after the welfare of others risk damaging or at worse, losing the good reputation that is essential for success.
 
Good workplace safety and health need not cost much. Often, the simplest adjustments to working practices can make a positive difference and effective training, re-training and the management/audit of work processes help to ensure that an enterprise is successful.
 
Conducting regular risk assessments (a recorded check that all is well in a business environment) is a simple way of making sure that things are being done properly and adjusting things that are not. There is no need to be professionally qualified to undertake these simple checks – they do not take long and are limited in cost.
 
When things go wrong and someone is hurt at work, there is plenty of protection through law to ensure that those who disregard the rules pay for their lack of judgement and respect for others. Costs include lost production, the loss of good employees, the effect on reputation, compensation awards, diverted management time, fines and so on.
 
Compensation claims can be, rightly, much higher than many would imagine. Guernsey’s largest, reported compensation award is around £14m and there have been many others reaching seven figure sums.
 
The aim of GOSHA is to help: we want people to be more mindful of the potential dangers at work and for something to be done to address these risks. Our principal aim is to educate in a friendly and practical environment and our members cover a wide range of businesses, from offices through construction sites to offshore.
 
Some of the safest environments are those in some of our most potentially dangerous environments – because people appreciate the risks and take precautions to avoid or mitigate them.
 
Did you know that there is a serious workplace injury, on average, every month in a Guernsey office?
 
Our Safety and Health week is designed to improve awareness of these issues.
 
Along with our Safety and Health Awards taking place on 22 June, these will help us highlight and celebrate those who make our island a safer, healthier place in which to work.
 
Andrew Mills
Chairman,
Guernsey Occupational Safety & Health Association
www.gosha.org.gg
January 2018