Scania wins ISO 45001 – and claims a UK CV first

Managing director Martin Hay laid out what the company has done recently: “Over the past 12 months, we have invested heavily in health and safety training for staff at all levels within our organisation. In addition, our sites are continually audited to ensure they have the facilities, processes and equipment required to safeguard our people, customers and visitors to our premises. These audits and bespoke safety training, which we are implementing with our partner Inspire International UK, are designed to continue raising the bar over time – for us, what has been achieved to date is just the beginning.”

Information, Instruction and Adequate Training for Motor Vehicle Repair

Our “Commercial Vehicle Workshop Safety Insight” is specific to “Information, Instruction and Adequate Training”.

Anyone who works within your commercial vehicle operation needs to know how to work safely in and around their working environment. This includes all areas within the commercial vehicle dealership; customer sites and roadside assistance. You must provide clear information, instruction and training to your employees.

Insight 1 - Your health and safety management system is driven by your employees. Your employees within your business form the health and safety culture as a result of the information, instruction and training they are given. It is important to get your information, instruction and training process correct from the out-set. When employing new recruits, you must ensure they understand the importance of health and safety within your commercial vehicle operation. New recruits will need basic induction training on how to work safely within your operation. You must ensure they receive the correct safety training that is specific to their job roles.

Insight 2 - You must also ensure that any employees who may change jobs internally or take on extra responsibilities are made aware of any new health and safety responsibilities. Where any new health and safety responsibilities arise from the change of job, it is important that you ensure the employees receive the correct information, instruction and training to address these.

Insight 3 - You must also ensure that you clearly match the correct job roles to the correct health and safety competences your employees need to carry out their work safely. Once you have clearly identified the correct competences to each job role you must ensure all employees receive the correct training to ensure they are competent to perform their role. For example, the health and safety competences of a commercial vehicle technician will differ to a parts advisor.

Insight 4 - Finally, you must have a robust process in place for capturing any refresher training for all employees. The process could include a training matrix showing compliance of information, instruction and training that is linked to a calendar that shows expiry dates of the training.

If you require further assistance specific to “Information, instruction and adequate training” feel free to contact a member of the Inspire team today via info@inspirehsqe.com or visit www.inspirehsqe.com

Motor Vehicle Repair Health and Safety Alert - "Off-site commercial vehicle repair"

Our first “Commercial Vehicle Workshop Safety Insight” is specific to “Off Site Commercial Vehicle Repair”.

Insight 1 - When assigning off-site work to your technicians please ensure the job card is assigned to a “competent” technician who can complete the job safely. The technician must be trained on the hazards and risks at a customer site, trained in completing a dynamic risk assessment and ensuring that the findings from these are documented. The supervisor must also explain and discuss the job with the technician and any technical instructions must be issued to the technician before they leave site. Assigning work to a technician who is not competent puts both the business at risk and the technician who has been assigned the job.

Insight 2 - Please ensure any company owned vehicles that are used for technicians to complete off-site work contain equipment that is suitable for use and has had its statutory inspections where applicable.

Insight 3 - When the technician arrives at site/breakdown, it is mandatory that they complete a dynamic risk assessment to ensure the environment they are working in is safe and the vehicle is safe to work on. If the technician feels that they are at risk, they must contact their manager/supervisor.

If you require further assistance specific to “Off-Site Work for Commercial Vehicle Repair” feel free to contact a member of the Inspire team today via info@inspirehsqe.com or www.inspirehsqe.com

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Leading Risk Management Provider Advises on Tougher Forklift Safety Measures Ahead of Peak Season

As we enter a season of unprecedented e-commerce sales, with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas all around the corner, pioneering risk management firm, Inspire International UK is advising logistics businesses to introduce tougher safety measures. 

Predictions expect online sales in e-commerce to increase by as much as 140 per cent this month as shoppers remain indoors during lockdown,[1] but how is this impacting logistics businesses? “Christmas peak in warehouses can be linked with an increase in forklift accidents” explains Jagjeet Virdee, Managing Director of health and safety, environmental and quality management firm Inspire International UK.  

Jag continues: “Many logistics firms will need to cater for increased demand, hiring additional temporary staff and equipment. A suitable and sufficient risk assessment for forklift activities is key to aiding a safe operation and keeping staff safe. 

“Every time new equipment, substances and procedures are introduced which could bring new hazards, a risk assessment needs to be undertaken and employees must be made aware. In addition, any temporary staff will need to be efficiently briefed against the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) guidelines. 

“Not following the correct procedures can have damaging consequences for Warehouse Managers and the businesses themselves. If the HSE become aware of any issues it could result in a loss of reputation, prohibition or improvement notices and/or fines, and in some more serious cases even prison sentences if involvement from police and local authorities is required.” 

Here, Jagjeet Virdee, shares advice on the most common hazards related to forklifts in the warehouse environment and how to avoid them: 

The Top 5 Forklift Hazards 

1. Forklift operators unaware of existing hazards – this can be particularly prominent with new operators. Too often, employees are given a certificate to operate without any suitable job familiarisation or training within the areas of the warehouse they are working in. Alongside this, drivers need to be aware of how to handle forklifts in certain conditions – e.g. operating in the wet, snow and ice or high winds

2. Lack of forklift servicing & maintenance – regular maintenance checks must be performed to ensure the safety of the forklifts, including recharging of forklift truck batteries which can lead to potential explosion through release of fumes

3. Introduction of other equipment used in loading and off-loading – including ramps, cages, fork extensions or a new forklift without conversion training or familiarisation experience. Drivers need to be regularly updated on any changes to their working machinery or environment

4. Collisions – with pedestrians and pickers, racking, dock leveller doors and fixed objects or other powered vehicles, alongside incidents with loading docks on bays. If forklift operators approach the bay too fast, without ensuring the correct safety measures are taken, such as ensuring the trailer is secure or that there is sufficient separation of pedestrians on the vehicle in the loading/offloading areas, it could result in an accident

5. Overconfident forklift operators – often, like driving a car, forklift operators can become overconfident in their abilities. This can lead to a number of issues including driving while the load is too high, not observing surroundings or looking in the direction of travel (particularly while reversing or moving forward while not being able to see over or past the load they are carrying), driving unladen with the forks raised too high or not paying attention to blind corners. 

If the necessary risk assessment has not been undertaken and the correct safety measures are not followed, it can lead to a number of potential injuries. The top three forklift injuries include: Falling objects from unsecure pallets being loaded or unloaded from high locations; Manual handling injuries including trapped limbs, whiplash or back injuries when not operating at a speed sufficient for ground conditions or not being aware of speed bumps on undulating ground and Collisions – employees being hit by moving forklifts. In the worst-case scenarios, the risks include losing limbs or death from an overturning vehicle.  

 Most importantly, managers must educate staff on safety regulations and have regular discussions to advise on current and new regulations alongside any changes within the working environment. ‘Principles of Prevention’ must also be implemented and enforced by Managers to enable the business to easily identify, control and eliminate any risks (SFARP) and warehouses should prioritise organisation – from tape guns to forklifts, to avoid creating potential hazards.

Commercial Vehicle Dealerships Encouraged to Follow New HSE HAV Regulations

Vibratory tools are common within the commercial vehicle workshop and pose HAV (Hand Arm Vibration) risks. Whether its bench grinders, portable drills or orbital sanders, its likely technicians are using these tools on a daily basis, for long periods of time, but is machinery being regularly reviewed in relation to the correct health and safety regulations?   

 As pioneers in health and safety, environmental and quality management within the commercial vehicle market, Inspire International UK offer expert advice for commercial vehicle workshops to help businesses remain fully compliant and avoid fines.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently reported that up to 2 million people are at risk of HAV syndrome (HAVS), caused by prolonged exposure to vibration tools. Alongside this, the HSE has published a new HAV Inspection and Enforcement Guidance document. Aimed at inspectors, the guidance provides a consistent framework for assessing compliance and making enforcement decisions.   

Here, Inspire International shares its top tips on how to complete a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and control risks posed by HAVS within the commercial vehicle workshop:

Top Tips on assessing your HAV tools:

• Prioritise Risk Assessments, not just Tool Assessments – a risk assessment is required as a legal document by the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 

• Review your HAV tools at least once a year – by nature basic tools can get damaged easily and larger tools can deteriorate quickly. Regularly monitoring tools will avoid HAVS and additional cost implications of replacing worn out tools 

• Review your tools at different times throughout the year – the weather can impact the efficiency of your tools so alternate the seasons in which you test them

• Educate technicians on the regulations (alongside Managers) – technicians have a responsibility to ensure tools are fit for purpose and used correctly 

•  Introduce a Purchasing Policy – make your employees and customers aware that your business only buys high quality tools and expect freelance technicians to use tools of the same standard

•  Limit the number of tools on site to limit the risk factor – decide on a sensible number of tools for each technician to have in their toolbox. Test those tools and discard the ones that don’t meet the requirements  

• Exposure limits – ensure your team is educated on the guidelines around exposure limits e.g. if a tool exceeds five metres per second for an eight-hour period, it falls into the red zone

Managing Director of Inspire International Jagjeet Virdee comments: “Using vibratory tools within your workshop introduces a number of risks specific to HAV which can be very significant if not managed – not only for employees but more importantly for the business itself.  

 “HAVS can be controlled by reducing vibration exposure of vibration transmitted to the hand and/or the time spent holding vibrating equipment. Regularly monitoring your employee’s usage of tools and the tools themselves will enable your workshop to continue running efficiently and avoid any unwanted fines.

“Managers must have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for all HAV tools - they need to be thorough and cover every tool you have in the workshop. The results should be properly documented and not only logged as data but actioned to ensure all vibratory tools machinery is safe to use.”

There are five sections within the Regulations which must be followed accordingly: assessing/measuring tools and collecting data, observational studies, health surveillance, staff instruction and training and carrying out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment that encompasses all of the above. All of these components must be carried out to provide a holistic review of the HAV tools within your workshop.

Commercial Vehicle Dealerships Need Support on New Covid-19 Regulations

Inspire International, pioneers in health and safety, environmental and quality management for the commercial vehicle and logistics sectors, have introduced a suitable and sufficient Covid-19 Risk Assessment to support commercial vehicle dealerships struggling to manage the ever changing regulations. 

Covid-19 has put a new focus on commercial vehicle servicing, repair and maintenance, and the associated risk assessments and new regulations that need to be followed. Inspire International’s Technical Director Harvinder Virdee believes the Government’s advice has been confusing and contradictory. He said: “The new rules are fairly easy to implement into a commercial vehicle business, but because they are continually changing, it presents challenges for Managers who are unsure of what is expected as the legal requirement.”

Inspire International has reported specific incidents over the last few weeks, where they have been directly called upon by commercial vehicle dealerships to carry out risk assessments following reports of positive Covid-19 cases. Offering a fast and efficient response, the risk management specialists have created its specialised Covid-19 Risk Assessment, tailored to each business which can be agreed and implemented, thus preventing their clients from incurring any damages to reputation or profits. 

Harvinder continues: “It is incredibly important for commercial vehicle dealerships, where positive Covid-19 cases have been reported, that they continue to instil confidence and reassure their customers, in that when they bring their vehicles into the workshops they will not be at risk of the virus spreading from the vehicle to their drivers and businesses. This is particularly important where commercial vehicle workshops have VMUs at a customer site. Carrying out the required risk assessment is vital to ensuring businesses remain compliant during these challenging times.”

As experts in their field, Inspire International has adapted its risk assessment for commercial vehicle workshops to cover all of the new requirements. Here the experts share advice on how commercial vehicle dealerships can remain compliant: 

• Complete a comprehensive C19 risk assessment, subject to regular and planned reviews and updates

• Develop a business continuity plan for Covid-19 cases (PHE or PH Scotland can close businesses if they do not provide the required track and trace information)

• Ensure a company track and trace process is in place, which can be implemented as and when staff confirm they have Covid-19 

• Encourage all Directors (Sales, Aftersales, Finance, HR, Compliance) to check Covid-19 arrangements on a monthly basis and keep staff complacent 

• Share the required information with PHE and PH Scotland track and trace – they will help businesses stay open if given the information they need in a timely manner 

• Educate staff about the C19 risk assessments and associated safety procedures – keep suitable records to showcase if your business is inspected 

Businesses who do not adhere to the above guidelines are likely to be at risk of fines. Governing bodies for health and safety including The Health and Safety Executive and Education Authority are regularly visiting businesses to check requirements are being followed and will enforce fines if not.  

To combat Covid-19 challenges within the industry in relation to educating employees, Inspire International has developed a Covid-19 Return to Work module as part of its recently launched safety e-learning solution, E-Workshop. Covering a wide range of health and safety training solutions, the programme allows customers to undertake training remotely, with electronically kept records and refresher training course reminders.

Inspire launches first ever safety e-learning solution for commercial vehicle industry

Inspire International UK, pioneers in health and safety, environmental and quality management within the commercial vehicle market, has announced the launch of its new vehicle workshop safety e-learning solution, E-Workshop, developed by its Inspire Training division.

More about E-workshop

A first for the industry and aimed at the commercial vehicle market, the E-Workshop solution has been designed and developed by Inspire International UK, the UK’s leading provider of health and safety management solutions for commercial vehicle workshops, offering 16 health and safety e-learning modules, plus many more which are soon to be released.  

Recent statistics showcased that over half of companies expect an increase in their risk profile with 71 per cent expecting to increase investment in legal compliance, with the largest anticipated risk increase from health and safety.

To address this, Inspire, through its E-Workshop solution, is offering a Covid-19 Return to Work programme, which explains the changes that have been introduced into the workplace and what employees must do to protect themselves and others from the spread of infection.

More about Inspire International 

Inspire International UK is a family run business, managed by Jagjeet Singh Virdee, Managing Director and his Father Harvinder Singh Virdee, Technical Director. 

The father and son duo have provided commercial vehicle health and safety solutions to over 250 commercial vehicle workshops across the UK, working with well-established and leading businesses in the industry, including the likes of Keltruck, Scania (Great Britain) Ltd, MAN Truck and Bus UK, Haydock Commercials, Ford and Slater Group, Europa Worldwide Group and RH Commercial Vehicles, plus many more.

Jagjeet Singh Virdee, Managing Director at Inspire International UK explains why now is the time for businesses to invest in health and safety e-learning that is specific to their commercial vehicle workshop: 

“In light of Covid-19 and the challenges this presents Commercial Vehicle Dealerships now and over the next few years, we have worked with Senior Commercial Vehicle leaders to ensure they can maximise workshop hours/utilisation whilst complying to the health and safety regulations that are applicable to their operations.

“E-workshop is the UK’s first commercial vehicle specific health and safety e-learning solution that will help to ensure commercial vehicle dealerships remain compliant to applicable health and safety regulations through the use of e-learning. 

“E-workshop is ideal for the current economic climate and will be the future of health and safety training within the commercial vehicle industry.”

The easy to use e-learning solution caters for all personnel, from Directors to Workshop Controllers and Technicians, educating them on the importance of effective health and safety management within a commercial vehicle workshop. 

Inspire advises that by investing in the e-learning training modules, it will ensure workshops remain compliant, workshop hours are maximised, the correct type of health and safety training for the correct job role is delivered and teams are educated to effectively avoid and manage health and safety within their working environment.

Jagjeet Singh Virdee continues: 

“We are a one stop shop for all areas of health and safety management that relates to commercial vehicle businesses. With the launch of E-workshop, we look to further strengthen our position as the experts in commercial vehicle health and safety solutions that are effective, efficient, pragmatic and proven. 

“We are the leaders in our Industry and truly passionate about what we do, so we will continue to invest in developing solutions that will benefit both our existing and new clients. 

“We plan to continue to listen to the needs of our customers and monitor any changes/introduction of health and safety regulations to ensure our customers continue to introduce best practices in order to remain compliant.”

The 16 e-learning modules

Covid-19 Return To Work, PIT Safety Awareness, Working At Heights, Health Surveillance – Noise, Respiratory and HAVS awareness, Equipment Checks – Pre-Use and Defective, Vehicle Lifting Equipment, Tyre Inflation and Compressed Air Systems, Electrical Safety and Awareness, Hot Works – Oxy-acetylene, Abrasive Wheel and Welding Safety Awareness, Fire Safety Awareness, Workplace Transport Safety, Fire Warden, First Aid Appointed Person, Introduction To Vehicle Workshop Health and Safety, Emergency Procedures and Reporting Accidents, Incidents and Near Misses, and, Display Screen Equipment, plus many more which are planned to be introduced.