SAFETY
businesses identified as potentially
non-compliant, responding to
incidents and, of course, our work
in high-hazard environments,”
he adds.
The spot check calls are
carried out by Civica UK, a
company experienced in
providing services for the
public sector, with actual
visits provided by two
suppliers, CDER Group and
Engage Services (ESL). Both
organisations have extensive
field forces and provide support
services to organisations across
the public sector. The checks
involve a call or visit to business
premises to check it has COVID-safe
measures in place that are in line with
government guidance. “Where there
are concerns about these measures, it
will be looked into further on the visit, or
with a follow-up call for those businesses
contacted by phone,” states HSE’s
Smallbone. “If required, it will be referred
to an HSE inspector to carry out an
inspection.”
Spot checks initially focused on HSEregulated
businesses. However, a short
time into the programme, it
was expanded to include
businesses regulated by
local authorities. “We
work in partnership
with individual local
authorities, and carry
out spot check calls
and visits on their behalf.
HSE has also rapidly
reacted in targeting specific
sectors such as meat processing/
packaging and also health and care
settings, in order to support the pandemic
response.”
How exactly do the checks work? “For
the visits, spot check support officers
attend the premises to engage with
the duty holder and
discuss the COVIDsafe
measures
they have in place,”
he explains. “The
checks cover areas such
as risk assessment, talking to
staff, work-related stress, and
cleaning and hygiene regimes.
The spot check support officers share
all completed forms and visit outcomes
with us HSE to ensure that any visits
that require follow-up by HSE inspectors
or local authority officers are identified
quickly and dealt with in a timely manner. “
POSSIBLE PROSECUTIONS
Most of the inspections find that
businesses have COVID-safe measures
in place, Smallbone confirms. “Those
that we are finding need to do more are,
in the main, bringing up their standards
after further guidance and support from
HSE. Where we find businesses aren’t
managing the risk, HSE will take action.
This can range from the provision of
specific advice, issuing enforcement
notices and stopping certain work
practices until they are made safe. Where
businesses fail to comply, this could lead
to prosecution.”
Some common
issues the HSE and local
authority inspectors are
finding across a range
of sectors include
failures to provide
arrangements for
monitoring, supervising
and maintaining social
distancing; and failing to
introduce an adequate cleaning
regime, particularly at busy times.
HSE is now assessing how it can use
the learnings and experience gained
through the spot check team not only to
support any efforts required for future
outbreaks, but also to assist businesses
in a post-pandemic
environment. “We will
be targeting new
areas of health
and safety that are
becoming even more important
as more and more people
return to work, the economy
re-opens and businesses
prioritise areas such as mental health,”
says Smallbone.
The HSE, in its ‘working safely’
guidance, has set out a range of
mitigations that employers should
consider. These include:
• Identifying poorly ventilated areas
in the venue – for example, by using
a CO2 monitor and taking steps to
improve air flow in these sectors
• Ensuring that staff and customers who
are unwell do not come to the site
• Providing hand sanitiser to enable staff
and customers to clean their hands
more frequently, and cleaning surfaces
that people touch regularly
• Telling staff and customers what
measures have been put in place.
Meanwhile, businesses are encouraged
to continue displaying NHS QR codes
for those wishing to check in using the
NHS COVID-19 app, so they are alerted if
there’s an outbreak, and can take action to
protect others.
HSE is also assisting local authorities’
targeting of premises in the sectors they
regulate. Sefton Council (a metropolitan
borough of Merseyside) is among those,
with one of its councillors, Paulette
Lappin, outlining the benefits this
approach offers. “Working with the HSE
has enabled us to target the whole of
the Sefton area, from small businesses
to large manufacturers, whether local
authority or HSE enforced, ensuring all
workplaces understand the importance of
being COVID-secure,” she confirms.
See www.is.gd/kifaxa for the latest
guidance on COVID-19 precautions.
Winter 2021 www.operationsengineer.org.uk 27
/kifaxa
/www.operationsengineer.org.uk