An important new publication, A-Z of Health & Safety for High-Risk Environments, was launched yesterday by Mr Tom Kitt, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
"Health and safety is as much an important and essential component of a business as cost control or quality control. Poor health and safety practices and standards could mean the loss of someone's life and, unlike an economic loss, this is not something from which there can be a recovery or retrieval.
"Health and safety can no longer be an 'add-on' function to other duties - it is incumbent upon all business practitioners to make it a dedicated function of their business," said Mr Kitt.
"A workplace accident is a cost to the State, to the individual employer and most obviously to the injured employee. Occupational injuries, illnesses and fatalities cost an estimated 2 per cent of GDP," he said.
Since assuming ministerial responsibility for occupational health and safety, Mr Kitt said he had seen workplace health and safety "become far more prominent a business issue than ever before. At all levels - State, employer and worker - the awareness of workplace safety has increased enormously."
The commitment by the State and social partners to improve workplace health and safety continuously was underpinned in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.
Contributing as it does to "a better living and working environment for all citizens", the minister said, "one of the main challenges now is to translate awareness into action".
The work of the Health and Safety Authority "needs to be complemented by an 'in-house' or 'on-site' expertise in every workplace" to ensure that health and safety "becomes an integral part of management policies and structures and can permeate through all levels of an organisation".
Mr Kitt praised the new publication as contributing to the development of expertise within individual companies. Legislation provides a framework for health and safety, he said.
"However, the sheer volume, scope and formality of the legislation can sometimes be baffling to the business practitioner."
The new publication would "greatly help" in the vital task of information dissemination. Published by Round Hall Professional Publishing in loose-leaf and CD formats, the book is aimed at high-risk workplaces such as construction sites, chemical plants, hospital laboratories and engineering plants. It provides a comprehensive health and safety reference source for such areas.
According to Michael McMahon, safety engineer with CI╔ and general editor of the new publication: "It is only a matter of time before an employer is sent to prison for blatant disregard for the health and safety of their employees. Ignorance of the legislation or best practice is not a defence, although for many employers keeping abreast of the latest developments in the health and safety area is difficult due to the numerous information sources."
In more than 600 pages, the manual covers most of the health and safety information specific to the higher-risk environments that employers need to know. It complements Round Hall's A-Z of Health & Safety Risk Assessment in Ireland, which is aimed at employers in lower-risk environments such as offices.
The new publication is divided into three parts, each with its own detailed contents list, and a general contents section and index. Part one looks at general background information and risk-assessment procedures. Part two summarises key legislation concerning each module, hazard or working environment. Part three constitutes a detailed and easy-to-read tool for assessing each high-risk hazard.
Hazards dealt with include abrasive wheels, asbestos, biological agents, carcinogens, confined spaces, construction safety management, demolition, electricity, excavations, fire, flammable materials, hazardous substances/chemicals, hot works, lifting equipment, manual handling, noise, pressurised plant systems, scaffolding and working at heights, slips, trips and falls, and specialist personal protective equipment.
Cross-references are found throughout the text. Procedures and checklists are given and effective use is made of flow charts.
Example forms are given, as are model memos and letters. Summaries of regulations are presented and clearly identified while a page check service enables subscribers to ensure that their volume is kept up to date. Two updates are planned per year.
A-Z of Health & Safety for High-Risk Environments costs £295 or £330 for the CD and is available direct from Round Hall Professional Publishing, 43 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2. Telephone 01-6625301.
jmarms@irish-times.ie
