Health & Safety Policy
1. General Statement of Health & Safety
Pol-Scot Contracts is committed to ensuring, by all reasonably practicable means, the health and safety of its employees, clients and any other person affected by its operations.
The Company will seek to ensure that its legal duties, statutory obligations and policy objectives are complied with at all times. It is committed to the continuing development and implementation of appropriate safety management systems and to the continual improvement of its health and safety performance. In particular, the Company believes that risk control is a vital component of its management strategy leading to an improved quality of working life, increased efficiency and long term cost savings.
The general arrangements for health and safety are set out in the Company Health and Safety Policy Document. All relevant policies of Pol-Scot Contracts will be kept under constant review to ensure that health and safety objectives are achieved within the resources available to the Company.
All employees will be given such information, instruction and training as is necessary to enable the safe performance of their duties. Communication on health and safety matters is encouraged with an ‘open door policy’, and adequate facilities and arrangements will be maintained to enable employees and their representatives to raise issues with management.
2. Responsibilities
Personnel with particular responsibilities for health and safety are:-
The Director:-
• Has overall responsibilities for providing the necessary resource for ensuring that the Companies statutory obligations in respect of health and safety are met.
The Construction Manager
Has overall responsibility for implementation of the health and safety standards required by law.
Appoint a competent person for health & safety advice to the company.
That the Health and Safety Policy is reviewed annually.
Site Managers/Supervisors
Have responsibilities to ensure that all operatives or contractors under their control have been inducted to site and have been briefed on all hazards present and the Company’s arrangements.
That all operatives or contractors under their control have been briefed and understand all risk assessments, method statements and COSHH assessments relevant to their work.
That all operatives or contractors meet the minimum competence standards as directed by the company in the health and safety plan.
All health and safety matters including assessment of risks, establishing safe working procedures, providing appropriate information, instruction, training and supervision for employees.
Undertake regular inspections as directed by the health and safety plan.
Maintain and compile the health and safety plan.
Keep the management board informed and alerted to, relevant health and safety risk and management issues.
Adhering to the health and safety measures in place.
Health & Safety Advisor:-
The Health and Safety Advisor shall set up the Company’s safety management system and implement, with the Managing Director and Construction Manager’s approval.
Will keep the company advised on changes to legislation, will assist with retrieving health and safety information.
He will advise management at all levels, and his presence in no way relieves the management of their health and safety responsibilities. His advice is available to all Company Employees.
Any employee who is in doubt about safe working practices and procedures should contact his immediate supervisor, or where he/ she feels that their doubts are not satisfied contact the Health and Safety Advisor.
Employees:-
It is the responsibility of each employee to co-operate with management to enable all relevant statutory duties to be met. Each Individual whilst at work has a legal obligation to take reasonable care for his acts or omissions. This requires a high degree of alertness and commitment to health and safety objectives from all employees.
They must ensure that they do not start work without being inducted to site.
They must ensure that they have read and understood all risk assessment, method statement,
COSHH assessments for the task that they are to undertake, and the material that they are to use.
They must use the Personal Protective Equipment specified in the risk assessment, method statement, COSHH assessment.
They must follow the directions in the method statement, risk assessment and COSHH assessment. Or advise the supervisor or site manager the reason why this may not be followed.
Failure to do so shall leave the operative liable to the company’s disciplinary procedures. No action can be taken against an employee who refuses to undertake a task where he/ she believes that there is a hazard that may affect their personal safety or that of others. Or where they are not competent to undertake the task.
Health and Safety Policy Document – Arrangements
Training
All managers are responsible for ensuring that, they themselves, their operatives, agency operatives and contractors no matter how they are employed trained and capable of undertaking the roles allocated to them.
The Managing Director and Construction Manager have agreed and resolve to set the
CITB Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) to be their minimum health and safety competence standard for all construction staff and operatives, for plant Construction Plant Certification Scheme (CPCS) for operators.
The company has given a huge commitment toward the personal development of all
operatives no matter of status.
Audits & Inspections
Sites are subject to safety management system audits. Responsibility for undertaking the audits, agreeing the audit programme and disseminating the audit information rests with the Companies Construction Manager, who in turn will rely on assessments and provisional audits from the Health and Safety Adviser.
Review of Performance
The Health and Safety Advisor shall keep records of all audits, offenders’ lists, and continuing non-conformance and shall identify consistent offenders at his six monthly reports to the Board of Directors.
At site managers/ supervisors regular meetings health and safety performance issues, shall be discussed. Safety meetings shall be arranged, undertaken and recorded. Meetings will be as frequent as necessary to compensate all Health, Safety and Environmental Issues
Special Arrangements
The Company recognizes that it has responsibilities to comply with legislation in respect of the following:
• To carry out and documenting of such assessments, as maybe necessary to identify any hazards that exist In the workplace and to introduce such controls as maybe necessary to remove, reduce and protect personnel from the risk involved.
• To maintain written records of certain activities covered by specific health and safety legislation.
• Where appropriate, specialists from outside the company will be appointed to assist us in meeting our statutory duties, in regards to The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.