SWITCH Forum has been closing out their year-end activities. We are delighted to have successfully delivered a high quality and well received course for supervisor and team leaders and module 1 is soon to finish but the follow-on module 2 is scheduled for next couple of months. We are also putting finishing touches to our short videos clips highlighting the impacts and dangers of violence and aggression against employees in the resources and waste sector.

We have been planning our new webinar program and hope to be covering issues such as impacts of accidents and incidents on companies and their staff, safe maintenance of plant and equipment, use of digital technologies to engage staff and manage risk around health and safety dangers around operational sites and the importance of continued learning and development of training support to assist workers throughout their careers.

We will be fully engaged with Skills Development Scotland on updating and developing the modern apprenticeship (MA) for the sector. MA play a key role in pour sector, but we need to ensure they are well designed, supported the correct way and attractive to apprentices, employers and trainers to ensure their success.

We are always looking for volunteers to assist and help with tasks throughout the year. SWITCH Forum is also dependent on third party funding, and we are willing to enter discussions with any organisation who may wish to support or sponsor work streams within SWITCH. Finally, we would like to thanks those who have supported us to date and look forward to welcoming new SWITCH members throughout 2023. If you believe that someone would benefit from the materials and support that SWITCH provides, then simply encourage them to go to the website and sign up for free.

Violence and aggression at work can have a serious impact on your workers physical and mental health. This HSE guidance will help you assess the risks, put the right controls in place to protect workers and report incidents and learn from them.  Our front-line workers face this type of unacceptable behaviour on a far too regular basis. The incidents themselves are worrying in terms of the dangers they create for staff and other members of the general public, but many don’t think about the short- and long-term mental health and wellbeing impacts on those on the those facing aggression.

SWITCH Forum will soon be launching a new campaign to raise people’s awareness to the issues of violence and aggression so watch this space for more updates and assets to use to make more aware of the impacts of these thoughtless acts of aggression.

HSE refreshed guidance on violence at work to help you protect your workers to:

  • Simplify the navigation to help you easily find the information you need
  • Remove outdated content and replace it with up-to-date practical guidance
  • Remind you that HSE’s definition of violence includes aggression, such as verbal abuse or threats – this can be face to face, online or over the phone

 

Delighted to hear that the Chartered Institute of Waste Management have launched a new “Technical Grade Membership”.

Previously CIWM’s Chartered membership was for graduates but it is great to see the recognition of technical qualifications (CoTC).

CIWM’s Technical Membership represents the significant technical skills acquired by technical and operational staff. Its shows a commitment to professional development and building a successful career in the resources and waste sector.

The grade also recognises the newly emerging skills required for our sector to thrive as we transition to meet government net zero and zero waste targets.

Previously CIWM’s Chartered membership was for graduates but it is great to see the recognition of technical qualifications (CoTC). The Technical grade will enable CIWM to meet the resource and waste sector’s growing demand to professionalise specific technical ability, and serve as an alternative to the Associate grade.

Find out more about how to apply through CIWM here.

 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to carry out more than 500 unannounced site inspections after an “unacceptable number of fatal and serious injuries” in the waste and recycling sector.

The regulator’s programme will cover the whole of Great Britain from now until March 2023.

It will target: (1) machinery guarding and (2) moving vehicles, referred to by the HSE as ‘workplace transport’. The HSE says these two issues account for most fatal injuries.

Data published by the HSE in December 2021 shows that 30% of fatal workplace injuries in the waste sector between 2016/17 and 2020/21 occurred after contact with moving machinery.

Find out more read the letsrecycle news here

The SWITCH Forum recently hosted an online seminar kindly supported by Helios Fire Systems. Fire can have devastating consequences at any site. There is the danger to human life, the loss of plant and equipment, impact on environment with pollution to land, water and air and then the ongoing problems of increased insurance costs, the expense of getting up and running again, loss of revenues while site is shut, loss of good will from neighbouring sites and in the worst-case scenario the business cannot continue as a going concern.

Fires have been increasing in the sector year on year with the ESA estimating 334 fires reported in 2016/17 and 670 fires estimated in 2019/ 2020. These are known fires and reported fires but the underlying near misses, small scale instances of overheating and fire probably go unreported.

The resource and waste sector faces several challenges when considering fire and fire suppression. By its nature, the sector uses a lot of heavy plant and equipment, faces challenges from the materials they handle (small waste electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, mixed refuse which could contain hot ashes, shredded materials, gas cylinders and many more mixes and combinations of non-processed and processed streams.)

Oxygen, heat, and fuel are frequently referred to as the “fire triangle. You need these three things to allow fire to happen. The fuel for the fire is flowing through the site or stored at any one time. Oxygen is always present. The question is where the heat will come from and act as the ignition for the fire.

Once again, the resource and waste sector have a multitude of options for where a source of heat may come from – self heating in piles of materials, electrical faults, hot works, moving plant and hot spots from friction as well as ignition from items such as aerosols, gas cylinders, batteries and other combustible materials.

The first learning must be that staff at any site must be aware of the constant danger of fire and aware of what the sources of fire can be. There should be regular site reviews and consideration given to potential sources of fire, regular training and awareness talks and a plan for regular maintenance program and checking of site electrical wiring and equipment as well as checking stored materials and conveyor belts. Being alert to the dangers and being prepared.

It can take less than 30 seconds for a small fire to take hold and turn into a major fire. Speed of identification and decisive action is therefore paramount. Time is of the essence.

The Helios Fire systems offer state-of-the-art solutions to protect business and the local surrounding environment. They utilise this advanced technology to be the intelligent and ever vigilant system monitoring your site 24 hours and 7 days a week.

The site is surveyed, and design agreed to ensure there is 100% coverage where possible. The ATFS system is an advanced specialist thermographic camera and automatic targeted cannon system which can protect the entire site, utilising infrared and other imaging systems to identify thermal and visual signs of fire. The system learns background temperatures and form a base line “ambient” temperature profile. The system will then scan the entire site constantly looking for any variation from this norm. It is accurate enough to identify these changes in relatively small volumes of materials at quite large distances.

Once a heat variance is identified the system is triggered a warning issued and a location logged. The system can then act. It is clever enough to then engage the second piece of vital equipment which is a targeted water cannon which sprays pressurised fire suppressant. It automatically calculates the distance, the scale and location of the fire and also makes the decision of what type of action to take (delivery of a targeted jet or supressing “blanket” of water and suppressant.) The system takes the action and removes the potential for human error. The system is also utilising AI and deep machine learning to record background temperatures, early warnings, full activations and any other helpful data. It both learns from the day to day as well as logging and learning from actual fire events.

Taking into consideration the speed at which fire can take hold, the complexity of many resource and waste sector sites and the need to be vigilant to fire and fire hazards all the time, it is reassuring to know that there are options to utilise accurate, reliable and intelligent technologies to be a vigilant guardian of your site, staff and equipment as well as technology which will take fast and decisive action to prevent fire. It is also interesting to consider that this technology is centrally logging all the data from its various clients and events the systems record to keep learning about the sources of fire and fires on resource and waste centre sites. There is of course a cost, but operators will need to measure this cost against the potential costs of a fire taking hold at their premises and the impact it has on their staff, their neighbours and their day-to-day operations.

The SWITCH Forum would like to thank Euan Munro, SLR consulting (an active member of our H&S working group) for raising our attention to the technology and Garry Adey of Helios Fire Systems for providing a very interesting and engaging presentation and webinar. A recording of the webinar can be found at https://switchforum.org.uk/webinars/

A key objective of SWITCH is to signpost existing guidance and information and also to develop resources where a gap is identified. We do not recommend any company or equipment and it is down to site operators and employees to be aware of the very real risk of fire and the need to decisive action.

 

 

 

Advetec SWITCHED on to H&S of on-site waste management systems and site monitoring and controls

SWITCH invited Advetec to present a webinar on their on-site waste treatment plant and equipment and to explain the benefits of the system to those attending. Dr Stephen Wise and Ben Martin presented the process through several case studies and answered several questions about the system.

There is always a moment of hesitation when asking commercial businesses to present their processes at the SWITCH Forum as it is important to gain an insight into the technology and gain a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges the kit presents but it is important not just to get a sales pitch.

Advetec clearly showed they had taken the time to embed and consider health and safety measures throughout their thinking from design, development, construction, commissioning and operations.

The system itself is a waste treatment process for residual waste which uses an aerobic process and a blend of bacteria and bio stimulants to accelerate and manage the process from input to output in the most efficient way. It is a modular design which allows for it to be “the right equipment in the right place.” When challenged on this point it was interesting to hear that the company would rather ensure the right site and management of the equipment than “simply shoehorn a system into an inappropriate space.” The team understood you need space to operate equipment and to allow for safe installation.

In each case study the team highlighted how they had considered risks appropriate to address at each location. These can be summarised as:

  1. Mobile Plant – Constantly Moving Heavy Machinery
  2. HGV Vehicles – Delivery & Removal of Materials
  3. Fixed Plant – Heavy Duty Equipment
  4. Bioaerosol – Airborne Pathogens
  5. Slips, Trips & Falls
  6. Work at Heights
  7. Lone Working
  8. Fire

They also highlighted the need to ensure that there is a safe loading area which separates loading equipment from people, surrounding structures and allows for clear vision of the surrounding environment to ensure no strikes or collisions occur. This is also true of output. Similar checks are put in place to make that either end of the process is safe, simple and easy to operate without building risk into the process.

The equipment can be set up in doors or outdoors and again the team has taken due consideration of the varying factors arising from these two scenarios. In every circumstance the equipment is secured and screened to protect against potential impacts or damage to the plant or surrounding superstructures. One-way systems have been utilised to ensure a logical and safe flow of materials to and from the site. Pedestrian and vehicular segregation and traffic management plans ensure that every risk is understood, mitigated against and removed or managed.

A key element of the equipment which gives it a leading edge is remote management and monitoring. The data and analysis provided allows Advetec experts to monitor performance, highlight anomalies and to make appropriate process and equipment adjustments.

Heat is monitored thus reducing the risk of fire but also ensuring the material is being processed at the optimum efficiency. Any gases are monitored and can highlight process effectiveness but also risk.

The team provides a full onsite training package and competence is assessed to ensure that operators are deemed and safe and responsible and manage the process and understand the process and the risks clearly.

It therefore appears that there are several levels of safety built into the product:

  • Robust design of the plant but also the installation and process line of the plant
  • Remote monitoring to ensure that the equipment runs effectively and efficiently and highlights a need for intervention
  • Commissioning, training and competence of client staff
  • Regular and ongoing relationship building with client, new staff members and maintenance engineers

The Advetec team appear to have thought about his sales approach end to end. Ensuring that the design and build is correct gives the machine the best chance of working on day one but also into the future. A safe and robust design builds resilience and keeps the equipment working at the optimum for the client but also keeps staff and neighbours safe and happy. Design also ensures that the system can’t be tampered with or adjusted without permissions.

Remote monitoring ensures the process works correctly, effectively and efficiently keeping the client happy but also reducing and removing risks when they can arise.

Staff training makes sure that safety is built in from day one and that competency ensure the equipment is run and maintained well.

Ongoing relationship ensures that both the client and Advetec get the most from the sales process through learning, experience and knowledge which they can then apply to the product and future product development.

 

Welcome to The Road Safety Podcast, the podcast that keeps driving for work and how to manage risks, in the minds of people and businesses across Scotland.

With your host, Dr Karen McDonnell – Occupational Safety and Health Policy Adviser at RoSPA these  conversations will help you understand where driving for work sits within the Safe System approach. How can your business help reduce the number of people being killed or seriously injured on Scotland’s roads by 50% by 2030?

To listen and find out more:  The Road Safety Podcast Playlists

 

View David Goodenough, West Lothian Council (SWITCH member of Education, Training Competence group) webinar on Lessons learned from delivering waste collection during COVID-19.

In this webinar David takes us through the key stages of delivering a collection service this year as covid 19 restrictions developed including the issues which arose trying to keep a collection service operational and how health, safety and training issues were resolved. Followed by a Q&A session where David shares his knowledge further on some of the issues they faced, how they were resolved and what are the upcoming issues for the remainder of 2020 and going into 2021.

SWITCH will be running a series of webinars which usually take place on the last Thursday of each month on a range of topics and issues relevant to the resource management industry and for everyone working in the sector – so all are welcome to join,

We are always interested in hearing what other topics and subjects you would like to hear more about and discuss and share practice on. Even better if you are able to offer to present on this monthly seminar the please drop and email to admin@switchforum.org.uk.

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Save the date for the November Seminar 

Topic: Promotion of Mental Health and Wellbeing During COVID-19

When: Thursday 26th November 10:00 – 11:00

 

Scottish Union Learning in partnership with Digital Skills Education Ltd is offering a free, interactive online cyber resilience course for workers across Scotland:

Developing cyber resilience skills: A learning toolkit for workers’

This course we will give you tips and hints about how to provide cyber support skills, or training for your colleagues.

The course will cover:

  • Keeping smartphones and laptops secure – making workers more cyber resilient – Thursday 24 September from 2pm to 3pm or Friday 25 September from 11am to 12pm
  • Safer web browsing and spotting phishing attacks – building the digital confidence of workers – Thursday 1 October from 11am to 12pm or 2pm to 3pm
  • Picking better passwords – encouraging an understanding of the fundamentals of cyber security# – Thursday 8 October from 11am to 12pm or 2pm to 3pm

The course is ideally suited for any worker who is keen to develop their own skills and want to share this knowledge with colleagues.

To find out more register at any of the events here

For more information contact Karina Liptrot

Whilst many of our frontline staff continue to work through this pandemic, the question is what are we doing to help support their wellbeing.

Danielle Moore from East Renfrewshire Council writes case study on staff wellbeing during COVID-19