The Port of Cork is working with CMSE to achieve OHSAS 18001, Mr Chris Mee of CMSE and Mr Henry Kingston of the Port of Cork recently met to discuss the detail of the support services available from CMSE.
The Port of cork have been leading the way in its health and safety and environmental management, demonstrated through it IPSM award in 2007. The Port of Cork will secure OHSAS 18001 Accredition in the next 12 months.
Health & Safety Authority (HSA) & CMSE – Confined Space Training for HSA Inspectors
Chris Mee Safety Engineering (CMSE) recently delivered several days of confined space training to a large group of HSA inspectors at the CMSE Training Centre. The hands on training programme was organised by Mr. Mark Roland of the HSA and Mr Christopher Mee of CMSE.
The customised course was delivered by CMSEs top trainers for the HSA inspectors and focused on the essential safety requirements of confined space entry and rescue including the use of confined space equipment (both operational & rescue). The inspectors were also instructed in the correct use and inspection of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA).
The HSA is the Irish State Agency for Occupational Safety and Health. Their inspectors carry out both enforcement and educational/information delivery to employers and employees in the essential area of accident reduction and prevention. For more information on the HSA you can visit their website www.hsa.ie.
A few years ago I was investigating an accident at a client’s location when I heard a very sudden loud noise nearby. I went over to check the noise and to see if there was a problem. I found an engineer and two fitters standing near a moulding machine. I enquired of them as to their well being and they all said they were fine but a little startled ! ! I asked the engineer what had happened. He said that he was lifting a reconditioned mould into place and the lifting device (chain-block) had failed and the mould fell to the ground.
I asked him if he would be investigating the accident and he looked at me with a confused expression on his face. His answer was interesting – “ no one was hurt – why would we investigate ?” I pointed out that there was a very high risk of serious injury from a recurrence of this type of event. I then also asked him how much it would cost to repair the mould. His answer here was VERY alarming to me also – “ not sure really – but the last time this happened it cost us €30 k”
For me both the possibility of future serious injury and the high cost of such an event made it very obvious to me that an investigation and new control measures were badly needed. We did carry out an investigation and implement some simple, cheap and practical control measures. There has been no recurrence and the MD of the workplace is now really delighted to carry out such accident investigations. He was unaware of these hidden costs in his very high maintenance budget.
Do you know about all your hidden costs? Can you afford to ignore such accidents in your workplace?