Guidance

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• The form must be completed whenever there is an incident, however minor and including a "near miss". It should be completed by the immediate supervisor of the injured person or by the person in charge of the area where the incident happened and be sent to Safety and Health Services as soon as possible (within 48 hours). Report forms must be completed for incidents that occur on University business that may be remote from the University for example on fieldwork.
• Section 1 of the report form should normally be completed by the person with supervisory responsibility for the area. This should then be passed on to the local safety advisor or the head of school or service to carry out an investigation of the incident and to complete section 2. The report should then be sent to Safety and Health Services. If the head of school or service or local Safety Advisor is unable to sign the form promptly do not delay in sending the report to Safety and Health Services especially with regard to a serious accident.
• The injured person and/or the local safety advisor should inform the relevant trade union safety representative of the accident as appropriate. Personal details should not be given without obtaining consent from the injured person.
• Note that there is no requirement to use the BI 510 Accident reporting book from HSE. Any old books should be returned to the local Safety Advisor.

Change log
Version 3.1: Added an extra form completion date field and email encryption warning. Minor wording changes.

Further advice on specific topics is available in the more detailed guidance documents available in the guidance section or index section of this website.

Document context: These local rules are designed for schools that do not possess laboratory or workshop accommodation. Schools that do have such accommodation are required to supplement this document with further detailed information regarding the school health and safety management procedures that are in place for activities in these areas. Further guidance documents are available from this website and advice can also be obtained from health and safety and occupational health advisors.

Document use: This local rules template has been designed for the use of faculties and schools. The document is only a template and therefore has to be changed and amended to suit the needs of an individual school or faculty. Please delete all areas that are not relevant and add any specific rules that you need to communicate to members of staff into the appropriate boxes. The template has been designed to provide guidance on generic issues only such as manual handling, electrical and accident reporting and is not intended to be fully comprehensive in content but used as a starting point in which to add additional sections.

Document use: This local rules template has been designed for the use of support services and process owners. The document is only a template and therefore has to be amended to suit the needs of an individual service. Please delete all areas that are not relevant and add specific rules that you need to communicate to members of staff into the appropriate boxes. Guidance aimed specifically at process owners to help them develop a management system has been added in italics. These boxes will need to be deleted from the final version. The template has been designed to provide guidance on generic issues only such as manual handling, electrical safety and accident reporting and is not intended to be fully comprehensive in content but used as a starting point for adding additional sections.

Full laboratory inspections should take place annually or every six months for high hazard areas with intermediate regular inspections by laboratory staff taking place in each laboratory. This inspection form could be used for a full inspection and as guidance for other inspections. It has been divided into several sections: a general section applicable to all facilities; and optional sections that address particular types of hazards that might be present in a laboratory. The inspection team should decide which of the optional sections are applicable before each inspection or audit takes place. Therefore, although the form appears long it may not always be necessary to complete all sections. The form is also suitable for SSAs to issue to laboratory supervisors or managers for a self assessment type inspection.

Completed inspection forms with updated actions should be retained (either in each laboratory or collated by the SSA) for at least 3 years and be available for inspection by Safety and Health Services advisors during routine inspections or health and safety audits. Forms may also be required as evidence to give to external regulators or insurance inspectors.

Inspections must be undertaken and formally recorded annually or more frequently for high risk areas such as workshops or laboratories. Visual inspections should be ongoing with all members of staff being encouraged to immediately report any defects (inspection frequency is at the school's or section's discretion.

It is not a requirement to use these forms, they are provided as a guide to the type of information that should be gathered at an inspection. Sections of the forms can either be deleted if not relevant to a particular workplace or sections added to make the form more comprehensive to the particular hazards.

Inspections must be undertaken and formally recorded annually or more frequently for high risk areas such as workshops or laboratories. Visual inspections should be ongoing with all members of staff being encouraged to immediately report any defects (inspection frequency is at the school's or section's discretion.

It is not a requirement to use these forms, they are provided as a guide to the type of information that should be gathered at an inspection. Sections of the forms can either be deleted if not relevant to a particular workplace or sections added to make the form more comprehensive to the particular hazards.

This guidance provides information on the health and safety aspects that must be considered when organising a small to medium sized University associated event. The advice is general as there are so many different types of events. The document contains useful information on carrying out a risk assessment, food safety, event security, emergency arrangements and licencing.

This document provides guidance on completing a risk assessment for any food stall on University premises. It provides guidance on food safety, training and what you need to consider prior and on the day of the event.

Inflatable play equipment including bouncy castles may be arranged as part of a University event. This guidance note provides information on how to manage the risks of inflatable’s and prevent any possible accidents or incidents.

The University of Bristol organises two large open days a year for students and their families to visit Bristol and gather information on what the University and individual schools are able to offer. This guidance note assists organisers to complete a risk assessment for these events.

This guidance document is designed to assist users and those responsible for both fitting and using portable and fixed abrasive wheels. These are very hazardous by nature and have the potential to cause harm not only to people using the wheel but also to others in the vicinity.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR) call for every employer to carry out risk assessments for hazardous situations at work where specific regulations do not otherwise apply. This is not the case with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) as these regulations do not specifically call for such an assessment for exposure to any hazardous work equipment i.e. the assessments must be carried out under MHSWR.

For the purposes of this guidance document, abrasive wheels fall within the PUWER definition of work equipment meaning any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation for use at work (whether exclusively or not). An abrasive wheel is defined as a wheel made of abrasive particles that are stuck together with various substances.

This document provides information that should enable a DSE assessor to recognise poor workplace layout and posture and improve upon this by producing a risk assessment that is effective and thorough. The assessor should then be able to put in place adequate control measures to minimise any adverse effects of the DSE workstation.

The claim form for recovering the cost of a DSE eye test and glasses, where required.

This guidance has been written following enquiries as to whether annual inspections of (non-fixed) gas lines and regulators must be carried out by independent (i.e. external) inspectors or is it permissible to use fully trained and competent in-house staff to fulfil this function.

The guidance outlines some of the potential hazards associated with lone working, defines roles and responsibilities and describes the practical steps that can be taken to minimise any risks and to comply with legislation. The document is not intended to prohibit or place rigid restrictions on lone working but rather to provide guidance to enable schools and services to develop their own local rules based on the principles of measured risk management.

This updated document now contains information about the lone worker monitoring subscription service provided by Bristol City Council which is being used by some University schools and services. A guide to the monitoring service and how to apply can also be downloaded from the 'Related resources' associated with this guidance document.

The purpose of this guidance note is to give information on the extra hazards associated with work that may be relevant to a new or expectant mother, and the actions to be taken to assess and mitigate the risks involved. The guidance note provides a hazard checklist that can be used identify specific hazards for an individual that can used to produce a risk assessment. The checklist outlines a large variety of hazards from working with display screen equipment to more specialised work for example with embryotoxic chemicals. The checklist should be used to produce a risk assessment by the line manager/supervisor to include relevant sections applicable to the individual’s work or study.

Noise at work can cause hearing loss that can be temporary or permanent. People often experience temporary deafness after leaving a noisy place. Although hearing recovers within a few hours, this should not be ignored. It is a sign that if an individual continues to be exposed to the noise then their hearing could be permanently damaged. Permanent hearing damage can be caused immediately by sudden, extremely loud, explosive noises.

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 imposes duties on the University to protect employees who may be exposed to noise. This guidance outlines measures that need to be in place to protect employees, including assessing the risks and taking measures to reduce noise exposure. Providing training and information for employees on the risks from noise and the measures in place to reduce these and providing health surveillance where the risk assessment shows that this is appropriate.

The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 were made under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. They apply to all places of work and to all work involving the use of electricity. The Regulations are primarily concerned with the prevention of danger and injury from electric shock, electrical burns, fires of electrical origin, electrical arcing and explosions initiated or caused by electricity.

These regulations place duties on the University as an employer to control risks arising from the use of electricity.

All staff have a responsibility to reduce the incidence of slips and trips in the University. Heads of schools have a responsibility to ensure that risk assessments have been carried out, including a slip and trip risk assessment and where necessary take action to safeguard health and safety and that workplaces under their control are free from risks as far as reasonably practicable. This document provides guidance on how to carry out a risk assessment and provides a hazard spotting checklist and example risk assessment.

Please note that the information contained in this guidance does not replace the stress policy documentation that was approved by University Council in November 2006 (see related resources).

Statutory examinations and tests are either carried out by the engineering arm of the University's insurance company, external contractors or Estate Services. They are, for the majority of circumstances, organised by Estate Services who also maintain a register and computer database of equipment. One exception is microbiological safety cabinets and re-circulating fume cupboards, and reference should be made to the Procurement web-site for instructions, or contact Safety and Health Services.

Other examinations and tests are advisory, but University Council has ratified as an internal policy how local users should react to ensure continuing safety. Details of these tests will include the expected period between tests and the required competence of those persons performing the tests.

The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 impose duties on the University to protect employees who may be exposed to risks from either hand-arm or whole-body vibration at work, and others who might be directly affected by the work. This guidance outlines measures that need to be in place to protect employees from the risks of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) and an increased risk of back pain which can be caused by exposure to vibration.

Work experience placements may be arranged either via the young person’s school or college, or directly with the University (e.g. through a friend or family member). The guidance has been written mainly for young persons; however the principles are the same for all work experience placements including those University schools and services which provide work experience opportunities to adults

The scope of the guidance is significant therefore a risk related approach must be considered and applied to ensure an appropriate management system is in place that is flexible enough to cover diverse University working and travel. This guidance does not cover student placements where the direct supervision of a student is transferred to a third party and the placement is integral to the individual student’s course. Student placements are covered by a separate guidance note 'University of Bristol Student Placements Health and Safety Guidance (2009)'.

This document aligns good practice in the Higher and Further Education sectors with the British Standard, BS 8848: Specification for the provision of visits, fieldwork, expeditions, and adventurous activities outside the United Kingdom (‘BS 8848:2007+A1:2009’). It draws upon the USHA/UCEA guidance ‘Health and Safety in Fieldwork including off-site visits and travel in the UK’ (USHA 2011).

It is aimed at heads of schools, faculty managers, line managers, fieldwork leaders and others who may be accountable for the health and safety of staff, students and other participants engaged in fieldwork. It also gives practical advice to other stakeholders, such as academic researchers; students and supervisors of students undertaking independent research in the field.

This guidance is aimed at minimising the risks to the health and safety of University researchers when engaged in research activities that primarily involve working directly with research participants, usually outside of University premises in private settings or environments unfamiliar to the researcher. This includes data collection, interviewing, surveys and observational studies.

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and this includes home workers. Home workers are those employees who regularly work at home because of formally agreed arrangements with their managers or who are contracted to work at home. This guidance document is not aimed at members of staff who occasionally work at home however members of staff e.g. academics who use information technology for a substantial period whilst at home may find this guidance note helpful.

The policy recognises that the statutory liability for the health and safety of a student on placement primarily lies with the placement provider. However, this guidance places duties on the school to ensure that the student is sufficiently informed, enabling him or her to question the placement provider in respect of health and safety provision in the provider's premises and also to be an integral part of the health and safety monitoring process.