Anyone know much about risk assessments ??

[5teve L]

As title, need to do a risk assessment, H&S assessment & loads of other stuff to keep the bulk of my work never done one before so not totally clued up to whats required really for either

Only had the jobs for feckin 5+years & now they spring this lot on me, CRB check, can't use ladders etc etc, a real ballache & it means me loosing 11k a year so i need to sort something out ASAP... The only things i have a problem with are the risk assessment & Health & safety as i've not got a clue where to start as i said.
I'm a commercial window cleaner BTW
TIA

Steve

[James5]

Steve,

I am not an expert on filling the forms in but I am on the other end with regards to Technicial liability role but the following is why they have asked -

The law requires that employers make an assessment of risks to the health and safety of their employees (Yourself Steve as you work alone) and anyone else who may be affected by their undertaking (members of the public, workers at the commercial premises etc..). The purpose of the assessment is to identify significant hazards and then to evaluate the likelihood that those hazards will cause harm. If there is a likelihood either that serious injury could be done to someone, or that a large number of people could be affected, then it is necessary to introduce "controls" to reduce the risk. The ideal control is to remove the risk altogether, but where that is not possible, it is necessary to introduce protection, to undertake training, or to establish procedures that will reduce the risk to an acceptable level.

Do you need copies of any forms that you could use??

[5teve L]

Lol, give me a page of & i'm fooked, give me an engine & i'll be ok..... lol.

I have no idea James like i said... no idea of what they want, i have done what i think is ok, but somehow i very much doubt it's ok

Steve

[James5]

If you need forms I can get hold of some forms from work may need to remove the RSA logo though.

But they are good and very detailed on hoe to fill them out.

It's all done in case something happens such as an injury to someone / property or even yourself and a Liability claim is made. It's a case of backing yourself and them up it's a form of evidence showing that you fulfilled your Duty of care. Risk assesments need to be done every 6 months or if equipment of layout of site is changed then sooner.

[r5 rich]

hope this helps:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/misc613.pdf

[5teve L]

Cheers Rich, been & looked at all those, still in a fluster about it, i think i'm trying to do to many things at once & am confusing the two together now

James, it may be helpful if you can 'borrow' some of those forms so i can get an idea of the layout & what exactly i need to be putting into them... I'm really at paperwork !

[James5]

Cheers Rich, been & looked at all those, still in a fluster about it, i think i'm trying to do to many things at once & am confusing the two together now

James, it may be helpful if you can 'borrow' some of those forms so i can get an idea of the layout & what exactly i need to be putting into them... I'm really at paperwork !

give me a pm with your email address and I will send you them from my work email as I am still @ work now

[warpspeed]

technically i believe the only risk assesment you need is for the public side of it as health and safety law doesn't apply if you don't employ anybody. Don't take that as verbatim but i watched my father to go tell a HSE inspector to go f**k himself when asked for a risk assesment and the guy admitted dad was right and walked out the door! (it was a yacht and boatbuilding business with no employees)I also had a run in with the same guy who told me i had to wear a hard hat when going up in a bosuns chair to work on masts (i worked in a yacht marina for 7 years) 160 foot in the air, when i told him i wouldn't wear it as i believed it restricted my vision of obstacles and the was a risk of it falling off and hitting somebody on deck he told me he was going to get me the sack and i said i would see him in court then. He then told the owner of the company who agreed with me and told him to shutup! Go online and look into it a bit more, just because somebody official says so it doesn't mean they are right.

[bye_all_c_ya]

i have a systems of work at work covers ladders ect i could try to get a second copy and send it you !

[5teve L]

It all helps, cheers.
& yes i work alone, it's just from what the client was saying i got the jist that they wanted something pretty air-tight & would prefere a bigger firm to do the work, i could be wrong though... as she kept stating that the other firm 'had it pretty sewn up'

Following on from this i got in touch with an old work collegue that now owns his own cleaning firm & was advertising for a manager, just to see if he had any part time stuff in case i did loose the work in question. After speaking for a while he asked why i needed the job, i told him about the above & he said well why don't you come & work for me as my Window cleaning manager as the stuff he has at the moment is done by himself & his brother who won't do high work. He has offered me £20+k a year, full paid holiday, a van etc. & he will either buy my work outright for a lump sum or i put in my work & he pays me a % on my old work as well as the 20K. His firm is quite large & so the H&S & risk assessment side is taken care of, now what would you do about this, given the current climate etc.
I would have to draw up a good contract stating that i had a job for as long as a. the firm was doing well & b. he couldn't sack me without a very good reason..... Either way i stand a risk of loosing work
My company is worth about 18.5k PA

[Mudslinger]

carring out a risk assesmet is not hard m8, ive been on a course at work for it a few times , all you have to do is identify the risk ie falling from height could be a high risk say no5 so all u have to do is put in words and action how you can reduce that risk to say a 1 or 2 ,you can never completely get rid of the risk but you can reduce it by say ,wearing an harness an maintaining 3 point contact on the ladder at all times , having someone foot the ladder , have the ladder in the correct angle ,. its really easy m8 . thats just to give you an idea , but u probably no that

most of the RA's i use at work have to be job specific and no permit to work will be given untill the RA is reviewed .

Im off work at the moment with a bad back so i cant send you anything untill next week . but im sure i could give you enough info ud be flying at risk assessments in no time ...

over and above the permit,risk assesment ,safety pack and emergency plan the guys out on site at my work carry whats called a take 5 book and its a personal RA book thats filled in before any work is started ,if there is an audit by the safety team and 1 operative doesnt have it filled in its a strike !! 2 strikes and your out !! never work on the complex again

PPE is something else, i dont see alot of peeps using when working on cars in garages its scary to see peeps using grinders and power tools without eye protection or hearing protection . when u see the outcomes of the few unfortunates its defo best to reduce the risk ...

[A N D Y]

can't use ladders etc etc

Steve

A window cleaner without a set of ladders!?

You will have to go on the hunt for Bungalows......Get a Jetpack......Extendable Squeegee!?

Health and Safety just makes things more dangerous half the time.

[Brigsy]

Ill bet they want you to use a zip scaffold, ive been on a long & boring iosh h&s training course that covered stuff like this today

[5teve L]

Pole system, ladders must be footed or tied off (although by the letter of H&S i really don't have to as i'm up & down quickly) harness used when cleaning outside windows from inside, yadda yadda yadda... I think i've done it now, just have to wait until monday to go & see the client with the paperwork. Oh & if they except it spend 2k+ on a reach & wash pole system which adds trip hazards, slip hazards, risk of falling debris, risk of legionnaires disease, massive waste of water......

It's all bull I've been window cleaning for 18+ years with 1 accident when i 1st started I have insurance etc just trying to make a living, the small business is fooked these days

Fingers crossed for monday eh..

[James5]

Hope it goes well for you