New features added to INTACT

For some time now, we've realised that links between the audit schedule and the audit form could make the audit entry process more user friendly.
What we've done is to:

• Make a link so that, if you double click on a system in the audit schedule, it takes you to the audits for that system, and
• When you click on the Sign Off button on an audit, it updates the schedule so that the present audit is signed off with today's date and a new one scheduled 1-year hence.

SSS reach certification milestone

The recent certification to ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 for Vibixa is a milestone for Strategic Safety Systems.

• Vibixa is the 40th company we have helped to gain ISO 14001 certification
• Vibixa is the 20th company we have helped to gain OHSAS 18001 certification

See a list of our successes for these plus ISO 9001, FSC, PEFC and other standards.

Vibixa gain 14001 and 18001 certification

Congratulations to Vibixa, the Cheltenham-based carton manufaturer who have recently gained certification to ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard and OHSAS 18001 Health and Safety Management Standard. The systems used by Vibixa were developed by Strategic Safety Systems and extensive use is made of the SSS INTACT integrated action management system. SSS have been associated with Vibixa for many years, providing health and safety support and are delighted that the approaches that Vibixa have taken have been rewarded by certification.

Bushell and Meadows gain ISO 13486

Congratulations to Bushell and Meadows, a precision machining company in Tewkesbury for gaining certification to ISO 13485 Medical Devices - Quality Management System using SSS-developed systems.
This is in addition to earlier certification to ISO 9001 for which SSS also provided the systems.
See more.

6 new health and safety bills

Six new Private Member’s Bills were presented to Parliament last week on the back of recommendations in Lord Young’s review of health and safety, published on 15 October.

• Health and Safety at Work (Amendment) Bill – to amend the HSWA 1974 to make provisions for separate risk-assessment requirements for play, leisure and work-based activities; and to introduce simplified risk assessments for schools;
• Compensation (Limitation) Bill – to prevent conditional fee agreement success fees and after-the-event insurance premiums being recoverable from the losing party in civil litigation; to facilitate damages-based agreements for contingency fees in respect of successful litigants;
• Health and Safety Consultants (Qualifications) Bill – to introduce qualification requirements for health and safety consultants; and to provide accreditation for such consultants; (Note: SSS comply with this already.)
  
• Low Hazard Workplaces (Risk Assessment Exemption) Bill – to exempt employers from the requirement to produce a written risk assessment in respect of low-hazard workplaces and the premises of those working from their own home with low-hazard equipment;
• RIDDOR Regulation Bill – to reduce the duties on employers to report matters under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995; and
• Self-employment (Risk Assessment Exemption) Bill – to exempt self-employed persons engaged in low-hazard activity from the requirement to produce a written risk assessment.

Source: SHP

Beware the CE Mark, yet again

Here's something really scary. If you thought the CE mark, meant "Check Everything", there's the China Export mark which looks remarkably similar.

Environmental Civil Sanctions to be introduced Jan. 2011

The Environment Agency in England and Wales will start using new enforcement powers, called civil sanctions, from 4 January 2011.
They give the environmental regulators a wider range of options to use against a business committing certain environmental offences as alternatives to prosecution and criminal penalties of fines and imprisonment.
They allow the Environment Agency to take action that is proportionate to the offence and the offender, and reflect the fact that most offences committed by businesses are unintentional.

The Environment Agency will still be able to use criminal punishments for serious offences.

The new civil sanctions the environmental regulator can use against a business committing certain environmental offences include:

• Compliance notice - written notice to take steps to ensure that an offence does not continue or recur.
• Restoration notice - written notice to restore harm caused by non-compliance.
• Enforcement undertaking - voluntary agreement by business to take corrective action to make up for non-compliance.
• Fixed monetary penalty - a low level penalty for minor offences fixed at £100 for an individual and £300 for a company.
• Variable monetary penalty - a monetary penalty for more serious offences with a maximum of £250,000.
• Stop notice - written notice to stop an activity which is causing harm.Civil sanctions have been introduced for a limited number of offences. Initially they will cover offences relating to harm to water resources, hazardous waste and packaging waste.

Other offences, including those covered by the Environmental Permitting regime, will be added by future legislation. The Orders specify which civil sanctions can be used for which offences.

Source of information: NetRegs