Present: Andrew Burgess (Chair), Neil Budworth, Chris Riley, Paul Walker, Steve Warren, Nik Hunt

Transcription

1 SAF17-P28 7 June 2017 Health, Safety and Environment Statutory Compliance Sub- Committee Minutes HSSC17-M2 Minutes of the meeting held on 18 May 2017 Attendance Present: Andrew Burgess (Chair), Neil Budworth, Chris Riley, Paul Walker, Steve Warren, Nik Hunt In attendance: Tanya Osborne (Secretary) Apologies received from: James Stapleton, David Howell Business of the Agenda No items were unstarred. 17/12 Minutes The Committee RECEIVED the minutes of the previous meeting HSSC17-M The minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2017 were CONFIRMED. SECTION A Items for Discussion 17/13 Construction Small Works Policy The Committee RECEIVED a revised Construction Small Works Policy and RESOLVED to endorse it to Health, Safety and Environment Committee. HSSC17-P9 Construction Small Works Policy 13.1 The policy had been previously seen by the Committee (minute 17/3.1 refers). The Committee discussed the revisions, and supported the policy being endorsed to the Health, Safety and Environment Committee subject to a number of minor revisions: i) Making clearer the reasoning behind the value amounts and changing this for a ceiling price that would specify the costs of all works undertaken within the project, to avoid people taking on excessive administrative burden to keep small projects under the cost threshold; ii) Making clearer that university procurement rules were also applicable to projects; iii) A number of minor typographical errors.

2 13.2 The Committee discussed in brief the current practice of re-charging departments for Construction Small Works valued at under 10,000, and noted that the University is currently in the process of removing the 10% fee for these works in order to make the service more costeffective. Schools and Services would still be able to hire insured contractors to undertake works, particularly in cases where capacity to undertake the work centrally was not available The Committee agreed to ENDORSE the policy to Health, Safety and Environment Committee subject to the above changes. Action: James Stapleton to make amendments to the policy before submitting it to Health, Safety and Environment Committee. 17/14 Update on Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) Policy The Committee discussed a pre-consultation draft of the LOLER policy HSSC17-P10 LOLER paper 14.1 The Committee were presented with an early draft of the forthcoming LOLER Policy, for comment prior to starting the consultation process The Committee noted that the current LOLER Policy was in a different style to the other policies that had been seen by the Committee. The benefits and disadvantages of the presentation were discussed. It was emphasised by the Committee that all forthcoming policies should take a userfocused approach and should follow the format of having a brief overview and then the detail in appendices so that users can find the most relevant information to them quickly and effectively The Committee noted that the draft document named the COO as the duty holder. It was felt that this should be noted as the VC The Committee also noted that the draft did not specify a DAP, and felt it was important that there was a single DAP nominated for the area for consistency. 17/15 Pressure Systems Audit 15.1 The report from the Pressure Systems Audit was not available to the Committee. The Chair gave an oral update about the ongoing changes in this area It was reported that a full report will be available by Summer and that this would be circulated to the Committee before the next academic session As a result of the audit, the University are moving the asset list so that it can be managed inhouse, in order to ensure that the data is robust and appropriate. 17/16 Update on Appointments of DAPs 16.1 The Committee heard that, due to restructuring in Facilities Management, a number of Duty Authorised Persons had been lost. Progress to identify new DAPs was underway. Other new areas have emerged that would also require DAPs to be appointed. 2

3 17/17 Schedule for Compliance Questionnaires HSSC17-P13 HSSC17-P13a 17.1 The Committee heard the plan for the forward schedule of compliance questionnaires, noting that the next questionnaire scheduled was the F Gas questionnaire in July. Schedules were set up until March 2018, but would remain flexible enough to change in the event of external impetus The Committee felt that the format was improved and helpful The Committee discussed the meaning of the percentages given against compliance areas and heard that these percentages do not indicate the extent to which there is compliance but are a measure of the risk assessment in areas of compliance. It was noted that the outcomes of audit were often subject to circumstance, but that the percentages measures give a degree of assurance as to the outcome of a potential audit It was confirmed that people only received questionnaires where it was known to be relevant to their school or service. The Committee were pleased to hear that in some cases the questionnaires were acting as a prompt for individuals to make changes in order to be compliant Some discussion was had regarding whether it would be desirable for schools to be able to view and edit the data held in the maturity matrix. It was agreed that it would be beneficial for schools to be able to view the data in their Health, Safety and Environment meetings, but that for assurance purposes editing should only be done by FM staff. 17/18 Burleigh Court Water System Investigation HSSC17-P The Committee heard an account of the recent incident involving a water systems investigation at Burleigh Court which was instigated by the Borough Council. The Committee extended their thanks to those who were involved in the investigation, noting that it was a good test of the skills, expertise, and hard work involved in improving the management of water safety compliance at the University The process highlighted areas of potential risk, in particular where certain niche equipment fell under several different regulations, and where there was potential to be behind on legislative updates. 17/19 University Safety and Health Association (USHA) Statutory Compliance Document HSSC17-P The Committee noted the draft document. It was felt useful to have a sense of the variety of legislation and regulation that was in place, but the Committee felt that the current format inhibited the use of the document. It was also noted that the purpose of the document was unclear in its current presentation. 3

4 17/20 Responsibility for Statutory Maintenance HSSC17-P The Committee received a draft of a handover document outlining responsibilities for building maintenance, designed to be generic to any potential new building. The intention of the document was to make clear to all involved parties who would be responsible for which areas of maintenance and make clear the requirements in that area The Committee supported the principles behind the document. It was felt that the introductory text in the document could be clarified slightly so that its purpose is more easily understood. 17/21 Forward Planning for the work of the Committee 21.1 The Committee agreed that it would be helpful to develop an order of business for the upcoming work of the Committee. 17/22 Audit on Health and Safety Compliance Governance 22.1 The Committee noted that the report from the recent audit on Health and Safety Compliance Governance was not yet published. The Chair reported that the outcome of the audit was mostly positive, and that a small number of actions coming out of the report will be the responsibility of the Committee. 17/23 Compliance with the Dangerous Substances (Explosive Atmospheres) Regulations 23.1 The Committee noted that while a report was available, it wasn t yet in a state where it could be shared with the Committee The report is expected to highlight issues with two areas. The first is the quantity of flammable materials currently stored in laboratories, and the second is the method by which chemical substances are currently organised when they are stored The report is also expected to make recommendations about the way that natural gas is stored and distributed across campus, but these recommendations are currently being checked in order to ensure that they are being made based on a correct interpretation of the current regulations A full report would be given to the Committee in due course. SECTION B Starred Items for Approval There were no starred items for approval. SECTION C Starred Items for Information There were no starred items for information 4

5 17/24 Any Other Business Update on F Gas and EMS Non-Conformance 24.1 It was reported that good progress was being made against F-Gas compliance issues, and that a compliance questionnaire was expected to be sent out soon There were no major EMS Non-Conformances to report, and in the last 9 months there had been one major non-conformance, 9 minor non-conformances, and 6 opportunities for improvement. Agenda Setting 24.3 The Chair reminded the Committee that the agenda was generally set six weeks in advance of the meeting, and that items for the agenda should be notified to the secretary in advance of this. Dates of the agenda settings meetings would be notified to the Committee in future. Terms of Reference of the Committee 24.4 The Chair reported that the terms of reference of the Committee would be reviewed thoroughly in time for the September meeting of the Committee, with a particular view to ensuring that Environment and Sustainability issues are being given appropriate levels of representation. Date of Next Meeting Tuesday 12th September 13:30 Pearce Committee Room Wednesday 10th January 14:00 Pearce Committee Room Wednesday 2nd May 10:00 Pearce Committee Room Author Tanya Osborne Date 19 May