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Spring 2021 brings changes to Harrier’s management team. In May, Andy Smith will be travelling to the UAE applying his knowledge and experience to assist with the delivery of Expo 2020 Dubai.  Meanwhile, Craig Combe will be joining the Harrier team as Health & Safety Consultant on a part time basis. Craig has worked with Harrier previously and brings his expertise in Health & Safety from event and venue operations and international Health & Safety management to the role. 

While contemplating his move to Dubai Andy revealed, “I’m really looking forward to being part of a team delivering a global event. I have found working overseas provides great development opportunities with the chance to apply my knowledge and working practices. When I board the plane to Dubai, I’ll know Harrier is in good hands and fully equipped to support and deliver.”

When asked about Harrier, Craig replied, “It’s great to be joining the Harrier team, I have worked with Helen in the past and know the team makes things simple and effective. Joining a team that is progressive and all about people feels like a great fit for me.”

As part of the developments Helen McCabe will take over as Acting MD. Helen has over 15 years industry experience and is a fundamental part of Harrier.  Customers and clients can expect the personal touch and putting people first to continue.

Helen is excited about the developments, “Andy is going to have a fantastic experience at Expo 2020 Dubai, back in the UK, we are taking on great skills, capabilities and a great character in Craig and I will be ensuring Harrier continues to put people first and support our clients and customers.”

Harrier goes from strength to strength, acquiring new skills from new projects, recruiting industry expertise and promoting from within. The developments outlined above will mean Harrier can continue to offer trusted and effective Health & Safety support, advice, documentation and training.

Oh the weather outside is… ahh actually, it’s delightful, spring has sprung and we’re thinking about being outside. Although it’s not all sunlounges and bike rides, some of us will be working.

If you or your employees will be working outside there are a few health and safety matters to consider.

Weather and Temperature

The weather can have a great impact when working outdoors. Short and long-term risks to employee’s health need to be assessed, mitigated and managed.

• Ensure appropriate clothing and PPE are supplied and advice given over covering up, keeping warm and keeping dry.
• Sun cream, shade and regular hydration are essentials once the sun is out and the weather heats up.
• Spring sunshine is often misleading and it’s not as warm as it looks. As in winter heating may be required to create a suitable and safe environment.
• While you can’t see it remember the wind has risk factors, this could be dust blown up by the wind, wind chill or unnoticed exposure to the sun while a cool breeze blows.

Food and Drink

In cold environments, there needs to be the availability of warm fluids such as hot drinks or soup. Also, you must make sure drinking water is available during hot weather.

In warm environments, facilities to keep food that employees have brought along themselves cool, will help prevent illness and time off due to contaminated food.

Allergies

Springtime tree pollen and summer grass pollens can cause allergic reactions. Masks, glasses, gloves and other protective equipment will help prevent allergic reactions and ensure efficiency and productivity.

Deliveries

Don’t forget while delivery drivers will be in their vehicles much of the time, they will be working outdoors, lifting, carrying and delivering products to customers houses and businesses.  Their work and processes including manual handling should be risk assessed and appropriately managed.

Lone Working

When working outdoors, employees could be working on their own the usual lone working practises need to be followed.

A robust risk assessment carried out by a competent individual will allow you to consider, mitigate and manage risk and help to ensure your staff are safe, efficient and productive.

While the weather is not longer frightful, your working environment shouldn’t be either. Think about the situations and environments of your teams and help them to be safe and strengthen your business.

Back Gardens have achieved CHAS Accreditation giving them the licence and scope to take on increased numbers of commercial projects to complement their domestic successes.

Back Gardens based in Syston have been landscaping and providing maintenance across Leicestershire for the last 16 years. They go into this spring ready for growth and in possession of CHAS accreditation.

Contractor Health and Safety – CHAS helps clients and contractors ensure compliance in different areas of risk management and provides confidence that organisations have achieved certain benchmarked standards in regard to managing risk and creating a safe working environment.

Harrier used their experience to support Back Gardens in drawing up risk assessments by looking at their working practises and where there was potential for risk and where that risk could be mitigated or removed.  Harrier understand what is required in terms of compliance and regulation and how to assess risk in many different situations.

Back Gardens who maintain, ‘We treat every garden as if it were our own.’ have shown that they are fully equipped to take on more contract work and develop the commercial side of their business. They are committed to safety and to collaboration and open to tender for new build work and projects within the wider construction industry.

Daniel Robinson Operations Manager at Back Gardens said, “Harrier are knowledgeable, prompt and reliable. They are experienced, friendly and ready to help and support you. With CHAS accreditation we can tender for bigger jobs and grow.”

Helen McCabe Business Manager at Harrier said, “Working with Back Gardens has been a pleasure, we love working with people that have a passion for their business and feel we can simplify aspects of regulation, risk assessments and paperwork so that companies can develop, work safely and thrive.”

At Harrier the cultivation of a culture of collaboration and support is delivering results and as we go into the spring companies such as Back Gardens are reaping the benefits.

Harrier – simplifying Health and Safety to strengthen your business.

In January 2021 a court established that ash left in a cupboard led to a fatal fire. Lawyers say the situation occurred as a result of ‘genuine errors.’ www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-55765595

Up to date risk assessments, procedures, and training are important they can prevent fire and they can save lives. Here are our fire basics and essential information:

The Fire Triangle

Fires need three things to start – a source of ignition (heat), a source of fuel (something that burns) and oxygen:

Removing any one element of the triangle will either prevent a fire or extinguish a fire.

• sources of ignition or heat include heaters, lighting, naked flames, cigarettes, matches
• sources of fuel include wood, paper, plastic, loose packaging materials, furniture
• sources of oxygen include the air in the atmosphere

The Law

If you own, manage or operate a business, you need to comply with fire safety law.

The main law that applies across England and Wales is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 or “the Fire Safety Order”.  In Scotland, requirements on general fire safety are covered in Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, supported by the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

What does that mean, what do I need to do?

• A competent person must carry out a fire safety risk assessment and keep it up to date
• Ensure adequate and appropriate fire safety measures are in place to minimise risk
• Identify what could cause a fire
• Take action to control the risks, can they be avoided all together, if not, how do you manage the risk?

Here are some actions and controls:

• • Keep sources of ignition and flammable substances apart
  • Ensure good housekeeping at all times – avoid the build-up of rubbish
  • Consider how to detect fires and how to warn people quickly if they start, eg installing smoke alarms and fire alarms
  • Ensure you have the appropriate fire-fighting equipment for putting a fire out quickly and ensure staff know where it is and have had appropriate training
  • Ensure fire exits and escape routes are clearly marked and always clear of obstructions

Minimising the risk of fire and having up to date procedures that staff are fully aware of can prevent fires and ensure people are safe should a fire occur.

Further information can be found on the Gov.UK website.

In times of change and uncertainty when messaging and restrictions seem to change daily, we’d all like a little control, to feel better, to be happier and maybe bring a little wellbeing into our lives.  But what is wellbeing and how do we achieve it?  

The dictionary definition of Wellbeing is a state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy. The Danes seek hygge that moment of cosiness and comfortable conviviality. But what about when you’re working from home or being interrupted or having to deal with something challenging.  Well, the New Economics Foundation describes wellbeing as the following:

‘Wellbeing can be understood as how people feel and how they function, both on a personal and a social level, and how they evaluate their lives as a whole.”

A holistic view of wellbeing sounds good and better than the occasional moment of bliss, but how do we achieve this.

Here are some tips that we’ve found to be useful:

• When working from home set parameters. Set a time for work and stick to it, it’s easy to do longer hours when not physically ‘leaving work’. 
• Create a dedicated space for work, ideally away from distractions, somewhere quiet where you have all the things you need to carry out your work – pens, paper, charger, laptop and coffee. 
• Take breaks at regular times and remember to look away from the screen from time to time. The 20-20-20 rule is useful. Look away from your screen every 20 minutes at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.  A walk outside taking in some fresh air can refresh your mind give you some light exercise and could even help shift that creative block as a change of scene allows you to think differently. 
• Plants, natural objects and images can have a positive impact, looking at natural objects can give your brain a break from an attention-grabbing screen and allow you to give it more focused attention when you return to it. 
• If you can, let light in, sunlight triggers the release of serotonin which stabilises our mood and boosts feelings of wellbeing and happiness. 
• Connect and stay in touch, it can be easy to stare at the screen and churn through emails all day. Don’t forget the people you live with and your friends.  Don’t ignore everyone at home all day long – you did talk about non work-related stuff in the office. If you live alone, call a friend or family member, a zoom call with them doesn’t have to be a quiz and can make a change to your day and theirs. 
• Accentuate the positives… 
  • You may have more time for yourself and your family as your commute may only be around 45 seconds right now. 
  • You may have more control about when you work – you may be more productive at different times of the day and you now have the flexibility to work when is best for you. 
  • You can set up your workspace and environment however you want, the temperature and the radio station are your choice.

While a warm fireplace or a spa break can provide some moments of calm a few simple changes and some practical thoughts about improving your environment can bring lasting benefits to your mental and physical health and overall feeling of wellbeing.

Here are some links we have found with further suggestions and advice on improving your wellbeing. 

Mind the mental health support charity has a number of suggestions to support yourself and your team

The NHS have some simple tips for working well at home

BUPA has advice and information about improving your working from home environment and mental wellbeing

IOSH Magazine has some advice for supporting employee’s wellbeing during Lockdown

Harrier has been accepted as a member of UKCMA – The United Kingdom Crowd Management Association. Formed in 2001 the association represents the interests of key commercial organisations whose primary business is providing crowd management and event security services.

The events industry is facing significant challenges, being part of UKCMA will ensure Harrier is involved in progressive discussions able to liaise with industry leaders and take on new and innovative procedures.  Harrier is constantly looking to improve and to deliver effective health and safety support as well as excellent planning and documentation for events.  Event owners and Local Authorities, festival organisers and sports bodies can all be assured that Harrier is fully across the latest thoughts and developments in crowd management and event security.

We look forward to contributing and benefiting from our UKCMA membership.

For certain industries hand hygiene has always been a priority control measure to manage health and safety risks in the workplace.  With the spread of COVID-19 hand hygiene is now a priority for all of us, whether at home or at work.

To raise awareness of good hand washing techniques the World Health Organisation (WHO) has started the #SafeHands challenge and we want you to join in!

WHO have issued a set of guidance for correctly washing your hands and want you to record a video of you correctly washing your hands and post it on their social media accounts.  We would love you to share your videos with us, you can make them as fun as you want, just make sure that your technique is spot on.

You can post your video to the WHO social media pages Facebook , Instagram , Twitter and Linkedin  using #SafeHands and your video might be used on social media channels by WHO.

Don’t forget to tag us in or share your videos with us Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram  and we will share them too!

Help spread the message of good hand hygiene with your fantastic videos and challenge your friends, family and colleagues to do the same!