Page 34 - Automobile Mechanical and Electrical Systems Automotive Technology Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Vehicle Maintenance Repr Nv2) by Tom Denton

1
Overview and introduction 19

In the UK the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcement and
legislative body set up by the government. The HSE has a very helpful website
where you can get all the latest information, including a document specially
developed for the motor industry. The address is: www.hse.gov.uk ( Fig. 1.32 ).
Similarly, in the USA, with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970,
Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women
by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach,
education and assistance. The OSHA has a good website at: www.osha.gov
( Fig. 1.33 ). Figure 1.32 UK Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) logo
In Australia there is the offi ce of the Australian Safety and Compensation Council
(ASCC), in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. Safe Work
Australia is an Australian Government statutory agency established in 2009,
with the primary responsibility of improving work health and safety and workers’
compensation arrangements across Australia. The agency is jointly funded
by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments facilitated through an
Figure 1.33 USA OSHA logo
intergovernmental agreement signed in July 2008. Safe Work Australia represents
a genuine partnership between governments, unions and industry. Together they
work towards the goal of reducing death, injury and disease in the workplace.
Their website contains some useful content at: www.ascc.gov.au or http:// Safety fi rst
safeworkaustralia.gov.au ( Fig. 1.34 ).
Systems are quite similar, but always
check the legislation and law in the
Now back to the UK’s HSE. The emphasis is on preventing death, injury and
country you are working in.
ill-health in Britain’s workplaces. However, the HSE does have the authority to
come down hard on people who put others at risk, particularly where there is
deliberate fl outing of the law. Since 2009, HSE has published new versions of
its approved health and safety poster and leafl et. The new versions are modern,
eye-catching and easy to read. They are set out in simple terms, using numbered
lists of basic points, and what employers and workers must do, and tell you what
to do if there is a problem.

Employers can, if they wish, continue to use their existing versions of poster and
leafl et until 5 April 2014, as long as they are readable and the addresses of the Figure 1.34 Safe Work Australia (SWA)
logo
enforcing authority and the Employment Medical Advisory Service are up to date.
Employers must display a poster or give a leafl et to workers. This is in the form
of a pocket card that is better suited to the workplace.
Employers have a legal duty under the Health and Safety Information for
Employees Regulations (HSIER) to display the poster in a prominent position
in each workplace or provide each worker with a copy of the equivalent leafl et
outlining British health and safety laws ( Figs 1.35 and 1.36 ).

Employers must meet certain criteria, but health and safety is the responsibility of
Safety fi rst
everyone in the workplace. The reason for the poster and the leafl ets is to make
everybody aware of this. Health and safety is the responsibility
of everyone in the workplace.

1.3.2 The key UK regulations and laws

There are a number of rules and regulation you need to be aware of. Check the
details for the country in which you work. Table 1.5 lists some important areas for
the UK.