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Advice for site operators and managers

In the last ten years over twenty people have drowned after falling through ice into water, while many others have had to be rescued and revived.

Individuals most at risk are young children and males of any age. Children are attracted to frozen lakes and canals as they present natural ice skating opportunities.

However, over 50 per cent of ice related drowning involved an attempted rescue of another person or a dog. In many instances the dog managed to scramble ashore unaided while the owner did not.

The RoSPA website now has a FREE resource available to download online, providing advice for site operators and managers to help avoid tragedies.

Available to view now, the Ice Safety Fact Sheet includes information on supervision, publicity and education, ice signs, EAP, Ice breaking, incident response and more.

Please click to view the Ice Safety Fact Sheet 2008

People find it easier to develop skills when they’re learning in a realistic environment, and getting hands-on experience.

In only a few days employee's can develop skills which benefit them throughout their working lives. It’s a worthwhile investment, as skilled workers are safer, more productive workers.

Let RoSPA help fulfil your new-year safety resolutions:

Courses and dates:

Power Press Tool Setters - Birmingham - 11 Feb 08 - 2 days

Abrasive Wheel Setters - Birmingham - 14 Jan 08, 17 March 08 - 1 day

Abrasive Wheels Instructors - Birmingham - 15 Jan 08, 18 March 08 - 2 days

Manual Handling and Safer People Handling - Various courses and training locations available

Gravelly Park in Birmingham is a purpose-built training suite for the portfolio of RoSPA’s skills courses. The fully equipped workshop contains a wide range of power presses and abrasive wheels, enabling hands-on training. The suite is situated near to the motorway network and is particularly close to the M6.

For details of each of the courses, visit the links above, or call our training team on 0121 248 2233

Alternatively please email: training@rospa.com

There has been much attention about driver distraction due to the use of mobile phones in vehicles, but increasingly research is also revealing the dangers of other forms of driver multi-tasking, and its contribution to road accidents.

RoSPA has produced a free fact sheet on Driver Distraction, explaining what distraction is as well as the different types of distraction and their effects.

The fact sheet also covers accident statistics, and offers practical advice about how to reduce the chances of driver distraction causing an accident.

Visit our website for this free resource.

Learn and pass with RoSPA

For those willing to complete this qualification through the traditional block route, RoSPA provides an excellent ten-day training programme at training centres in Birmingham and Edinburgh enabling delegates to immerse themselves fully in the learning environment.

This course provides a broad understanding of relevant legislation, safety performance monitoring, investigation of accidents, the design and implementation of safe systems of work and accident prevention programmes, and the management of safety within the workplace.

The emphasis throughout is on the practical implementation of knowledge, rather than simply on passing the exams.

Covering 16 units, RoSPA offers the NEBOSH National General Certificate using a traditional route. It provides the confidence that comes from operating from an informed point of view and remains arguably the best-regarded foundation in health and safety.

Full Course Dates
Revision Course Dates
Examination Dates

NEBOSH Modular National General Certificate

Convenience is the watchword for RoSPA’s unique flexible modular approach to the NEBOSH National General Certificate. No longer do you have to make room for extended time out of the office; instead by choosing this exclusively flexible option you can now work towards this prestigious qualification piece by piece.

RoSPA offers an introduction to Behavioural safety (12 May 08) and Behavioural Safety Further Steps (7 Feb 08) both of which are ideal for CPD.

Now’s the time to save £50 on your RoSPA Award entry fee!

To take advantage of the £50 early entry discount, your entry must be received at RoSPA’s offices by 28 January 2008.

Struggling with SIC? If you need help to find your organisation’s industry activity code(s), please use the alphabetical index at www.statistics.gov.uk/methods_quality/sic/contents.asp

CPD Points
You can record the preparation work you do for a RoSPA Award entry towards your Continuing Professional Development, as required by IOSH.

Submitting your entry
Wherever possible, please secure your entry form, Key Performance Question responses and supporting evidence documents all within the same rigid binder (except where separate submissions are required for Specialist Award entries).

New entrants’ guidance
To see what an entry assessed at Silver level might look like, with some pointers on improvements required to achieve Gold - click here

Not yet registered? – click here to receive an entry pack.

Continuing RoSPA’s success of training courses across the country, we are pleased to inform you of future open training courses in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Whatever your stage of health and safety development, RoSPA will provide you with top quality training, delivered by some of the UK’s most respected trainers. Highly experienced and qualified, the RoSPA team has vast practical safety management experience across a wide spectrum of industries.

Our courses range from NEBOSH qualifications to in-company solutions that meet the needs of individual organisations.

New year courses in Scotland include:

Health and Safety Essentials for Supervisors - 18 Feb 2008
Fire Risk Assessment - 25 Feb 2008
COSHH - 03 March 2008

For more details of all our training services, please call our training team on 0131 449 9387.

Alternatively please email training@rospa.com

The new 2008 catalogue is scheduled for release at the end of January, however orders are still being taken from the 2007 catalogue. So act now to take advantage of all last year’s prices. The catalogue offers information, advice, resources and training,

No matter how large or small your organisation may be, in whatever sector, RoSPA’s unique mix of resources and services can be invaluable.





Also . . . don’t forget to pre-order the new 2008 catalogue, which will include full dates and prices of:

The questions you have always wanted answered on this vital topic

The value of auditing the quality and implementation of your company’s health and safety management system cannot be understated.

At RoSPA we are very well aware of the pitfalls and benefits of auditing. Our team of consultants spend many hours working alongside organisations of all sizes, helping them implement successful auditing practices.

Our training courses, consultancy and in-company training offer the ultimate auditing compliance support, but for some the question still beckons: Why Audit?

Why Audit? is now available as an article to read on our website. It provides an insight to the reasons why directors and managers should have auditing at the forefront of their minds.

To read this free resource, please visit our website

Next week in Auditing Spotlight: Who should carry out an audit?