STFC Office SHE Essentials
15 Dec 2020
Yes
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Table of Essential Office hazards and controls.

No

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A short and simple SHE guide for managers of and staff who work in offices. It also applies to agency or other individuals that work in STFC offices with us. The SHE codes contain additional detail and guidance and can be found here.

 

Code

Summary

Incident reporting
Always report SHE incidents, whether they occur at STFC sites or while travelling on Council business. Incidents that should be reported: injuries; near misses (including hazardous conditions and failures of safe systems of work); vehicle incidents; radiation incidents; environmental incide​nts. Report incidents in ​Evotix Assure (link opens in a new window).
SHE training

There are four elements of STFC mandatory SHE training each refreshed 5 yearly. They are: the SHE Induction (site specific and generally taken on your first day(s)); followed by on-line Display Screen Equipment (DSE) training; manual handling training (available on-line but preferably delivered through tutor led courses); and finally Fire safety.

SO based staff complete the UKRI Polaris House (PH) Site induction on Day 1, the SHE PH Induction (refresher), followed by UKRI DSE Agile training (administered by the UKRI H&S team ) and PH Annual Fire training ( available in Oracle).

Managers of office based staff should attend a general 1/2 ​day SHE management for non technical manager’s course.

All other courses should be booked through SHE Group.

Fire safety

Fire safety training ensures you know your site’s emerge​ncy arrangements - telephone number and alarm sounders etc. Make sure you know how to get out of your building if there is a fire – there should be more than one route - and where your emergency muster point is.

Do not clutter offices with large volumes of combustible material, and do not obstruct emergency exits, fire detectors, fire call points or emergency lighting. Corridors and stairwells are escape routes and should be kept clear of obstacles and flammable materials at all times.

Dis​play screen equipment
Non-SO staff: following completion of a DSE risk assessment discuss and address any issues with your line manager (SHE SC25 - Display screen equipment (DSE)​ refers ).
SO staff: following completion of DSE Agile the data is analysed and if there are any recommendations identified or additional advice required this will be communicated to the share with their line manager and implement any agreed actions.
For staff hybrid working, see guidance.
Eye tests are available if you need glasses for DSE use. See guidance on The Source​.
Ensure that your workstation is set up correctly and that you take regular screen breaks.​
Travel on council business

Driving is probably the most hazardous activity any STFC employee undertakes at work. Managers are still responsible for staff while they are travelling on Council business. The health and safety controls required when staff travel are detailed here - in the UK (PDF - 40kB - link opens in a new window) and overseas (PDF - 236kB - link opens in a new window).

If you drive greater than 3000 miles/year on Council business you should attend a defensive driver training course which should be booked through SHE Group.

Manual handling
Your job should not normally require much lifting and carrying. Following completion of manual handling training, recognise where manual handling hazards exist and use safe lifting techniques. Manual handling remains a cause of many STFC injuries.
Portable electrical equipment
All portable electrical equipment used on STFC sites must be Portable Appliance Tested (PAT) prior to use. Check that any electrical equipment looks safe prior to plugging it in, as you would at home. Typical office equipment: PCs; Monitors; Printers, fans etc should be tested 4 yearly and have a PAT testing label indicating when it was and needs re-testing.
Lone Working​

​Lone Working is permitted for standard office working or IT use. Staff working out of normal office hours should ensure site security are aware that you are ​working out of hours and are alone.
General risk management
This document summarises the typical hazards encountered by individuals working in offices. There may be others that managers need to consider - if this is the case a risk assessment might be needed. If in doubt consult your local SHE Group for advice.
Environmental management ​​

The environmental impact of general office work can be minimised in several ways: only print when it is really necessary and ensure waste paper along with printer cartridges etc. are recycled; minimise electricity use by ensuring that lights, monitors, printers are switched off when not needed – especially overnight; try not to have the heating on and windows open at the same time; and use Video Conferencing to avoid travel and if you need to travel use public transport to minimise your carbon footprint where possible.
Environmental management ​
The environmental impact of general office work can be minimised in several ways: only print when it is really necessary and ensure waste paper along with printer cartridges etc. are recycled​; minimise electricity use by ensuring that lights, monitors, printers are switched off when not needed – especially overnight; try not to have the heating on and windows open at the same time; and use Video Conferencing to avoid travel and if you need to travel use public transport to minimise your carbon footprint where possible.

Contact: Baker, Gareth (STFC,DL,COO)