INSTITUTION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
FORTH and TAY DISTRICT of EDINBURGH BRANCH
11th meeting, Gateway Centre, North Methven Street,Perth At 7:30pm Thursday 7th November 2002.
Attendance:
D. Devey S. Chisholm T. Waddell B. Pill
D. Mann P. Szawlowski K. Paterson C. Armitt
B. Stainton K. McDonnell B. Davies J. Little
J. McDonald
Apologies:
R. Lovering N. Docherty B. McDonnell J. Goddard
R. Greer L. Richards J. Bird S. Dunn
A. Milne B. Johnston.
1: Chairperson: Kirsten Paterson.
Kirsten opened the meeting at 7:30pm and welcomed all present to the 11th meeting of the District advising that full district status had been granted by HQ as advised to us by Richard Lovering on the 17/10/02. The members present responded with a warm round of applause at this excellent news.
Members and guests were informed of the fire alarm and evacuation procedure and the parking provisions at PKAVS Gateway Centre.
Kirsten also asked that all attending should remember to fill in the attendance register.
The format of the meeting was outlined as District business first, our guest speaker for the evening followed by tea/coffee and chat to colleagues. Members taking tea or coffee were asked to make a donation towards the costs.
1:1. Minutes of Meeting from 5th September 2002:
Kirsten asked if all had received their copy of the last minutes? All had received copies.
The minutes of the last meeting were passed as true and correct. Proposed by Dick Mann and seconded by Brian Pill.
1:2. Matters Arising: There were no matters arising from the previous minutes.
1:3. Secretary�s Report: Correspondence: It was reported that 7 emails had been received mainly from Branch regarding meetings and programme. This included the email from Branch Chairman, Richard Lovering, which confirmed HQ�s granting of official District status to our district. All correspondence is available to members during the tea break following the main meeting.
Members present were reminded of the IOSH AGM at Murryfield on Friday 15th November and encouraged attendance of same
1.4 District/Branch Liaison Report. Brian Pill announced his pleasure in the fact that full district status had now been achieved and that all the hard work over the past 2 years had finally paid-off. Brian also advised that he would be standing down from Branch liaison role but was able to confirm that Karen McDonnell had offered to take up the post for next year.
1.5 Members Items
Kirsten asked if there where any issues that members would like to raise or areas of concern that they might like information or guidance on. Kirsten encouraged members to use this slot to raise any issues.
1.6 District AGM
It was announced that the next meeting would also be the District AGM.
It was confirmed that the date would be Thursday 6th February 2003 and that the timing of the meeting would be brought forward with light refreshments being available from 6:00 p.m. and meeting commencing at 6:30 p.m. The venue remains at PKAVS Gateway Centre, Perth.
Nominations for District committee members need to be notified in writing to BRANCH Executive at least 28 days prior to the AGM. Therefore any nominations must be with the District Secretary by Monday 6th January 2003 in order to allow for forwarding to Branch etc.
Any nominations need to be in writing duly proposed and seconded by current IOSH members.
Post meeting note: all existing committee officers and members have indicated that are willing to stand for a further term
Annual Elections � nomination forms are available from District Secretary on request � contact [email protected] or by telephone on 01577 840271 (evenings)
2. Guest Speaker: Mr Duncan Philp
Kirsten introduced the Guest Speaker, Duncan Philp � Cchec
A Systematic Approach to Managing Asbestos
Timed well to coincide with the laying down of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 Duncan talked about asbestos management from the perspective of the Duty to Manage. He emphasised that talk on asbestos is easy to find, but stressed the need for impartiality and pointed everyone in the direction of http://www.hse.gov.uk - as one impartial source of advice - from the people who will be prosecuting.
The presentation was the broken into three sections; basic information on the nature of asbestos and its identification, examples of asbestos products in the workplace and the approach to asbestos management planning.
Competence in material identification can literally save a fortune in injury claims or unnecessary removal works, but accurate material identification should not be confused with the assessment of the hazard. The essence of good asbestos management is gauging the difference between the overall risk of exposure and the material risk alone � then acting on the risk, not the material.
Using the example of the whisky industry (no samples) Duncan used clear photographs to illustrate asbestos products in typical applications and in different states of repair. This is no different to many industries today; the asbestos hazard is often regarded as thing of the past � but the legacy of over 6 million tonnes of imports to the UK makes asbestos a challenge for us all to effectively manage.
Duncan showed the HSE template how survey data should be risk assessed and integrated within a written and well implemented management plan that takes policy and budget into account with the needs of all site users. From this comes the requirement to train and inform, to cater for emergency and to routinely review the effectiveness of controls. The need to consult with contractors and employees is vital. Showing a recent newspaper cutting where guilty parties were all trying to �share� the blame of asbestos liability, Duncan suggested the means to avoid such liabilities is to act within the guidance and keep good records.
To close Duncan used a CCHEC asbestos survey CD to illustrate how easily digital images can be retrieved from an interactive database � and suggested that this is one way to ensure that clear information is made available at all levels within an organisation.
Points were made from the floor of how prolific asbestos products are, issues were raised of sustainable disposal and of the firm line likely to be taken by the HSE to enforce CAWR 2002.
Recommended texts were:
4. Date of next Meeting: Thursday 6th February 2003
AGM and speaker Mr Norman Stevenson � Group Safety, Health and Environmental Manager - Motherwell Bridge Holdings. Team Based Learning from Accidents
Starting at 18.30 with a free buffet, AGM commencing at 19.30
5. Closure
Kirsten brought the meeting to a close by thanking all for their attendance and participation, she reminded all that tea/coffee was available and encouraged all to part take, mingle and chat and bade all a safe journey home.
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Dave Devey Secretary | Kirsten Paterson Chair |