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Roles and responsibilities

Head of faculty / director of service

  • Ensure compliance with University standards within their faculty or service
  • Ensure sufficient resources are allocated to allow workplaces to be effectively managed in terms of health, safety and welfare


Head of school or service

  • Decide and set local policy, codes of practice, operating procedures etc. in the areas they control, in order to meet the regulations and this standard
  • Carry out risk assessments or, if they delegate this responsibility, ensure the person carrying out the risk assessment is competent to do so
  • Ensure any risks identified from workplace hazards are considered in all risk assessments and that records are maintained for their areas of responsibility
  • Ensure measures are implemented and maintained to reduce the risk of workplace hazards to its lowest reasonably practicable level within their areas of responsibility
  • Ensure all staff, students and visitors of the school or service are aware of the University’s arrangements for managing workplace health, safety and welfare
  • Ensure the effectiveness of this standard is monitored within the school or service through auditing
  • Review the arrangements periodically
  • Ensure school or service records are maintained
  • Take appropriate action when non-compliance is brought to their attention


Line managers

Line managers including principal investigators, laboratory managers, maintenance team leaders etc. are responsible for:

  • Ensuring the least hazardous procedures are used
  • Ensuring employees or visitors under their control are competent to carry out designated tasks, and where an individual does not have the necessary competence, they are suitably supervised or prohibited from areas or tasks beyond their capabilities
  • Ensure employees or visitors under their control are provided with suitable and sufficient information, training, instruction and supervision
  • Ensure other local arrangements, including adequate measures to deal with fire, first aid, spillages, power failures and other emergencies, are in place - especially for secure areas
  • Take appropriate action when non-compliance is brought to their attention
  • Ensure all staff, students and visitors within their areas of responsibility are aware of the relevant workplace health, safety and welfare procedures for their area
  • Ensure the workplace health, safety and welfare risks are considered in risk assessments and records are maintained for their areas of responsibility
  • Ensure measures are implemented and maintained to reduce the risks of health, safety and welfare to its lowest reasonably practicable level within their areas of responsibility


Employees

  • Take care while at work for their own health and safety and for that of people who may be affected by their acts or omissions
  • Cooperate with their employer in order to enable the University to fulfil its legal duties
  • Do not misuse safety equipment or safe systems of work provided by the University
  • Ensure that any information likely to affect their health and safety at work is reported to the University
  • Comply with local procedures for workplace health, safety and welfare

Health and safety services / safety manager responsibilities

Health and safety services / safety managers will monitor arrangements and will assist by:

  • Providing specific information on the workplace health, safety and welfare regulations
  • Providing specialist contribution for investigation of accidents and incidents
  • Providing advice and guidance on implementation of this standard and guidance at faculty or service level
  • Assisting in ensuring the effectiveness of this standard is monitored within faculty or service, through auditing


University Estate Services and building / facilities managers

Estate Services are responsible for ensuring workplaces are designed and maintained to meet at least the minimum requirements of the regulations and any other relevant codes of practice, standards or guidance in respect of:

  • Room dimensions and space
  • Ventilation, heating and lighting in indoor workplaces
  • Provision of washing facilities, sanitary conveniences and drinking water
  • Accommodation for and facilities to store, clothing
  • Facilities for resting and eating meals
  • Safe circulation of vehicles and people, which includes the condition of floors and traffic routes

In addition they must ensure:

  • Workplace lighting should enable pedestrians to move safely around the workplace, both inside and out
  • The arrangements for safe window cleaning
  • The arrangements for dealing with inclement weather such as snow and ice, with regard to pedestrian and vehicular safety
  • All workplaces are maintained in an efficient state from a health and safety viewpoint, in working order and in good repair
  • Repairs and maintenance works are carried out safely and appropriate records are kept
  • Maintenance, tests, repairs and modifications are carried out and appropriate records kept in respect of all buildings, plant and equipment
  • Floors and traffic routes (for pedestrian and vehicular traffic) are maintained, so far as is reasonably practicable, in a safe condition
  • Suitable and effective measures are in place to prevent any person falling a distance likely to cause injury. This includes roof-work, scaffold fixed vertical ladders and any person being struck by falling objects