The role of Health & Safety Co-ordinators in our phased return
Monday, 21 September 2020
Health & Safety Co-ordinators (HSCs) are a crucial element in the University's overall Safety Management System. They support local safety arrangements within each School and Function and here, we explain who they are and how they will be involved in local preparations to return to campus.
Who are they and what do they do?
HSCs are colleagues appointed by a Head of School/Function to act on their behalf coordinating health and safety arrangements. They are based in the School or Function they support and most do the role part-time alongside their main job. They receive training and ongoing support from specialist health & safety professionals in the University's central Health & Safety Services team.
Each School and Function has at least one HSC, with some larger departments having multiple HSCs. They advise teams and line managers on how to implement local risk control measures, and also also advise Heads of School/Function and the local H&S Committee if performance or compliance is not reaching the standards required.
Their duties vary depending on the environment they work in - for instance, an HSC supporting a high-hazard area such as a laboratory will have a different set of responsibilities to someone supporting teams in an office space.
You can find details of your local HSC on this page.
Common Areas Plans
Over the summer, many HSCs have been busy preparing Common Area Plans (CAP). These documents detail the COVID-19 control measures for corridors, toilets, kitchens, lobbies and stairways. There is a CAP for each large building on campus, which will be reviewed and updated as necessary over time.
To view the CAP for your building(s), please contact your local HSC. Line managers are encouraged to review all relevant CAPs as part of local inductions for colleagues and students (see below).
How will HSCs be involved in inductions?
Safety induction is always important and it is a line manager's responsibility to ensure health and safety measures are undertaken. To introduce you to the new COVID-19 safety measures, you will be asked to complete a new induction before returning to work on campus. This will come in two parts - a set of training modules to be completed by everyone in UoRLearn, and a local induction arranged by your line manager.
HSCs can help managers plan inductions, working with them to ensure their teams receive relevant local guidance, especially material relevant to individual offices, laboratories, and workshop or other workplace activities.
This local induction should be based on line managers' local review of risk assessments, which should take into account the COVID-19 guidance set out in Safety Notes 75-78 (available on this page).
Depending on how your Head of School or Function is approaching the phased return, your HSC may be tasked with communicating with teams directly. Please do contact them if you have any specific concerns.
Health & Safety: more information
Please visit this page to find details of your local HSC and further information on their roles and duties.
There are many other useful resources on the Health & Safety Services pages:
- Use this form to report an incident. It can be used by anyone (e.g. staff, student or visitor) to report any incident, near-miss or concerns both inside and outside campus, for example offices, teaching spaces, whilst working at home or travelling abroad.
- The Policies, Safety Guides and Notes page includes all COVID-19 related safety notes, including guidance on social distancing and first aid.
Please also check the COVID-19 FAQs for information on various topics for University staff.