Health and Safety

At GBNS, we work closely with our Health & Safety Associates to provide additional services outlined below for you our Customers, to offer just one point of contact for all your needs.

Workplace Risk Assessment Programmes

• General Health and Safety
• Fire
• Water (see here)
• Disability & Accessibility audit
  
   

Health & Safety Management (HSE)

• Audit, review and development of management systems.
• Comprehensive web enabled risk control management system
• Competent Person Services
• Emergency planning and disaster recovery
• Crisis Management
• All aspects of Fire Safety Management
  
   

Training

• Fire Warden
• Fire Awareness and Safety
• Manual Handling
• Health and Safety Management
• Working Safely

More detailed information about a number of these services provided by GBNS and its teams of highly skilled and competent technical advisors:

RISK ASSESSMENTS, SITE SURVEYS, SITE AUDITS AND INSPECTIONS

GBNS provides a range of assessment surveys and inspection services across health, safety, fire, asbestos, and accessibility. We also develop executive reporting with our clients that provides risk control information by topic, risk levels, risk control improvement, risk owner's capacity to reduce the risk and many other aspects. Through consultation, we aim to provide the appropriate solutions to our client's objectives, from implementing an annual risk assessment programme across their property portfolio to establishing a risk reduction programme on issue specific topics.

Workplace Risk Sustainability
Health & Safety Energy Performance Certificates
Fire Safety EPC
Water Hygiene Environmental Management
Display Screen Assessments Display Energy Certificates, DEC
Food Hygiene Low Carbon Consulting
Disability Discrimination Business Continuity Management
Asbestos Assessment
Audit
Systems Testing

RISK CONTROL SYSTEMS & MANAGEMENT

We provide a comprehensive range of risk control systems and management solutions. This includes individual or multi site workplace risk control programmes and systems. We identify the client's needs and from that can develop an entire risk control system or programme, starting with the strategies and through to the day-to-day practical arrangements for assessing and controlling risks. For multi site operations across a large geographical area consistency in enforcement has often been seen as a significant burden and challenge. With this in mind we can develop benchmarking, best practice standards and guidelines for the client. Our solutions are fully aligned to the client organisation so that the entire risk life cycle is considered as well as the organisational changes which may introduce new risks. We work closely with the client to provide suitable and sufficient integratable systems for their organisation.

PRE-ACQUISITION SURVEYS

A range of Audit and Assessment services for properties that are being sold or bought by the owners. This includes preparing reports on the safety of the property from a number of aspects which might include: estimated time and costs for remedy, and liability which may influence the decision to buy, the timings or the purchase value.

FIRE SAFETY STRATEGY

We provide a range of fire safety solutions and strategies taking into account recent and proposed changes to the fire safety regulatory regime. Our solutions and services are also designed to meet the rigorous demands and growing expectations of your insurers and enforcing authorities. We provide support with developing a consistent approach or developing innovative fire engineered solutions to get around physical, legal environmental or technological limitations as follows: GBNS is well placed to assist clients in establishing strategic relationships with enforcing authorities, identifying a suitable "Lead Authority Partner" and working with them to audit, review and devise improved corporate fire safety strategies and management systems. By working with relevant enforcing authorities and combining competencies in fire engineered solutions, effective corporate wide fire safety management systems can assist clients in development, devising and implementing workable, practical solutions.

BUSINESS CONTINUITY & CRISIS MANAGEMENT

GBNS has a broad range of corporate competencies and skills. Our team have many years experience in integrating fire safety and health & safety into an organisation’s wider Business Continuity Plan (BCP). Using the standards established in BS25999 we design a complete Business Continuity Management System that is shaped to fit your organisation - whether it concerns a single-site business critical failure or multi-site operational effectiveness and compliance. Business Continuity has often been seen as a stand alone discipline, frequently left to the IT department to establish disaster recovery plans for system failure. Business Continuity Plans need to cover much more than simply the recovery point and recovery time objectives of the Chief Information Office. From effective reduction in fire risk, through efficient risk assessment of all risks facing a business, to Senior Management succession planning, the solution is developed with foresight and sensitivity.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of the disasters that should be considered within this solution:

Fire Legionella outbreak
Building collapse
Fire systems failure
Gas leak
Avian flu
Water Damage
Lift failure
Workplace contamination
Contagious or infectious disease
Violence
Egress and access failure
Terrorism
Crowd control
Power failure
Transport and travel

Our solutions cover the entire property cycle including duress testing, planning, interruption, and reinstatement to recovery.

RAPID RESPONSE AND INCIDENT SERVICE (RRIS)

RRIS is a member's service dedicated to rapid response to incidents by supporting existing corporate safety departments or management resources at times of extraordinary events or issues. This is ideal for organisations who have sufficient resources in Safety to cover their general requirements and day-to-day resourcing needs, and who do not wish to have internal resources waiting in reserve for adequate cover when there is an extraordinary event. An example of this is during a major incident such as a building collapse or accident where resources are required urgently to supplement the existing in-house safety resource.

CONSTRUCTION (DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT) REGULATIONS

GBNS can provide the following services which are required under health and safety law, primarily the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM07):

For Clients (including developers)

1. Check competence and resources of all client appointees, primarily:

• Principal contractor and CDM Co-ordinator (where project is notifiable),
• Contractors,
• Designers (including architects, civil, structural and services engineers).

2. Advise and support client to ensure their duties are discharged, primarily to:

• Ensure adequate co-operation and co-ordination with other parties,
• Ensure reasonable arrangements to ensure safety have been put in place,
• Ensure contractors have adequate site welfare facilities,
• Ensure designs encompass the requirements of relevant H&S legislation for future occupation (eg relating to toilet provision, cleaning windows etc.),
• Ensure that suitable mobilisation time is allocated prior to start of construction,
• Ensure relevant pre-construction information is provided (e.g. asbestos, utilities),
• For notifiable projects:

3. Act as CDM Co-ordinator (for notifiable projects), which will encompass the requirements in 2. above, plus:

• Notification of the project to the HSE,
• Ensure health and safety aspects of the design work are co-ordinated,
• Prepare the health and safety file.

4. Undertake site inspections to ensure compliance with relevant H&S and fire standards and the construction phase plan.

For Contractors (including Principal contractors)

1. Advise on contractor duties under CDM07 and related legislation.

2. Review and update (where necessary) contractor policies and procedures to ensure the company can demonstrate that they meet the CDM07 Core Criteria for demonstration of competence, including arrangements for:

• Health and safety policy and organisation,
• Appointment of competent subcontractors.

3. Train workforce eg CSCS health and safety test preparation, deliver toolbox talks or other training.

4. Monitor, audit and review your performance and compliance with procedures (or that of subcontractors).

5. Review sub-contractor competence,

6. Assist with creation and development of construction phase plan.