Clearview South September 2013 - Issue 142 | Page 68

businessnews New guidance to help with health and safety The Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched new guidance to help make it easier for larger organisations and businesses to understand how to manage health and safety. The completely refreshed and enhanced ‘Managing for Health and Safety’ guidance (also known as HSG65) is now available online at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/ managing/ The guidance aims to help business leaders, owners, directors, trustees and line-managers and is split into four key sections: 1) Core elements of managing for health and safety 2) Are you doing what you need to? 3) Delivering effective arrangements 4) Resources The improved information will also be of value to workers and their representatives and the third section will be of great help to those responsible for putting in place or overseeing their organisation’s arrangements for health and safety including health and safety practitioners and training providers. The Managing for Health and Safety website is part of a suite of free guidance for businesses of all types and sizes. It is accompanied by Health and Safety Made Simple and Health and Safety Toolbox, which are primarily aimed at supporting the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Andrew Cottam, HSE’s lead author of ‘Managing for Health and Safety’ explained: “Following the guidance is not compulsory, unless specifically stated, and businesses are free to take other action, but if they do follow the guidance they will normally be doing enough to comply with the law.” Offering CE Advice to all Tradelink, the trade fabricator with 20 years’ experience of understanding installers’ needs has long advised that by far the easiest way to go about ensuring compliance with CE marking is to purchase frames fully glazed from a trusted fabricator partner who can take on all the hard work. The company has been fully ready for CE Marking for some time now and is passing this onto its installer customers. Equally, however, Tradelink understands that choice is an essential part of conducting business, and there are those who will want to shop around for their glass and frames. To that end, it has available a Guide to CE Marking which provides enough information to learn to CE Mark within the hour! The guide contains everything from simple templates for the Factory Production Control Procedure to guidance on labelling, as well as examples of all documents necessary to complete each task in the CE Marking process. Managing Director, Jim Moody comments: “Our Guide to CE Marking contains everything you need, to learn how to CE Mark within the hour, and it is available to everybody. We have also set up a dedicated email address for CE Marking queries.” For a copy of the guide, visit www.tradelinkdirect.co.uk, e-mail: [email protected] or call 01354 657650. Regulators will share reform plans with business A new scheme gives businesses a stronger voice in influencing how regulators change the way they work. Under the new Accountability for Regulator Impact scheme non-economic regulators that are planning a significant change in policy or practice – for example, by updating guidance or inspection regimes will assess and quantify the impact of that change on business. They will then share and discuss these assessments with trade associations and other business representatives before carrying out the proposed changes. The measure is part of the government’s drive to make sure the enforcement of regulation places minimum burdens on industry while delivering essential protections and creating a level playing field on which companies can compete fairly. Business Minister Michael Fallon said: “Promoting transparent and accountable decision making is a vital step in forging a new partnership between regulators and lawabiding companies. It will boost confidence, raise standards and help eliminate unnecessary red tape.? ?? Julia Evans, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB) and chair of the Trade Association Forum, said: “The NFB fully supports early stage involvement between regulators and industry in developing effective government policy. While SMEs encourage drives to scrap unnecessary regulation through schemes such as the Red Tape Challenge, small businesses are usually supportive of working with regulators to develop workable practices that help them do business.” The Accountability for Regulator Scheme is a win-win for government and industry that allows businesses to work with regulators. www.hse.gov.uk/managing/ 68 SEP 2013 To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com