Brian Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 A bit of a 'heads up' to anyone dealing with 'Young Persons' (ie usually under 18s)... A new regulation (number 19) has been added to the 'Management of Health and Safety Regualtions 1999' which requires anyone employing young persons to do risk assesments for them. This would include anyone on work experience. The risk assesment should take into account the lack of experience someone may have, along with physical issues. The latest ABTT 'Safety Matters' goes on to say...'The regulation also protects young people from dangers such as electricity and fireworks. In a theatre situation this will almost certainly include the loading and firing of pyrotechnics'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuRobson Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Would this in anyway interfere with students rigging there lights for there GCSE performances ? What do people think ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 21, 2004 Author Share Posted June 21, 2004 As I read it, it simply requires that a different risk assessment is done for the Young Persons. Where you have young people working alongside older staff then you would require 2 risk assessments. There is some more stuff on the HSE website. They make a point that you ought to consider how 'immature' the Young Persons are. Please note that the above is only my interpretation of the information I have found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Safety Matters also mentions something similar about pregnant women. Essentially anyone employing women of child-bearing age should do a risk assessment for their jobs (assumng that they are pregnant) and determine whether they can continue while pregnant. (Must be done before they become pregnant - so at least 3 RAs per job function if you have an adult woman working alongside young people) If not, they must be re-deployed into a job a pregnant woman can do (Box Office?) or given garden leave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 MSER as previewed so far says ra's should take account of a person's competance and confidence and the changes as people mature from 16 to 18 including their need for appropriate supervision. At school, I was permitted to use pluggable light fittings BUT forbidden to take tools to them, so changing a plug was a job for the approved staff member, who was an approved electrician prior to becoming a teacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dweeks Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Yes, we have that same rule currently imposed at school. Occasionally its a bit of a nuisance. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ike Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 Luckily for me the school I went to had never heard of the HSE or risk assessments. To me this seems like another waste of everyones time and money that is in no way going to improve peoples health or safety...oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mattladkin Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 Same here. My drama teacher hadn't even heard of PAT testing until I told her what it was. Doesn't like me now - school had to pay £2000+ to rectify the problems that surfaced from the PAT test. We have no electrical safety rules - not that I mind really. I am the only person that uses the equipment and ensure that they are taken to a proper electrician to get problems fixed!!! ML Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 when I was at school I made home made flash boxes out of 3 x 3 timber lumps with hammer dented dimples for magnesium powder from the science labs, fired with 240V accross single strands of coax braid. Like Matt, I was the only one interested in technical things and got left alone. I always explain this to the students I now teach. Age suddenly reveals how stupid you were when you didn't know any better. Nowadays any teacher doing this would be sacked and probably prosecuted. Incidentally - your teacher is responsible for anything you do, even if he/she didn't know what you were up to. Someone at your school should have sorted the PAT issue anyway - THEY are the ones who should feel bad, not you. Actually, they're more likely to be embarassed by what you told them rather than cross.paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac500 Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 Matt, The school have a responsibilty which they should adhere to so you have done nothing wrong by pointing it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted July 2, 2004 Author Share Posted July 2, 2004 Normally, Ike and I seem to agree about most things but I must disagree with the comment that...To me this seems like another waste of everyones time and money that is in no way going to improve peoples health or safety...oh well. I think one of the problems is that the theatre/conference/touring industry is relatively safe with few accidents; as such those who work in it are very rarely exposed to the fall-out of a serious incident. Other industries, particularly Construction, have an appalling safety record with a ridiculous number of serious injuries and deaths each year. Since the introduction of a more H&S culture there are now less widows and invalids each year in that industry. For very good reasons H&S legislation and regulations make no allowance for the industry it cover; actually not quite true, there are some special cases. This means that safer industries have to deal with the whole H&S issue in the same way as more dangerous ones. However, with the very way that the rules work by using risk assessments it is quite possible to have a safe environment without undue restrictions on your work practices. If your local rules prevent you from carrying out an activity which would generally be considered safe then it is the local rules at fault not the H&S system. Such rules are generally introduced by people with no understanding and training in H&S who find it easier to ban something than to find a way to work with it. Matt wrote...My drama teacher hadn't even heard of PAT testing until I told her what it was. Doesn't like me now - school had to pay £2000+ to rectify the problems that surfaced from the PAT test.I would not expect your drama teacher to have heard of it, I would have expected the head and/or govenors to have done so. After all it is them who go to court if prosecuted. Matt wrote...We have no electrical safety rules - not that I mind really.Sorry Matt but you should mind. When you're young it's easy to think that nothing bad will happen but accidents do happens and do kill people on a daily basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mattladkin Posted July 3, 2004 Share Posted July 3, 2004 As I said if something I deam to be unsafe needs to be done I call in the professionals - I do not change plugs etc but find school processes to be totally strange. Last time we needed new fuses for our dimmers it took 6 months from ordering to be approved by everyone - for just £10.99's worth of product - now I use my own!!! Much easier. I do have a bit of common sence (unlike cleaners who thought that it would be fine to use a 5-13A convertor to plug in a hoover on a dimmable circuit) and also some electrical safety - my uncle's a qualified electrician so I know quite a bit!!! THanks for your kind words - I don't fell bad at all. Looking at some of the IWB's I wouldn't have touched them if they had not have been replaced!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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