Health and Safety Control for Tallaght Hospital

Project:	Health and Safety Control for Tallaght Hospital
Completion Date:
Client:	Tallaght Hospital Board & Adelaide Meath Hospital incorporating the National Children’s Hospital
Project Value:
Services Provided:	Safety and Health Consultancy, Project Supervisor Design Process (PSDP), Project Supervisor Construction Stage (PSCS)
Project Size:

Project Description

We provided a full safety and health consultancy service to the technical service department of the hospital and we have developed and implemented a comprehensive safety management system for them. The safety management system has been developed and tailored to meet the specific needs and department having regard for individuals within this department and the activities undertaken by them.

As a maintenance division, a key part of the works undertaken by the technical service department is the management of specialist contractors and the coordination of construction works. This was an important consideration in the development of the department’s safety management system.

Our personnel were primarily based on site throughout the works. This allowed us to understand the day-to-day operation of the department, to observe the works being undertaken and to thereby develop practical, workable solutions to the safety and health issues faced.

We believe the success of our work at the hospital can be attributed to on-going consultation with staff of the department and the provision of practical and workable solutions to health and safety issues. We involved the staff and management at all stages which has allowed them to take ownership of the safety management system developed for their benefit.

Our work for the department included:
· A comprehensive review of all existing Safety Statement, Safety & Health Procedures, policies and guidelines used by the department.
· Observation of activities being undertaken by all staff members and an interview with each staff member to assess the individual issues or concerns relating to safety and health at work.
· Carrying out Hazard Identification and Risk Assessments.
· Providing training on current safety and health legislation so people understood their duties and responsibilities.
· We investigated potential control measures to resolve the hazards identified. This involved researching products and technologies and trialling of these on site.
· Based on our Risk Assessments and the investigation and trialling of potential control measures, we developed a suite of Standard Operational Procedures which set out the Safety and Health procedures to be followed for the activities being undertaken by the department. The Standard Operational Procedures included details of how external contractors carrying out works for the department would be managed and supervised.
· We undertook risk assessments of existing roofs and how these were accessed for maintenance purposes. This work developed into a roof access policy within which we rated (by colour coding) each roof and outlined the access methods to the roof. We implemented changes to a selection of access routes and these were carried out strategically to ensure any changes made had a maximum effect to a number of roofs. As a result of our work roofs have been classed within 3 colour classes with a Standard Operating Procedure developed for each colour.
· We developed a system of contractor approval. This requires contractors to complete a comprehensive questionnaire to demonstrate their competence and suitability to undertake a contract within the Hospital.
· We developed spreadsheets to track contractor approval and to track in house training records.
· We developed systems of Permits to Work for a range of high risk activities.
· We updated the Departmental Safety Statement.
· We wrote a Contractors Safety Code which is now issued to all Contractors undertaking works on behalf of the department. This provides information to Contractors regarding the site and its specific risks and it sets out the safety and health standards that contractors are required to comply with when working at the hospital.
· In addition, we provided site orientations to contractors taking up contracts at the hospital. We developed this into a video which can now be played to all future Contractors.
· Throughout our works, we continually accessed projects being undertaken by the department to see what the specific requirements of individual project under the Construction Regulations. As required by these Regulations, we have carried the role of project supervisor design process (PSDP) and project supervisor construction stage (PSCS)