RAVENSBOURNE COLLEGE OF DESIGN AND COMMUNICATION

HEALTH AND SAFETY WORKING GROUP

Minutes of a meeting of the Health and Safety Working Group held on Wednesday 7th May 2008 at
11.00 am in the Boardroom

Present: David McLoughlin Health and Safety Officer (Chair)

Renate Divers Registry
Terry Hosten Estates
Penny Vian Admissions
Steve Bauly Estates
Howard Austen Broadcasting
Wendy Weaver Housing
Nick Ford Fashion
Kathy Steele Human Resources
Amanda Lampkin Catering

Apologies: Alex Thompson

Freddie Gaffney

In attendance: Diane Evans Minute Taker

08.01 TERMS OF REFERENCE

Tabled: Terms of Reference of the Health and Safety Working Group

Noted: It was reported that the revised structure of Health and Safety responsibilities
reflects the need for a smaller, more focussed Committee to address
strategic issues relating to Health and Safety at Ravensbourne. It has been
agreed that operational aspects of implementing Health and Safety policy
throughout the College will be addressed by the Health and Safety Working
Group. It is intended that every area of the College will be represented on
this group; when necessary, additional staff may be asked to attend. It was
noted that the Group will act as a ‘think tank’ for health and safety issues and
will advise the Committee of themes that need addressing; in addition, it will
respond to issues as requested by the Committee. A six monthly progress
report will be provided to the Committee which is, in turn, accountable to the
Management Committee and the Board of Governors.

It was noted that the Working Group needs to set an agenda of standing
items for discussion at its meetings, in addition to ad hoc topics. Information
relating to this Group will be put on the Health and Safety intranet site.

It was noted that some areas of the College, including the Student Union,
were not represented at the meeting and the Health and Safety Officer
undertook to remind the relevant staff of the need to attend. It is anticipated
that this group will facilitate greater co-operation between departments and
offer a forum for the communication of ‘best practice.’

There were no questions.

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Minutes of a meeting of the Health and Safety Working Group
Wednesday 7th May 2008
 Accepted: Terms of Reference of the Health and Safety Working Group

08.02 STANDING ITEMS ON THE AGENDA

Verbal: Standing Items on the Agenda

Noted: The Health and Safety Officer advised the Group of the three areas that the
Committee has identified as standing items for discussion:

1) Annual Health and Safety Business Plan (formerly Action Plan)

This will correspond with the Corporate Strategy and form the
working document for Health and Safety in the College. It will be
dynamic in response to the changing environment. The 2007/08
Business Plan is now completed and will be issued shortly. Work is
currently under way on the 2008/09 Plan.

2) Training

The Working Group will discuss how training requirements should be

implemented across the College. The Student Union has expressed
interest in students being offered fire safety and health and safety
awareness training.

3) Schedule of Inspections

The Committee requested that the Group work on consolidating a

comprehensive schedule of inspections across the College. The
existing monthly and weekly inspections were noted. However, the
Group will be required to look at issues related to the current format
of inspections; the subject of inspection, with particular reference to
issues to look out for, and how the results of inspections are followed
up.

Other suggestions for standing items included:

4) A summary of recent changes in health and safety/corporate

responsibility legislation.

5) Out of hours health and safety cover.

6) A review of the Accident Report and Near Misses.

7) Risk Assessment. A summary of the recent legislation relating to

Corporate Manslaughter was given. In the unfortunate event of a
claim being made against the College it will be vital to be able to
demonstrate that the College was not in breach of its statutory health
and safety obligations. It was reported that a short document and
DVD on this area is available from the Health and Safety Officer.

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Minutes of a meeting of the Health and Safety Working Group
Wednesday 7th May 2008
 8) Student Accommodation – it was suggested that issues related to
this area are discussed under ‘Any Other Business.’

9) A regular review of fire drills was proposed as a topic for regular

discussion.

08.03 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Discussion: A general discussion took place relating to other ad hoc items that
could be addressed by the Working Group. These included:

1) Health and Safety Handbook

It was suggested that an easy to read summary of key health and

safety responsibilities should be made available for all visitors to the
College. This is particularly pertinent for those visitors using College
equipment.

2) Health and Safety Induction for Students

The need for students to be aware of heath and safety issues was
stressed. All students should be aware that non-college equipment
needs to be the subject of a college safety check before being used
on the premises. It was suggested health and safety information
should be included in the induction pack or an interactive DVD made
available. The Health and Safety Officer is currently looking at the
possibility of buying modules relevant to staff and students.

3) Catering

In response to a suggestion about the availability of health and safety

information on the intranet, it was noted that the Catering Department
do not have access to the intranet at present. The possibility of
utilising a spare computer for this purpose will be investigated by the
Health and Safety Officer and the Human Resources Manager will
discuss setting up an IT account with the MIS Department. It was
suggested that catering staff are included in Health and Safety
induction/training.

4) Lighting

The improved lighting to the steps in front of the building was noted.

5) Membership of the Working Group

The poor representation from various areas of the College was

observed. It was noted that there needs to be representation from
the faculties so that issues can be more effectively communicated to
and from course committees.

6) Disciplinary Procedure

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Minutes of a meeting of the Health and Safety Working Group
Wednesday 7th May 2008
 A discussion took place regarding a recent accident in which a
student sustained a minor injury having jumped from the roof of the
building in the course of a game of frisbee. It was agreed that
lessons should be learned from this ‘near miss’; most clearly the
communication of and implementation of disciplinary action against
any student infringing the health and safety rules of the College. It
was suggested that a greater deterrent for students should be looked
at.

7) Maintenance

Reference was made to the problems with guttering in the student

accommodation, the need for updating the security cameras,
problems with the boiler house pump and the erosion of the steps. It
was agreed that these and other facilities/maintenance issues should
be discussed outside of the health and safety meeting.

8) Clarification was sought regarding the role of the Working Group as a

‘steering committee’. It was reported that the Health and Safety
Officer would advise the Committee of issues that have been
discussed and request guidance if necessary. All Working Group
minutes will be available on the intranet. It was suggested that a ‘
‘mechanism’ for reporting Committee deliberations back to the
Working Group should be developed, particularly given the time
lapse between meetings. It was confirmed that the Working Group
will always meet two weeks before the Committee.

08.04 DATE OF NEXT MEETING

To Note: The next meeting of the Health and Safety Working Group will be confirmed
at the start of the new academic year.

Diane Evans
Minute Taker

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Minutes of a meeting of the Health and Safety Working Group
Wednesday 7th May 2008