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Health and safety publications

Introduction

The University of St Andrews has formulated and published a health and safety policy in compliance with good working practices and the requirements of the legislation governing work activities.

This document is published in pursuance of the aims and objectives of the Health and Safety Policy Statement of the University Court and forms part of the University of St Andrews Health and Safety Policy.

It is the duty of Heads of Schools/Units to implement the University Health and Safety Policy and to ensure compliance within the area(s) which are under their control.

It is the duty of all members of staff, students and visitors, where appropriate, to be familiar with all relevant aspects of the health and safety policy and to comply with the requirements.

The University of St Andrews Health and Safety Policy is available in the form of booklets and on the University website, under "Environmental, Health and Safety Services". The Health and Safety Policy comprises the following:

Health and safety publication index

Induction programme for the return to work after Covid-19 Pandemic (2020)

The list of publications has been rearranged to coincide with the University Health and Safety Policy and with the main 7 sub-policies which are:

  • Incident reporting and investigation
  • Fieldwork and travel
  • Fire safety
  • Risk assessment
  • Health and safety training
  • Local rules for working with ionising  radiation
  • Occupational Health

 Underneath each of these main policies will be a variety of Guidance documents that will detail how Schools and Units will comply with these policies. This webpage will detail the Guidance documents relating to each of the Sub Policies.

Incident reporting and investigation

This section deals with how to report accidents, near misses and other health and safety issues eg fire alarm activations, floods etc.

Fieldwork and travel

This section will deal with the risk assessment process for travelling outside the University and for any fieldwork that is being proposed

Fire safety

This section deals with issues relating to fire safety which includes sections on fire risk assessment, fire safety inspections, Fire Safety Logbooks and how to report fire safety incidents.

Risk assessment

This section deals with the requirement under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and also the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to ensure that risk assessments are undertaken to ensure that suitable and sufficient controls measures are in place to protect workers by elimination or if this is not possible then the minimisation of risks to workers, students and members of the public. This section details guidance on how to control specific as well as general risks.

General risks

Coronavirus

 Biological risks (2021)

Chemical risks (2021)

 Confined Spaces

 Cryogenics

 Display screen equipment

Diving

Electrical safety

First aid

Inspections

Ladder safety 

Laser and High Powered Optical Radiation Policy and Guidance

Local exhaust ventilation

Lone work guidance

Machinery

Manual handling operations

Minibuses

New and expectant mothers

Noise at work

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Pressure systems

Slips, trips and falls

Vibration

Waste

Work at height

Workshops

Health and safety training

The University health and safety training policy and guidance can be found at the following sites:

This section highlights the means of providing health and safety training to staff. The EHSS Health and Safety Training webpage has details of all such courses

  • Centre for Health and Safety Excellence (CHASE). This centre provides externally accredited health and safety courses from NEBOSH. These include
    • NEBOSH Health and Safety at Work Award
    • NEBOSH HSE Introduction to Incident Investigation
    • NEBOSH/HSE Certificate in Health and Safety Leadership Excellence 

  Information on CHASE can be found at the CHASE Home Webpage

There are some School/Unit specific health and safety induction programmes for higher risk areas with specific requirements over and above the Essential Skillz general health and safety induction. These are:

There is a Moodle site for School/Unit safety co-ordinators training which can be found at:

This training will be superseded by Essential Skillz in the future.

Local rules for working with ionising and non-ionising radiations

This section deals with the policies and guidance for work with radioactive materials, X-rays and lasers (including non-coherent high powered artificial optical sources).

Registration Form as a Radiation Worker at St Andrews University (Word, 56 KB)

 Details of the:

  • Site-Specific Local Rules
  • Local Rules - Work Instructions
  • Ionising Radiations Regulations risk assessments for:
    • Unsealed Sources
    • Sealed Radioactive Sources
    • Use of luminescence dating equipment
    • Radon
    • Use of X-ray equipment

can be found on the EHSS radiation page. 

Occupational Health

 Details of the services provided by Occupational Health can be found on the Occupational Health Website

Mental health and wellbeing

Contractors