BPF SIMPL Health and Safety seminar aims to bolster industry’s efforts

The British Plastics Federation (BPF) will play host to the first SIMPL (Safety In Manufacturing Plastics) seminar on Health & Safety focussing on 'The Practicalities of Action Plans & Communicating the Health & Safety Message' on 7th June. 

This interactive seminar and workshop will provide delegates with comprehensive practical advice on developing risk assessments and communicating the health & safety message throughout the workplace. Taster sessions on topics of key importance to the industry will include: workplace inspections, accident investigations, manual handling, slips & trips and COSHH.

Philip Law, Director of Public and Industrial Affairs at the BPF said, “A key aim for the SIMPL seminar is to provide a practical guidance on addressing health and safety issues affecting the plastics industry to help companies reduce their accident rates in line with the SIMPL strategy.”
 
Launched on 14th October 2010, the SIMPL initiative aims to encourage all companies in the plastics supply chain to review strategic approaches to health and safety in the work place. Companies are encouraged to adopt the BPF SIMPL solution which includes a Health & Safety Charter and Action plan – all of which if implemented aim to promote a positive approach to health & safety across the workforce and in turn reduce work-related accidents and instances of ill-health.

The most common issues faced by companies are slips, trips and falls and the BPF is keen to see their incidence reduced. To date a number of BPF companies have signed the SIMPL pledge as part of their commitment to the objectives set out in the strategy and have enforced the measures recommended by the SIMPL Action plan.

BPF member and SIMPL signatory Keith Freeguard of Axion Polymers said, “As a Company Director in the Plastics Recycling industry, I feel that the full weight of responsibility for the Health & Safety of our employees rests on the shoulders of myself and my Co-Director at Axion Polymers. So the introduction of a well-structured management procedure, like SIMPL, which can help us to improve and strengthen our existing systems for the control of accident risks, is seen to be a ‘good thing’ by our managers.”

The BPF has recruited a number of expert speakers with comprehensive knowledge and expertise from the health and safety sector who will lead discussion and workshops sessions on a number of issues and topics including;

• Improving Safety in Manufacturing Industries
• Mechanisms to Generate Improvement
• Putting Together an Action Plan
• Analysing and reporting data to generate improvement
• Communicating the Health & Safety Message in the Workplace
• Presentation and special workshops on key topics; Risk Assessment / Workplace Inspections / Accident Investigation / Manual Handling / Slips and Trips / COSHH