Ideal’s Method Statement: guaranteeing safety at work

Scope of Works – Health and Safety Provision

Please note that any onsite installation work will be undertaken in accordance with our generic Risk Assessment and Method Statement.

It is the responsibility of the customer to advise if there are any specific considerations that should be made regarding a Risk Assessment and Method Statement for a piece of work. It is also the responsibility of the customer to advise whether a piece of work is likely to include any lone working for Ideal engineers when on site, and provide any appropriate associated training or facilities to support safe lone working.

Please ensure that any required amendments to Risk Assessment, Method Statement and Lone Working policies for your project are agreed on a case by case basis.

Please note that should extra trips to site be required for the development of specific Risk Assessment and Method Statement, or for site specific site inductions, additional charges may apply.

Generic risk assessment for the supply, installation and commissioning of IT equipment

The Ideal method statement for the supply, installation and commissioning of IT equipment is based on the following generic Risk Assessment.

Planned activity: Supply, installation and commissioning of IT equipment at a customer’s site OR at Ideal site

End of risk assessment

Generic method statement for the supply, installation and commissioning or IT equipment

Ideal’s method statement has been developed to provide a safe system of work for our engineers when installing and commissioning IT equipment, working either off site, where the customer has indicated appropriate measures have been taken to manage health and safety risks for visitors to their premises, or at Ideal’s own premises.

It must be adhered to at all times; any significant deviation from this system must first be authorised by the engineer’s manager or safety representative.  Please read the entire sheet before beginning the procedure; if you have any questions please contact your manager or safety representative.

Main hazards

The main hazards to our staffs’ safety and health are;

• Working from step ladders.
• Injury from incorrect manual handling.
• Injury from slips, trips and falls
• Electric shock and disturbance of existing equipment or cabling during installation

Preventative measures Ideal people must take;

• You must be “competent” to carry out the task.
• You must be competent and have received training to work at height.
• Barriers and/or warning signs must be placed around the work area, where risk assessment has deemed it necessary.
• Visitors and other members of staff are prohibited from entry unless accompanied by competent person, all visitors will be issued with personal protective equipment.
• You must be trained and competent to use the tools to complete your work.
• You must not lift beyond your capabilities, get help if necessary.
• You must follow all directions given by your manager.

Environmental protection measures you must take;

• You must remove and dispose of waste and packaging from site.

Quality control

• Adhere strictly to the following procedure to ensure quality of service.
• If in doubt, contact your manager for clarification before proceeding.

General precautions

Staff and Training

The installations will be carried out by staff from Ideal. A lead engineer will be appointed to each job; he or she will be responsible for quality and safety.

PPE

PPE such as hard hats, safety boots, eye protection, hi-visibility vests and gloves will be provided and are to be worn as required.

Preparation & induction 

A generic risk assessment has been prepared for each task identifying hazards, quantifying the risks they present and describing control measures to reduce risks to tolerable levels. Risk assessments will be discussed with members of staff. Any queries or concerns will be dealt with prior to starting work.  Staff will be inducted on to site and will follow all company rules and safety procedures.

Manual handling

All staff have been instructed on the potential dangers of manual handling and staff will not lift items of equipment beyond their capabilities. Heavy or awkward items will be broken down into smaller pieces or dual lifted where this is not possible. It is the responsibility of the lead engineer to assess every situation that requires manual handling and enforce control procedures where he or she deems it to be necessary.

First aid

Ideal will ensure adequate first aid provision for its staff on site. Adequate means provision of a trained first aider, suitable first aid equipment and/or the provision of an appointed person at the minimum. An Appointed Person is a person appointed to take charge of the situation (e.g. to call an ambulance) if a serious injury/illness occurs in the absence of a first aider. The Appointed Person can render emergency first aid if trained to do so.

Access egress

Ideal will ensure safe access and egress is maintained for their staff and other contractors/members of the public in the area they are working in. Good standards of housekeeping will be maintained by all staff to prevent risk of slips, trips and falls. Debris will be cleared away on a regular basis and the site left clean and tidy at the end of a shift or task.

Working from step ladders

The majority of tasks carried out at height involve working from step ladders, below 2 metres; all staff have been made aware of the dangers of working from step ladders and have been instructed on the safe use of ladders. Staff are required to read and understand HSE leaflet INDG455 the Safe use of Ladders & Stepladders (click to download). Only competent members of staff will be allowed to work from step ladders and it is the responsibility of the lead engineer to ensure conditions are safe before allowing any ladder work to take place.

Working at height

All employees have been made aware of the dangers and consequences of falling from height. All working at height will be properly planned, organised and supervised; only competent members of staff will be allowed to work at height and it is the responsibility of the lead engineer to ensure conditions are safe before allowing any work at height to take place. The lead engineer will carry out a risk assessment before carrying out work at height and put in place equipment and measures to prevent falls occurring. Where he or she cannot eliminate the risk of a fall they will put in place measures and equipment to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall, should one occur.

All company access equipment will be inspected on a regular basis and any damaged equipment will be withdrawn from service immediately.

Ladders

All staff are trained and competent in ladder use. Ladders will only be used as an access to a firm working platform such as scaffolding or for carrying out light work of short duration. Ladders made from non-conducting materials will be used where there is a possibility of contact with electricity. Ladders will only be used without fall protection where the work is light and of short duration AND where the installer can complete their task by maintaining 3 points of contact on the ladder i.e. both feet and at least one hand, where this is not possible a fall arrest system will be employed. Ladders must be in good condition and located properly prior to use, i.e. the foot of the ladder should rest on a firm, level, non-slippery surface, proprietary stabilisers and other equipment should be used where there is a risk of ladders slipping, or if it is uneven ground. Ladder stand offs will be used where access to the roof is required, and the ladder will extend a minimum of 1.3 metres above the gutter. Ladders should be set 1 foot out for every 4 feet in vertical height. All company equipment will be inspected on a regular basis and any damaged equipment will be withdrawn from service immediately.

Contractor/Visitor safety

Ideal will liaise with other contractor’s staff on a day to day basis and ensure they are aware of the risks present during the works. Staff and contractors will not leave any area of work in a dangerous condition or with risks to themselves, other contractors or visitors.

Tools and electrical equipment

All items of tools and equipment will be visually inspected on a regular basis and defective or damaged equipment will be removed from service. Battery operated tools will be used where practical.

Method statement – task description

Supply, installation and commissioning of IT equipment.

Step by step process

Preparation

• Seek permission to perform the specified work via client’s change control process, including access to data centre areas and relevant cabinets.
• Load all equipment required for job and transport equipment and installers to site.
• Report to nominated client contact person and receive permit to work (where required).
• Put on personal protective equipment (where required).
• Inform all other contractors in area of start of works.
• Liaise with other contractors to ensure safe operation.
• Cordon off work area if practical and necessary to do so.
• Ensure the area to be worked and exit points are clear of obstruction and that safe access and egress is maintained.

Installation of IT equipment

• Carry out any service-impacting work within a maintenance or downtime window that has been formally agreed through the client’s change control process.
• Carry out any work that may disrupt any existing services within an agreed change window.
• Staff and employees will attend any safety induction course provided by the client prior to starting work.
• Staff are aware of the high numbers of injuries due to slips, trips and falls and they will ensure that trailing cables, tools or debris do not cause a trip hazard to themselves and other contractors.
• Staff and employees will pay particular attention to good housekeeping and ensure that the site is left clean and tidy at the end of each shift.
• Report to site office and inform site manager of arrival, collect permit to work if require.
• Cordon off work area if practical to do so.
• Put on your personal protective equipment.
• Ensure the area to be worked and exit points are clear of obstruction and that safe access and egress is maintained.
• Check any tools for damage or faults. Faulty or damaged tools must be removed from service immediately.
• Do not leave tools and equipment unattended at any time.
• Lift floor tiles to allow access to run network cables.
• Connect power with IT equipment switched OFF.
• Power on after physical installation of network equipment is complete.
• Install network equipment into racks using vendor-approved rack-mounting kits.
• Provide support for heavy items within a rack where required.
• Pass cables through floors, walls etc ensuring cables remain neat and hidden where possible.
• Fix cables with tie wraps or proprietary fixings as required by contract.
• Power up and test equipment as specified in commissioning process
• Remove all debris from site and leave site in a clean and tidy condition.
• Liaise with client engineer to sign off satisfactory completion of task.

Test and handover

• Test all equipment for successful operation.
• Ensure existing services are fully operational.
• Snagging works will be carried out to client satisfaction.
• Handover to client.

End of method statement

Lone working

Lone working applies where an Ideal engineer is working at a customer site and is not accompanied by a customer representative. Should an Ideal engineer be required to work alone, it is the responsibility of the customer to advise Ideal and share their Lone Working policy in advance of the site visit for review, so that relevant information can be shared with the engineer.

Contact

If you have any questions about Ideal’s method statement, please get in touch with us at [email protected]