September 2022 International Blog - Outsourcing Health and Safety

Arinite Blogs

  Arinite’s monthly health & safety blogs have been a popular feature for over a decade, and have lightened this subject with an informal, topical look at H&S news. We have therefore decided to extend the reach of our blogs for the benefit of a growing international audience – and we will extend the same informative, but light touch to overseas developments. In a global marketplace, we hope they also will be of interest to our UK audience – but don’t worry, our usual Monthly Blogs will continue as before.  

Beirut Blast

My heart sank a couple of years ago when I heard of a huge explosion rocking the port in Lebanon's capital, Beirut.  This time however, something was different.  The blast – one of the world’s largest non-nuclear blasts - was not caused by sectarian conflict, but this time by an industrial accident. On 4^th August 2020, an estimated 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which had been languishing at the port for some six years, exploded.  Half the Lebanese capital was destroyed – some 77,000 apartments - killing 200 people, wounding 7,000, and displacing 300,000. Internecine politics have complicated the official investigation, but we believe that the cargo came from a Russian ship forced to dock after technical problems. The ship was subsequently impounded by the Lebanese authorities for failing to pay port fees. In 2014, the ship’s cargo was eventually unloaded and stored in a warehouse in the port. Despite numerous warnings being allegedly sent to high-ranking officials, nothing was done to remove the dangerous chemical which is used to make fertiliser or explosives.  

Competent Assistance

One wonders whether the explosion could have been prevented had someone at the port held sufficient authority to cut through red tape and the seniority to resolve hazards? The International Labour Organization (ILO) recommends that employers: “should have, or should have access to, sufficient OSH competence to identify and eliminate or control work-related hazards and risks, and to implement the OSH management system.” Their definition of competence states that: “The necessary OSH competence (includes education, work experience and training, or a combination of these) requirements should be defined by the employer, and arrangements established and maintained to ensure that all persons, in particular new and young workers have been trained and are competent to carry out the safety and health aspects of their duties and responsibilities.” EU legislation even makes it obligatory for EU companies to designate one or more workers to carry out activities related to the protection and prevention of occupational risks (Article 7 of the Framework Directive 1989/391).  (The UK version of this law hasn’t been repealed post-Brexit).  

Can't Afford It?

Larger companies will quite likely want to draw on their own in-house expertise. Their risks may be fairly unique, for which they will want uniquely qualified experts, perhaps augmented from time to time by bought-in resource. Smaller, and lower-risk companies, may not be able to justify the cost of a full time or even part time health & safety expert, especially if they have branch offices distributed over several different countries. The ILO recommendation above however gives the game away by using the phrase: “should have access to.” This gives employers the right to employ consultants for the requisite number of hours – especially beneficial during these times of rising costs, where bills are scrutinised more carefully than ever by finance departments.  

Been There, Done That

Ten years ago, Arinite published a blog on Outsourcing the health and safety compliance burden which is as valid today as it was then. Choosing to outsource the H&S Dept gives you access to highly qualified expertise without the employee overheads. Arinite’s Operation Director Brendan Tuite who has been in the health and safety business some 32+ years, since January 1990, and after speaking with over 5,000 organisations seeking help with their health and safety says – “£40,000 is the minimum salary of a NEBOSH Diploma qualified person, add National Insurance 13.5%, pension, private medical, company car or salary in lieu plus other benefits, total costs of employing a health and safety professional is £50,000 plus. “Dependent upon what services are required the annual contract fee to outsource your health and safety to Arinite would be between £10,000+ VAT to £15,000+ VAT achieving a cost saving of between 80% £40,000 and 70% £35,000.” Arinite has an international footprint of clients including Shutterstock, Liberty Speciality Markets, Akamai Technologies, Verint Systems to name but a few. Our experienced locally based consultants have serviced individual and multinational clients in countries throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.  

Contact Us

Arinite clients appreciate we provide practical, no-nonsense advice about what you need to do to establish and maintain a safe and healthy working environment. Our team of health and safety consultants take pride in keeping health and safety simple. If you need to call upon our expert assistance, or just for an informal chat, please call our office on 0207 947 9581, or contact us here. Jan Mirkowski