The next step

http www london2012 com documents business preparing your business for the games pdf

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An Olympic-sized problem

Everything stops

From the end of July through to the beginning of September, the UK will pretty much grind to a halt to watch the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Although it will undoubtedly be an occasion to remember, it’s going to cause all sorts of upheaval for businesses. One of the biggest impacts will be staff wanting time off to either visit the games or watch it on TV. With August already a peak time for holidays, you’ve realised that your staffing levels are going to be a bit stretched to say the least. So could your lack of staff create any health and safety issues?

Tip. The Olympic organisers have produced a useful guidance document that highlights travel hot spots, key dates etc. So if you want to know where to avoid, or when staff are likely to be more interested in the Olympics, it’s worth a look (see The next step).

Should you be worried?

Regardless of the nature of your business, a lack of staff could create health and safety risks. This is especially the case if your staff carry out potentially dangerous work, for example, using industrial machinery.

What to check?

Your first consideration is whether you have enough members of staff in safety-critical roles. These include:

• plant, vehicle and machinery operators
• supervisory staff, who are responsible for ensuring that safe systems of work are followed
• first aid trained staff
• those trained to deal with emergencies, i.e. fire marshals
• staff responsible for managing contractors, temporary workers etc.

Tip 1. Whoever grants leave requests must be aware of any potential health and safety considerations that must be taken into account.

Tip 2. Don’t be tempted to allow untrained staff, or those who may not be completely competent, to fill in for their colleagues. This is particularly important when machinery or plant, such as a fork lift truck, is involved.

Tip 3. If you use agencies to supply you with casual staff, ensure that they will be able to continue to during the Games.

Other problems

Your business isn’t going to be the only one that will be light on numbers.

Tip 1. Be prepared for delays on deliveries of pretty much everything. So if you need materials, spare parts for machinery etc., don’t wait until the last minute to order them.

Tip 2. If you use contractors for regular safety-critical maintenance on machinery etc., check what service levels they will be operating during the Games. They may be planning to offer a reduced service.

For a link to the Olympic organisers’ guidance, visit http://healthandsafety.indicator.co.uk (HS 10.20.05).