fig leaves

The newsletter of the Fire Information Group UK (FIGUK)

www.figuk.org.uk

No. 30
April 2005

Edited by Sheila Pantry, OBE
Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd

This Newsletter contains:

• News from around the World
• Diary of Events
• Summary of the FIGUK Meeting held on 16 March 2005

FIGUK website www.figuk.org.uk... please help to promote FIGUK whenever you can...

News items from around the world

InFire 2004 Conference minutes are now available on http://www.infire.org

Good Practice Awards 2005 - reducing risks from workplace noise: 25 countries to take part in European health and safety award scheme

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has invited nominations for the sixth European Good Practice Awards. The 2005 award scheme will recognise companies or organisations that have made outstanding and innovative contributions to the prevention of risks from noise at work, this year's central theme of the Agency-run annual safety and health awareness campaign.

Good practice examples are implemented solutions to prevent or reduce risks from noise to workers' safety and health. All entries should show good management, particularly the effective use of risk assessment and implementation of its findings, and be focused on successful prevention of risks to workers. Entries are invited from all EU Member States: they can be submitted by individual enterprises (SMEs' participation is especially much welcome) or by intermediary organisations, including chambers of commerce, trade and professional associations and trade unions. The area covered is quite broad and may range from control and elimination of loud noise from the workplace and sound management methods used to enable effective communication in noisy environments (e.g. by emergency services), to training schemes and awareness-raising education programmes.

The Director of the European Agency, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, said 'Noise at workplace is still too often viewed as a necessary evil, and, as its effects are not instantaneous, it is not considered a priority. The truth is noise does have a devastating impact on our health and it affects not only workers at steelworks or construction sites, but also millions of people employed in the service sector, e.g. in education, entertainment, or call centres. It can be a causal factor in accidents, contribute to work-related stress, and may act together with other workplace hazards to cause ill health. With the European directive on noise to be implemented early next year, it is high time to take more decisive measures to "stop that noise". We hope the good practice awards will demonstrate, by example, that work-related noise can be effectively controlled.'

This is the sixth year of the awards, which come under the umbrella of the annual European Week for Safety and Health at Work. The Agency will announce the winners at the campaign's closing event in December this year in Bilbao. The awards will provide the winners with European recognition for their role in improving working conditions in Europe, and the awarded examples will be presented in an Agency booklet to be distributed across Europe.

Noise is a serious but often neglected work-related risk that can cost you more than your hearing. Prolonged exposure to loud noise can lead to hearing disabilities but noise can also cause or be a factor in:

• causing harm to the ears through exposure to dangerous substances
• work-related stress
• an increased risk of workplace accidents
• harm to a worker's unborn child.

Further information about the awards will be available online at http://ew2005.osha.europa.eu

Noise-induced hearing loss has been recognised by the World Health Organisation as 'the most prevalent, irreversible industrial disease'. Hearing loss may not only stop a person working to their full potential; it can destroy a person's social life, isolating them from the community around them.

Work-related noise is a growing concern across Europe as it directly affects millions of workers not only in heavy industry but also in growth sectors such as services, education and entertainment. One third of Europe's workers are exposed to high levels of noise for more than a quarter of their working time, and almost 40 million workers (equivalent to the entire population of Spain) have to raise their voices above normal conversational levels in order to be heard for at least half of their working hours!

To protect workers, the 2003 EU directive that comes into force in all Member States in February 2006, sets a daily noise exposure limit of 87dB(A) and requires that 'the risks arising from exposure to noise shall be eliminated at their source or reduced to a minimum'.

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Gran Via 33, E-48009 Bilbao - Spain | Tel: + 34 94 479 4360 | Fax: + 34 94 479 4383 | Email: information@osha.eu.int | http://osha.europa.eu

Good Health and Safety is "Hallmark of Business Success" says RoSPA

Organisations that manage health and safety well are likely to excel in other areas of their business, delegates to a national conference organised by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents will be told.

The RoSPA Safety and Health at Work Congress Raising Standards, Embedding Excellence will be held at the NEC Hilton Birmingham Metropole, May 17-19. It is sponsored by EDF Energy.

Roger Bibbings, the Society's Occupational Safety Adviser, said: "Increasingly, businesses large and small are being judged by the way they manage health and safety.

"A consistently high standard of health and safety risk management is seen as a hallmark of business effectiveness and professionalism. If a company's health and safety management system is not working, the likelihood is that other parts of the organisation will be inefficient.

"Our conference will show how putting health and safety at the heart of the way an organisation is run can lead to success. There needs to be strong and visible leadership by senior managers, real involvement of every worker and their representatives in decision-making and effective use of professional advice.

"Legal compliance is no longer enough. The pursuit of health and safety excellence needs to be a key performance objective within every business."

The congress programme will offer opportunities to examine: the real challenges associated with error and human behaviour; organisational capacity to investigate accidents and embed lessons learned; how to connect professional health and safety advice with other parts of the business agenda; and how to develop attitudes, knowledge and skills to ensure health and safety competence at all levels.

Congress will also focus on the key challenge of putting health at the heart of health and safety management, reviewing 'what works'; whether it is a question of managing stress and staff ill-health absence, or the challenge of reducing manual handling injuries, tackling occupational asthma or dermatitis or developing approaches to workplace health promotion that actually help to deliver healthier working lives.

It runs alongside Safety and Health Expo 2005 at the NEC and RoSPA's Occupational Health and Safety Awards ceremonies. For more information, see www.rospa.com | Email: events@rospa.com | Tel: +44 0870 777 2120

FIRE FIRE FIRE... information, guidance and advice - all in one place!

Aimed at everyone in the fire industry internationally with the emphasis on all aspects of fire management principles, practices and research, Fire Worldwide is easy to use - so technophobia is eliminated... and contains thousands of pages of validated and authoritative information. It contains::

The Full text Collection has 4 major databases containing the full text documents that are continually being added to this wide-ranging source of critical fire information. The collection contains all appropriate European and UK legislation for fire and fire related industry - some hundreds of documents. In addition a range of fire and fire related documents from organisations such as: The UK Fire Protection Association, World Fire Statistics Bureau, CTIF - The International Committee for the Prevention and Extinction of Fire, UK Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions, US National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health, UK Health and Safety Executive, Ireland Department of the Environment Fire Safety.

The Bibliographic Collection has 7 databases from Fire Service College, UK, LPC Centre for Risk Sciences, UK, Forensic Science Service, UK, Fire Research Institute, USA, Association nationale pour la protection contre l'incendie et l'intrusion (ANPI), Belgium, and the Department of Transport and the Regions (DETR), UK. These databases contain over 245,000 records to journal articles, guidance and advice, circulars, reports, conference proceedings, research reports, statistics and codes of practice from worldwide sources. There is information on every subject from airport fire safety, to the use of abandoned buildings for fire training, facemasks, forest fires, loss prevention, sprinklers, and wildland fires. One of the databases - from the British Standards Institution contains references to over 3000 fire and fire related standards.

To see for yourself how easy it is to get up-to-date information and for a 30-day free trial contact: Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 1909 771024 | Fax: +44 (0) 1909 772829 | Email: sp@sheilapantry.com | www.sheilapantry.com

Call for Papers: Advanced Personal Protective Equipment - Challenges in Protecting First Responders

The NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University are sponsoring Advanced Personal Protective Equipment - Challenges in Protecting First Responders. The conference will be held October 16-18, 2005 at the Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center in Blacksburg, Va.

Attendees will learn about the hazards posed by emerging threats, the application of personal protective equipment (PPE) technology to these threats, and associated challenges with selecting and interfacing different PPE items. The emphasis of the conference will be on practical issues of threat accommodation, standards, regulations, applications of best practices, manufacturing and distribution issues, PPE decision-making and purchasing, and multi-PPE integration. More information on the conference can be found at www.conted.vt.edu/appe

EurOhse2005 One-day Masterclass on Fire Risk Assessment and Business Continuity Planning and Management, 29 November 2005, Stratford

This One-day Masterclass on Fire Risk Assessment and Business Continuity Planning and Management is to be presented on 29 November 2005 at the Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK by Les Moseley - Director of the Coventry Centre for Disaster Management and Programme Manager - University of Coventry , UK and Dennis Davies CBE, OStJ, QFSM, CEng, CCMI, FIFireE(Life), MEI - Independent Fire Adviser - International Committee for the Prevention and Extinction of Fire (CTIF) and formerly HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services, Scotland.

The Masterclass aims to build on existing knowledge and skills in Risk and Hazard Analysis for Fire Risk Assessment and develop further knowledge in Continuity Planning.

Learning Objectives

At the completion of the workshop participants will have:

• Increased their knowledge of current practice in Risk Profiling
• Practiced Hazard Analysis
• Developed further knowledge in Fire Risk Assessment
• Carried out a Business Impact Analysis
• Considered the needs of Business Continuity Management for their company/organisation.

The Masterclass is aimed at:

OSH managers, risk managers and emergency and business continuity planners in industry, commerce and local and central government.

Content of the day:

• Case studies based on real incidents
• Current Fire Risk Assessment models
• Development and application of Business Impact Analysis tools
• Emergency and Business Continuity Planning

Les Moseley is Director of the Coventry Centre for Disaster Management and Programme Manager for the professional diploma courses including the Diploma in Business Continuity Management. Before joining Coventry University, Les spent 16 years in the British Fire Service as a Senior Officer and 14 years working in Emergency Planning. Immediately before joining the University he was Chief Emergency Planning Officer and Principal Officer with the West Midlands Fire & Civil Defence Authority and prior tothis, County Emergency Planning Officer for Warwickshire County Council. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies, a Graduate Member of the Institution of Fire Engineers and a Member of the Emergency Planning Society. Les' research interests include vulnerability assessment, preparedness planning and the management of disasters. Les is also an advisor to the International Civil Defence Organisation and the World Health Organisation and regularly support them in education initiatives worldwide. Les is also a regular contributor to the local and national media and recently appeared on BBC2's 'If ...the lights go out' and 'Terror Alert' on Sky One.

Dennis Davies became an independent fire adviser, working with government and commercial clients in 2004 after 39 years active involvement in the fire service. As HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services for Scotland he was responsible for assessing the performance of all Scotland's brigades and advising Ministers and the Scottish Executive on fire matters. Between 1986 and 1999 he was the Chief Fire Officer for Cheshire Fire Brigade.

Dennis joined the fire service in 1965 in his hometown Walsall. He subsequently transferred on promotion to Cheshire 1971 and, having served in a very wide range of safety, technical and operational posts became the Brigade's Chief Fire Officer. The area has a significant petrochemical industry and his experience includes command management at and contingency planning for major incidents. The Brigade was also extremely active and innovative in the promotion of community safety.

The Chairman for the day is Professor Peter Waterhouse, the Honorary Visiting Professor of Occupational Safety in the Robens Centre of the European Institute of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey, UK.

This is a unique opportunity to attend this Masterclass to be given by two international experts... make sure that you have a place and make your reservation now!

Organised by Angel Business Publications and Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd, the Masterclass will be followed by the EurOhse2005 conference that will be held on 30 November 2005 - 1 December 2005 at the Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK. This is the third year for this very popular, informative conference that keeps you up-to-date and provides excellent networking opportunities and will provide key points for future activities for all those responsible for securing good standards of health and safety in the workplace, and excellent networking opportunities.14 eminent speakers with backgrounds in government, inspectorates, industry, research and education will discuss a range of topics.

Chairmen for the two days will be John Howard OBE, CEO RoSPA and Professor Peter Waterhouse, Robens Institute.

Why not book both the Masterclass and the EurOhse2005 conference?

For further details contact: EurOhse 2005 and Masterclass, Office and Logistics Manager, European Occupational Health and Safety Magazine (EurOhs), Angel Business Communications Ltd, 34 Warwick Road, Kenilworth CV8 1HE, Warwickshire, UK | Tel: +44 (0) 1926 512424 | Fax: +44 (0) 1926 512948 | email: stephen@angelbc.co.uk

Cutting through the health and safety red tape

Protect your people - and your business ...the practical one-stop health and safety toolkit, a new book from IOSH, really 'does what it says on the tin'. In one clear and simple volume all the health and safety basics are covered from a practical perspective, supported by functional tools, models and checklists. Says author Bryan Toone: "Experienced health and safety professionals will know all this stuff, but they will probably never have seen it pulled together like this before."

The book offers a handy information back-up tool for health and safety practitioners, as well as an action-centred, authoritative follow-up resource to offer colleagues or client organisations.

This groundbreaking publication offers an 'antidote' to the usual heavy duty health and safety textbooks. Protect your people dispenses with the traditional reliance on the law, focusing instead on what managers need to do to make sure that the people who work for them are safe.

Ignoring the heavy-duty theory that can prove a real turn off, it's packed with tools to guide managers in setting up and running an effective health and safety programme. All the key managerial and operational issues are covered, from writing a policy to getting to grips with the rules on working time.

The book includes over 30 checklists - all available online - as well as sample documents, reports and model toolbox talks for a range of mainstream activities. A simple navigation scheme, clean, crisp layout, clear explanations of jargon, a straightforward cross-referencing system and plenty of facts and figures to drive home the cost of getting health and safety wrong, all help to make this book a unique, easy-to-read resource for managers and supervisors.

Author Bryan Toone has over 20 years' experience as a health and safety professional and is a Fellow of IOSH. He works in the construction sector for a medium-sized company. This down-to-earth new book is backed by the Federation of Small Businesses which praises its "welcome practical advice, plain English style of writing and easy-to-follow navigation".

Copies are available, priced £20, from Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, The Grange, Highfield Drive, Wigston, Leicestershire LE18 1NN, UK | Tel: +44 (0) 1787 249293 | Tel: +44 (0)116 257 3100 switchboard | Fax: +44 (0)116 257 3101 | www.iosh.co.uk

Find out more about IOSH 2005 Diamond Jubilee Conference at https://iosh.com/events. For more information on health and safety for small businesses visit our www.safestartup.org. Plus, read and discuss the latest health, safety and environmental issues at http://forum.iosh.co.uk

Health and Safety Executive

Work at Height Regulations - A Brief Guide 2005, 12 pages
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a brief guide to the Work at Height Regulations. The guide outlines what people must do to comply with the Regulations, which came into effect on 6 April 2005.
www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg401.pdf

Fire Protection Association

Business Resilience: A Guide to Protecting Your Business and Its People
2005, 16 pages
Available from www.thefpa.co.uk

Some New Legislation

Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres (Amendment) Regulations 2005
SI 2005 No. 830, ISBN 0110726545, 5 pages
www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20050830.htm

Explanatory Memorandum to the Equipment and Protective Systems Intended for Use in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres (Amendment) Regulations 2005
SI 2005 No. 830, 2 pages
www.opsi.gov.uk/si/em2005/uksiem_20050830_en.pdf

The Fire and Rescue Services (National Framework) (Wales) Order 2005
SI 2005 No. 760, ISBN 0110911008, 3 pages
www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/wales/wsi2005/20050760e.htm

Work at Height Regulations 2005
SI 2005 No. 735, ISBN 0110725638, 28 pages
www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20050735.htm

DIARY OF EVENTS

17-19 May 2005 - International Fire Expo
National Exhibition Centre, Halls 17 and 18 Birmingham, UK
Contact: CMP Information Ltd, Bourne House, 10 Windmill Road, Hampton Hill, Middlesex TW12 1RH, UK | Tel: +44 (0) 870 429 4316

17-19 May 2005 - Safety and Health Expo
National Exhibition Centre, Halls 9 and 10 Birmingham, UK
Contact: RoSPA Events | Email: events@rospa.com | www.rospa.com/events

14-16 September 2005 - Structures and Extreme Events
Lisbon, Portugal. Organized by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE). Themes: Natural disasters, man-made events (fire, explosions, impacts, etc.) and human errors (mismanagement, design mistakes, defective material, equipment malfunction, etc.)
Contact: IABSE Lisbon 2005, Organising Committee, c/o LNEC, Ave. Brasil 101, 1700-066 Lisbon, Portugal | Tel: +351 21 844 3260| Fax: +351 21 844 3025 | Email: iabse.lisbon2005@lnec.pt
or: ABSE Secretariat, ETH Hönggerberg, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland | Tel: +41 1 633 2647 | Fax: +41 1 633 1241| Email: secretariat@iabse.org | www.iabse.org

29 November 2005
Held in conjunction with the 3rd EurOhse Conference organised by Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd and Angel Business Communications Ltd
Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK
Contact: Stephen Whitehurst, European Occupational Health and Safety Magazine (EurOhs), Angel Business Communications Ltd | 34 Warwick Road, Kenilworth CV8 1HE, Warwickshire, UK | Tel: +44 (0)1926 512424 | Fax: + 44 (0)1926 512948 | Email: sv@angelbc.co.uk

30 November 2005 - 1 December 2005
3rd EurOhse Conference organised by Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd and Angel Business Communications Ltd
Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK
Contact: Stephen Whitehurst, European Occupational Health and Safety Magazine (EurOhs), Angel Business Communications Ltd | 34 Warwick Road, Kenilworth CV8 1HE, Warwickshire, UK | Tel: +44 (0)1926 512424 | Fax: + 44 (0)1926 512948 | Email: sv@angelbc.co.uk

30 January - 1 February 2006 - Fire India 2006 Exhibition and Conference
Grand Hyatt, Mumbai, India
Contact: Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE), 719 Jaina Towers, 1 Janak Puri, New Delhi 110 058, India | Tel: +11 2550 2025 | Fax: +11 2550 2024 | Email: ifeispbd@del3vsnl.net.in | www.ifeindia.org

Minutes of the FIG (UK) Meeting on Wednesday 16 March 2004 held at BSRIA Limited

Chair	Stephen Loyd
Minutes	Lis Riley
Present:
Stephen Loyd	BSRIA Ltd
Sally Walsh	Dr Burgoyne & Partners LLP
Lis Riley	Hawkins & Associates
Nsekanji Pelekamoyo	London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA)
John Roy	IHS-Technical Index
Margaret Fuller	Fire Service College (FSC)
Amanda Collicutt	Fire Service College (FSC)
Nigel Herring	Casella Stanger
Wendy Ross	Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Apologies:

Monique Barden	London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA)
Sheila Pantry	Sheila Pantry Associates Litd
Penny Morgan	Information for Fire Investigators (IfFI)
Roger Berrett	Dr Roger Berrett
Kay Helm	FPA

1. Welcome and Apologies

Stephen welcomed everyone to BSRIA and read out the list of apologies from various people. Stephen said that he was happy to chair the meeting and that Sheila had agreed to edit the Newsletter. Lis agreed to take the minutes of the meeting.

Action: Sheila - Newsletter Editor

2. Minutes of Last Meeting

The minutes of the last meeting and various actions arising from them were discussed and agreed as a true record.

General comments and outstanding actions are as follows:

Monique to explore possibilities of compiling a list of contacts and information units within UK Fire Brigades and to draft and circulate a press release.

Action: Monique

Amanda and Margaret commented on how beneficial they had found the InFire Conference in Australia. They said that they felt that Australia are ahead of us in terms of networking and digitisation of information. Amanda and Margaret also felt it would be a good idea if we had a link to the Australian fire information networking website - ALIES. Sheila to be asked if she would mind adding them to the FIG website.

Action: Sheila - ALIES website

Stephen asked if anyone had contact with any potential FIG members at BRE. He said that he would contact them.

Action: Stephen - Contact BRE

John asked Amanda if she could ask Marion Barnes for a copy of her MSc

Action: Amanda

3. Matters Arising

There were no new matters arising.

4. Accounts

Nsekanji read out the accounts that had been prepared by Monique (copy attached). It was agreed that membership renewal should be waived for this year and that new members should be asked to pay a nominal £10 fee to encourage them to join.

Thanks were expressed to Monique and Nsekanji for their work on the accounts and the tour they provided at the last meeting.

5. Fire and Rescue Statistics User Group

Stephen ran through Sheila's notes which were as follows:

Notes from Meeting held 1^st March 2005 at ODPM.

a. Web site
The new website of the Fire and Rescue Statistics User Group - permission has finally been given by ODPM to host the website which Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd had made a prototype on the ODPM website. Will send a notice to everyone once it is actually available. Will contain Minutes of meetings, full text of presentations and papers, dairy of events and links to other appropriate sites.

b. Fire Research Academy
FRSUG had a presentation from Stephen Robbins regarding the emerging findings of the KPMG.
See attached one page handout with the main points.

c. Fire Research Seminar at Fire Service College, Moreton, Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 October 2005

There is a call for papers and FRSUG is going to make a presentation, and possibly a Poster presentation about FRSUG. www.fireservicecollege.ac.uk
Event Co-ordinator - Dr Anne Eyre, Trauma Training, P O Box 2590, Leamington Spa, Warks CV31 1GQ. Email: anne.eyre@traumatraining.com. Tel: +44(0)1926-427939 or 0777-3894675

The Fire Service College, in association with the Institution of Fire Engineers, is pleased to announce details of its annual conference and to invite papers for inclusion in plenary, parallel or poster sessions. Are you engaged in an innovative project, research and/or development in a fire-related field? We wish to hear from individuals, brigades and other organisations looking to showcase best practice, initiative and cutting edge research. Our conference attracts a wide audience from across the Emergency Services, the Fire Industry, Research Communities and other private or public sectors interested in the latest fire-related issues, developments and concerns. We welcome a broad range of backgrounds and professional approaches including technical, engineering, legal, social, psychological, economic, operational, national and international perspectives. This gives our conference its distinctive multi-disciplinary and multi-agency flavour. An advisory panel of senior representatives across the fire community is assisting in the programme planning for this year's event, including the selection of papers.

NB Perhaps FIGUK might want to consider doing a presentation and Poster Presentation??? To discuss at the 16 March meeting? NB deadline 25 March

The KPMG Report is due out shortly and Amanda will keep FIG members informed and collate responses from the group for presentation. There will be an update discussion at the next meeting.

John mentioned a government website where you can register your details and receive updates on various topics with abstracts - www.info4local.gov.uk

6. FireNet

The following are Sheila's notes regarding FireNet:

2. The FireNet pages have changed

Certain areas of the FireNet pages are now or soon will be only available by subscription. These areas include: News Reports (11000+ articles to search through these are added daily), Online Fire Related Papers (350+ on numerous fire related subjects), Online Fire Related Legislation (Great for research), Fire Fighter Finder, Online fire calculations (with new staircase calcs) and other specific areas to be added in the future.

They have decided to make a members area available as we are looking at providing more facilities and extending existing areas to assist our members with more resources and to have them as an active members so that they may included links without delay on the FireNet site i.e Special interest groups, promulgating their conference/event, Keeping in touch with old colleagues.

They are also looking at providing dedicated web space to our members to help them with their online research projects or for personal use. If you are interested please contact me at the email address below.

As a FireNet member you will also be able to have a members fee rebate whilst attending any conference or Seminar that is organised or recognised as a FireNet conference.

Please watch the site for more details. To become a FireNet Member then please sign up.

Should you have any queries then please do not hesitate to contact me at the following email address: enquires@fire.org.uk

Thank you for your support Colin Simpson
FireNet Administrator www.fire.org.uk

There was a discussion as to whether the person who now runs FireNet should be invited to give a talk at the next FIG meeting. Colin Simpson, who used to run FireNet, is now retired but that he may still be appropriate as a speaker. It was suggested that Sheila be asked to contact him as she knows him.

7. OSH Update

The following are Sheila's notes:

3. OSH UPDATE available for 30 day free trial:
new Internet based service from Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd

Want to keep up-to-date in worldwide occupational health, safety, hygiene, road safety, water safety, environment trends and the latest information? Do budget constraints not allow you to buy all the journals, newsletters and documents that contain the latest information? Can't afford the time to search for the latest information, legislation and standards? No staff to search for this information? And no time yourself to spend hours searching for information?

Then this newly launched, very affordable Internet based service OSH UPDATE, from Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd is the answer for you. Powered by Head Software International's Headfast/Discovery Internet publishing software, OSH UPDATE is now available and is updated monthly www.oshupdate.com

It currently contains nine bibliographic databases from worldwide authoritative sources such as:

• UK Health and Safety Executive HSELINE,
• UK Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA),
• NIOSHTICS US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH),
• Canada Ryerson University RILOSH
• CISDOC the International Labour Office CIS Health and Safety Centre,
• ILO Recommendations, Protocols and Conventions
• European Union legislation and other legislation sources and
• OSH standards specifications including those from the British Standards Institution.
• Publications from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

OSH UPDATE records has links to the full text where possible.

OSH UPDATE will expand - we are continuing to make agreements with other well-known information producers around the world and these databases will also be included. As well as the latest information, many reference sources go back 80 or more years and so a valuable tool for researchers.

This new aggregation of databases contains thousands of relevant references with abstracts or keywords and will keep you and your colleagues alerted to hot topics such as the health risks of nanotechnology, corporate killing and corporate social responsibility, bio-terrorism, management of road risks, preparedness and business continuity, risk assessment.

The title price for a single user via the Internet is GBP250.00 / Euros 360.00 / US$ 450.00 per year - less than 68 pence / 1 Euro / 1.2 dollars per day

The price* (see below for further details) reflects our aim to bring health and safety guidance, advice, research, journal articles, papers, standards to the attention of health and safety practitioners and managers, researchers, trade union safety representatives, occupational physicians, information specialists in industry, colleges and universities, government staff,

8. Fire Research

There was a brief discussion about the KPMG Report.

9. FIG Logo

After some debate a design for the FIG Logo was agreed by those present. Nsekanji has the details. The design chosen was FIG in capital letters with UK in the 'G' and Fire Information Group spread across the bottom below it.

10. Round Table Discussion

Sally asked if anyone had experience of Webinars. One or two people had. These are seminars that are held across the Internet. The speaker can be in one country and the attendees can be anywhere else in the world providing they have the appropriate equipment.

Nsekanji reported that their resource centre is now open. They are currently looking into taxonomy for the organization and have been reviewing software, demonstrated by a company called WordMap, which appears costly to purchase.

John said that although TI are still supplying British Standards, they are no longer hosting the on-line catalogue. BSI has taken the web-hosting of the catalogue back in-house. He also reported that there are some changes to their products (they now have Irish Standards for health and safety and construction and some Middle Eastern products) and that they have a single search engine covering a number of products.

Also, TI is about to be floated on the New York Stock Exchange.

Wendy is very busy and undertaking a review of library and museum. She has to present a case for keeping a paper library. She commented that they are now no longer able to issue photos with identifiable faces.

Lis said that Hawkins had finally moved offices on the Science Park in Cambridge. They are not far from where they were. The new address is 25 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge, CB4 0FW. All other contact details remain the same.

Margaret has been looking at the implications of re-use of public sector information in relation to the imminent implementation of the EU Directive in UK legislation on 1 July 2005. She mentioned that HMSO is to be re-named the Office of Public Sector Information and that licenses are required to re-use Crown copyright and other public sector information. More information can be found on HMSO/OPSI website www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/psi-regulations/eu-directive-on-psi.htm and www.opsi.gov.uk/ifts

Stephen spoke briefly about the new Fire Safety Order that puts the onus of responsibility for fire safety of business premises on the employer and the need for an industry standard for fire risk assessment.

Amanda reported that they are having a staff restructure in the FSC library. They will have a 2 team structure (collections and service delivery) of senior assistant grade/leaner services manager. They currently have 1.5 vacancies and are covering this at the moment with agency staff.

They are also looking at objectives for next year. Amanda mentioned the Research Academy and FLASH.

11. AOB

(Some of the following were discussed elsewhere during the meeting but have been brought together here)

* Throughout the meeting there was discussion about FIG doing a poster event at the Fire Research Seminar at FSC, Moreton on 12/13 October. It was agreed that FIG should go ahead and do this to promote the Group and information services in general. Amanda said she would make arrangements at the College. Lis with Nsekanji's help will prepare/organise posters and an information pack for display on a stand.

Action: Amanda

Action: Lis / Nsekanji

Suggestions for what could be included in various formats are as follows (in no specific order):

• Why people need information and information services
• About FIG
• Membership Application Form
• Website details
• Who to contact
• Recent minutes
• International contacts and networks

Other promotional material could include a CD (John said TI may consider producing CDs if they can put some advertising on them)

Datasticks were another suggestion. Lis will look into costs of producing various promotional freebies.

Action: Lis

* Margaret and Amanda will try and find a contact for FINDS - Information Network. (Since the meeting Amanda has provided some further information which is attached)

Action: Margaret/ Amanda

12. Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting date is to be confirmed. It is likely to be Buxton possibly on 23 or 26 September. Stephen will talk to Sheila about this and let everyone know.

Stephen / Sheila

Accounts

The Accounts were also presented to FIGUK members.

Note:

CFOA run the FINDS database
The Chief Fire Officers' Association
9 - 11 Pebble Close
Tamworth
Staffordshire
B77 4RD
United Kingdom

Telephone Numbers
General: +44 (0)1827 302300
Fax: +44 (0)1827 302399
Events: +44 (0)1827 302330
FINDS: +44 (0)1827 302360 (Technical Support)

General Enquiries
CFOA - info@cfoa.org.uk
FINDS - info@finds.org
Website - webmaster@cfoa.org.uk