The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires all Employers appoint a competent person(s) to assist in complying with statutory provisions.  

If that that person is available in house then the appointment must be in preference to a competent person not in the Employer's employment.

However, it is not always economically viable to employ someone directly in-house having "sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities" to enable the role to be undertaken.

MD Safety Management offers a stand-alone service to act as a competent person.  This service is offered as part of a package to Clients.

We act as Health and Safety Advisors and simultaneously encourage our Clients to begin to assess their requirements for in-house competence.

This service is available only for those Clients who have obtained services from us and who demonstrate a firm commitment to managing Health and Safety effectively in the long term.  In-house expertise is essential if a Company wants to manage Health and Safety effectively.

This can take time to implement, however, as an individual(s) will need to be identified and suitable training courses completed.  In this interim time, MD Safety Management fills this gap for our Clients but expects that Health and Safety management is taken seriously and ownership is identified within the Company Hierarchy.

Essentially there must be an individual with ultimate responsibility and ideally a Health and Safety Coordinator will also manage day-to-day operations.  MD Safety Management decides in-house which Companies qualify for this service but for those that do receive it free of charge and also have access to telephone support and advice and other resources.

This is evidenced by a Health and Safety Advisor Certificate on an annual basis.

Having access to competent Health and Safety advice helps to:

• Comply with your legal requirements
• Demonstrate to your Clients that you have access to competent support.
• Demonstrate to Enforcing Authorities (e.g. Health and Safety Executive (HSE), etc.) the Company's commitment to ensuring effective Health and Safety Management.
• Demonstrate to Employees the Company commitment to Health and Safety Management.