Ergonomic Safety While Temporarily Working from Home

During the current University shutdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak, useful information regarding your ergonomic safety while working from home can be found here: Home Worker Ergonomic Guide.

A new, illustrated, excel-based UCC VDU self-assessment tool can be used to risk assess both campus-based or work-from-home workstations. The tool can be downloaded here.

For First Aiders: Health Service Executive and Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council, Covid-19 Related Advisories

The HSE has provided guidance on providing CPR in the community during the Covid-19 pandemic: HSE Advisory.

The PHECC Medical Advisory Committee has provided guidance to practitioners of all levels related to the outbreak of Covid-19. The full advisory can be found here: PHECC Advisory.

A list of all recent PHECC advisories which will be useful for First Aiders to review can be accessed here.

Staff Health & Safety Training

Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 the employer has a responsibility via functional area line management to provide adequate instruction and training for each employee. Specifically, the Act states that there is a number of courses that are mandatory for each employee to undertake. These courses include: Visual Display Unit training, Manual Handling training and Fire training/emergency procedures. 

Subject to Health & Safety Office budgets, the office runs a finite monthly and rolling quarterly schedule of selected core training courses, to part-assist schools & departments with their overall staff training needs analysis.

Table one below details the courses currently available via the Health & Safety Office.

Specialised course or non-core courses or off-programme courses and courses covered by note 2 are a direct provision matter for relevant Schools/Deptartments across UCC.

Note 1: Managing Health & Safety training is no longer available via the H&SO. Department personnel should undertake an online IOSH accredited managing of H&S course (3-day duration). These are available monthly via reputable H&S training providers listed on Agresso (a direct pay arrangement between departments and the provider).

Note 2: Risk assessment training is currently unavailable. The expected resume date will be Q4 2022 (via a blended approach).

Table two below details other core courses that are not delivered by the Health & Safety Office.

For Fire Safety related training, please contact Declan O'Shea, Operational Fire Officer at declan.oshea@icem.ie. Further contact details are available here: https://www.ucc.ie/en/build/buildings/firesafety/. Declan O'Shea operates under the direction of the Buildings & Estates Office, reporting to Pat Cotter the General Services Officer.