attis

Portsmouth Naval Base – Maritime asset testing

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:18:01 GMT

Bollard testing

Attis have delivered the final milestone in a 15 month-long project for KBS Maritime. The project, to survey and test almost 2,300 mooring assets on HM Naval Base Portsmouth, has seen our engineers test:

717 bollards
234 fairleads
1,341 mooring rings
Across 41 berths and jetties.

During this time we took over 16,000 point locations which were then uploaded to CAD, uniquely identifying each asset. We developed a bespoke reporting system especially for this project, containing the survey results, test data, mooring information and repair and remediation recommendations. We recommended that the ‘asset on a page’ was electronically attached to the CAD and these recommendations now form part of the Naval Base’s asset management and repair strategy for all the mooring assets.

During the 15 month project, no operations were interrupted and our engineers seamlessly reacted to emerging test requirements from the client. Each project milestone was delivered on or before time and there was no variation to the original tendered cost or delivery timeframe.

A major, critical project delivered on time and on cost without interruption or deviation. If you require advice without limits and service without compromise, contact us.

"It has been a pleasure working with the Attis team who consistently demonstrated their attention to detail and ability to adapt. Working in an active waterfront environment is not always easy, especially when operations can change schedules at a moment's notice. Attis were able to rise to this challenge and deliver outputs without delay."

Rob Macey

Project Manager

KBS Maritime

Safety, Health & Wellbeing Live 2025

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 10:21:48 GMT

Where next for health & safety presentation

Following the launch of the book Where Next for Health and Safety? co-author David England of Attis was invited to present at the Safety, Health & Wellbeing show in Farnborough. Speaking in the Keynote Theatre, David gave an informative presentation about just a few of the recommendations from the book about how health and safety faces the challenges of the future.

The book is the product of intensive research and interviews with some of the leading lights in the world of safety, health, and wellbeing. The queue of people waiting to speak with the presenter afterwards points to the interest this thought-provoking speech created!

Deck and pile testing

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 13:26:12 GMT

Portsmouth Naval Base – Gantry Structural Assessment

Attis delivered a highly responsive and non-intrusive structural assessment of an existing crane gantry of the refit dock at His Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth. Using advanced, non-destructive testing techniques, our team gathered high-quality structural data while maintaining full operational continuity within this busy Royal Navy facility.

A detailed survey of the gantry and associated dock supports was provided, alongside the verification of load capacities for the supported concrete deck and metal walkway. The outcome was a concise and definitive understanding of structural performance, enabling safe, informed asset management decisions without impacting critical maintenance activities.

"The testing of the gantry structure was carried out professionally and without disruption to ongoing naval base operations. The verified loading capacities have enabled KBS Maritime to inform the asset management plan and to prioritize repairs. This in turn allows us to identify temporary solutions in order to receive Royal Navy vessels into the dock for planned repairs without delay or disruption.”

Nick Tate

Naval Base Chief Engineer

KBS Maritime

Bollard testing

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 19:32:41 GMT

Testing without all the stress

What we do

Attis provide a Lloyd's Register validated service for the survey and testing of bollards, fairleads, mooring rings and other mooring assets. The testing methodology used is non-destructive, non-operationally impactive, and without the need for heavy test equipment or dangerous operations such as using a tug to pull. The test measures the bollard capacity and safe working load (SWL) and identifies any significant defects.

How it benefits you

The testing does not damage the asset, nor does it exert any additional stress on the asset or its fixings. Knowing the berthing capability of mooring assets allows you to make informed operational decisions and reduces the risk of failure. If the results are lower than expected, you have the choice of whether you keep the asset in operation and reduce the loading, or whether you replace it. The testing will highlight issues with the asset fixation (bolts or buried fixings), that can sometimes be remediated through bolt tightening or ground injection/repair.

Seismic testing

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 19:30:54 GMT

Testing what's under the surface

What we do

Attis provide a Lloyd's Register validated service for seismically determining the substrata. The testing methodology we use is non-destructive, non-operationally impactive, and without the need for costly and time-consuming drilling of boreholes. On uniform virgin ground, boreholes may be sufficient, however on disturbed or industrial sites bore holes can easily miss buried issues that the seismic approach will identify.

How it benefits you

This methodology is very useful for quickly identifying substrata anomalies such as sink holes, cavities, poor ground make-up or general weak areas. Where there is doubt about ground make-up, especially with aging infrastructure, this test will inform. This allows you to set limitations of use and to prioritize repair budgets accordingly.

Pile testing

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 19:28:12 GMT

Testing the support

What we do

Attis provide a Lloyd's Register validated service for the survey and testing of piles, sheet piles, and dolphins. The testing methodology we use is non-destructive, non-operationally impactive, and without the need for large, heavy equipment or vehicles. The test provides the safe additional loads (SALs), vertical capacity, berthing energy capability of the pile tested, and the integrity of the pile.

How it benefits you

Knowing the strength and condition of what is under a jetty is crucial when making decisions on developing current capabilities to suit enhanced operations and the growing market for larger vessels.

Deck (floor) testing.

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 19:26:10 GMT

Testing the surface

What we do

Attis provide a Lloyd's Register validated service for the survey and testing of decks, berths, jetties, bridges, hardstanding, factory floors, mezzanine structures, etc. The testing methodology we use is non-destructive, non-operationally impactive, and without the need for heavy or cumbersome test equipment. This test is a direct measurement of the deck’s capacity and its deflection shape under load. It also identifies the deck’s fixity for accurate load calculation.

How it benefits you

The results provide the integrity and strength of a load-bearing surface so that you, as the owner or operator, understand the loading limitations. The results can be provided as a heat map, helping to identify the areas that may require remedial work, or where limitations can be introduced to reduce the level of risk. The ideal tool for upscaling capability or mitigating current issues.

Bolt testing

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 19:23:11 GMT

Testing the fixings

What we do

Attis provide a Lloyd's Register validated service for the survey and testing of bolts and other fixings, such as ground anchors (of any type). The testing methodology we use is non-destructive, non-operationally impactive, and without the need for heavy test equipment. The testing will highlight issues with the bolt fixity in the substrate such as breaks, corrosion, and stretching.

How it benefits you

The results provide the loading capacity of the bolts which is a combination of physical condition of both the bolt and the anchorage. The test can determine whether the weakness is in the bolt or the anchorage material.

Ship bollard & tow point testing

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 17:44:14 GMT

Testing where others cannot

What we do

Attis provide a Lloyd's Register validated service for the survey and testing of ships’ bollards and towing points. The testing methodology we use is non-destructive, non-operationally impactive, and without the need for heavy or cumbersome test equipment. The test is, in effect, a combination of both the land bollard and deck test and measures the towing point capacity on the ship without assumptions.

How it benefits you

There are not many ways to physically and accurately test ships’ bollards and towing points without utilizing large amounts of stored energy and subsequent modelling requires original design data and numerous measurements. Non-destructive testing provides a swift, safe, and accurate way to understand actual capacities. The results are provided as safe working loads (SWLs) for the bollard or towing point enabling the understanding of vessel mooring or towing capability.

Wooden floor testing

Mon, 19 May 2025 20:43:37 GMT

A unique opportunity

The testing team at Attis were honoured today to be invited to the stunning Hampton Court Palace. Here, in a part of the building designed by Sir Christopher Wren, we were able to demonstrate our testing methodology on a very old wooden floor.

Our methodology measures frequency response to determine the stiffness and therefore residual strength of structures. This means that there is no need to rely on assumptions about the building or the materials used in it, especially the strength of wood which is difficult to predict.

The level of accuracy combined with valuable output data is delivered by a completely non-destructive methodology. Just right for a world famous but fragile historic building.

Bollard testing

Wed, 07 May 2025 10:40:47 GMT

The consequences of bollard failure

The humble bollard, found on quays, docks, and harbours all around the world is a vital if somewhat overlooked piece of equipment. The mooring of vessels from inflatable dinghies to super tankers is impossible without an appropriately robust method of tethering, which includes both the method of tethering (rope, chain, steel hawser) and the installation to which it is tethered (which includes bollards, cleats, fairleads, capstans, and mooring rings).

Clearly the original installation of mooring equipment, at the time of the construction of the berthing facility, would have considered the general or maximum size of vessels likely to use it. Equivalent forces likely to be imposed on the various equipment would have been calculated and used to specify both the type and size of equipment as well as the substrate onto which it was fixed. The berthing of seaborne vessels takes place, however, in often naturally hostile environments and under operating conditions which can affect operational performance. The original specifications of mooring equipment can, therefore, be rapidly negated over time.

The failure of mooring equipment, whether through failure of the equipment itself, or its fixings, or the surface to which it is attached, can range from mildly inconvenient to catastrophic. In April 2013, the Carnival Triumph broke free of its moorings in Mobile, Alabama colliding with two other vessels in the harbour channel. Three bollards to which the Triumph was attached failed and the incident resulted in one fatality and caused approximately £2.5 million of damage.

Bollard testing

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 15:06:05 GMT

Portsmouth Naval Base - Mooring Furniture Testing

Attis are delighted to be working with KBS Maritime at HM Naval Base Portsmouth on testing all of the mooring assets around the dockyard. Over 2,000 assets will be surveyed and tested to identify their condition and determine their operational capacity. This will provide shoreside personnel – who have the responsibility of berthing the Royal Navy’s ships – with accurate, up-to-date information critical to their work. This is especially important with regard to the Navy’s largest-ever vessels, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

Attis, in association with Integrity Testing Pty, deploy a testing method that does away with all the operational factors, time delays and safety issues. Our method applies resonating frequencies to the asset. These are read by transducers and converted into a numerical image of the asset’s foundational strength. Expert analysis of the data allows accurate values to be determined which can then be determined as a single safe working load for the asset.

Finding innovative and pragmatic solutions to engineering and safety problems is what Attis excels at, assisting our clients to excel at what they do best.

Come and see us at Seawork 2025 - Q65

Where next for health and safety?

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 15:13:20 GMT

Challenging the convention

This is the third book in a series of books written covering the themes of design, risk and safety.

'Where Next for Health and Safety?' is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of health and safety, providing a comprehensive and forward-looking analysis.

With a foreword written by the esteemed Dr David Towlson, and an international perspective from consultant Tyler Baker, the book will be a valuable resource and catalyst for change for all those with a responsibility for health and safety. This includes managers, policymakers, researchers and educators.

Available from Emerald publishing

Bollard testing and berthing capacity analysis

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 09:29:52 GMT

Pragmatic operational guidance

Attis and Integrity Testing (Pty) Ltd. were approached to evaluate the bollard capacities and the maximum berthing energy that could be borne by Berth 2 jetty and, thereby, to determine the maximum size of vessel that could be safely berthed. This work had to include the variations in approach angle and speed of vessels approaching the berth.

Additionally, the effects of wind speed and direction were to be considered for different sized vessels in order to establish relevant safety factors in mooring vessels against the berth wall. This information was then presented in a way that would provide pragmatic visual guidance for the port operations team.

"The testing of the bollards was undertaken professionally and without impact to other port operations. This information was used to develop an easy to understand berthing limitations chart that identified maximum angles and speeds of approach as well as maximum wind speed and direction for mooring different classes of vessels."

Steve Watkyns

Technical Director

Portsmouth International Port

CDM Principal Designer

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 15:02:06 GMT

CDM Principal Designer

Attis have just completed supporting the new Portsmouth International Port cruise terminal, as the Construction Design & Management (CDM) key duty holder Principal Designer. During this project we have actively provided advice and assistance with the management of design risks to ensure that the building not only meeting the clients statement of requirements, but also ensuring that the end product is safe to operate and maintain.

"The development of additional capacity for Portsmouth International Port has been pivotal to the port’s plans for the future. Attis have been involved from the very beginning of the design concept, and although plans were ‘put on hold’ by the pandemic, they helped the port pick up where they left off. The result is a superb building which so many passengers travelling to and through the city of Portsmouth will undoubtedly enjoy using."

Steve Watkyns

Technical Director

Portsmouth International Port

South East Hampshire Rapid Transit Scheme

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 13:52:34 GMT

East - West improvements

As part of its strategic transport plan, Portsmouth City Council undertook a number of improvements to walkways and cycle paths around the city in order to enable healthier travel choices. The East - West improvements included several projects to improve cycling and walking across Portsmouth.

"The upgrades to the east-west section of the South East Hampshire Rapid Transit scheme is intrinsic to Portsmouth’s ambition to provide safe, alternative transport routes across the city. The complex project, working across multiple sites simultaneously, was aided by crucial safety and engineering support from Attis. This enhanced our own engineers’ capabilities as well as aiding the contractors with pragmatic on-site guidance."

Barnaby Fry

Principal Project Manager (Team Leader)

Regeneration Directorate

Portsmouth City Council

Working with KBS Maritime

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 16:41:50 GMT

Cutting the first steel

Attis are delighted to confirm their involvement with KBS Maritime’s delivery of a specialist cable barge to the Royal Navy which is to be built by renowned shipbuilders Harland & Wolff at their Appledore facility. For this project, Attis are providing their highly specialized and practical engineering and safety support to compliment and enhance their client’s own project team.

The challenges of providing bespoke and critical structures are where Attis excel with a unique blend of operational and engineering knowledge. This is combined with pragmatic safety guidance to ensure the welfare of every stakeholder in the project, from the manufacturers to the final operators.

We look forward to continuing to work with such eminent organizations on such a vital and important project.

(Photographs provided by Harland & Wolff - Appledore).

Another brilliant year for book sales

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 17:37:39 GMT

Safe design and safety cases

We are very happy to announce that the sales of our first book ‘An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction’ ( Wiley ) are again higher than expected, with strong sales 2 years into publication. Along with strong sales of our second book ‘Effectively Managing the Case for Safety’ ( Routledge ) 1 year into publication. It shows that the message of good, sound safety advice across all sectors and industries is being absorbed by the people who matter most.

A big thank you to the companies and universities who have bought the books, we hope you find them of value. If your company has bought the books by all means get in touch, we'd be delighted to do a presentation for you.

The third book is on its way ��

A day at the racetrack

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 06:24:55 GMT

Greenpower international finals 2023

We had an excellent day at Goodwood racetrack on Sunday 8th October, watching the Horndean Technical College (HTC) race in the Greenpower finals for 2023. The team did a brilliant job and overcame tyre troubles to finish 13th and 17th out of a field of 88 cars. These 88 were the best of the whole season that started off with over 700 teams and had more than 10,000 students taking part in this green engineering challenge.

Well done HTC.

Green by Design - Screwball Rally 2023 pt9

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 14:48:38 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

On Day 5, the last day of the Screwball Rally, our valiant drivers set off very early in the morning to complete the 900 kilometre journey home via Calais. Having been booked on the 1900 ferry to Dover, the team were keen to see if they could make it to an earlier one. This meant quick change pit stops along the way, and a diet of chocolate bars and take away coffee!

With just minutes to spare, they were waved on board the 1500 ferry into one of the last spaces on the ship, bringing a welcome sense of relief after their six hour dash through the industrial heartland of Germany and the bustling area around Antwerp.

Everyone arrived home safe and sound by 2030 that evening after driving 2000 mile overall during the last few days. It has been a tiring but incredibly enjoyable trip across Europe in the company of some wonderful other teams and marshals. And all in the name of raising money for very well-deserving causes. Well done to the Green By Design team!

The car and drivers are now resting, and possibly already plotting next year’s rally…

The 'Green by Design' just giving page is:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/GreenByDesignTeam-ScrewballRally?utm_id=1&utm_term=KQpMrgB7z

Green by Design - Screwball Rally 2023 pt8

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 05:14:21 GMT

Day 4 - Hanover

On Day 4 of the Screwball Rally, our valiant drivers have managed to spend a few hours exploring the delights of Denmark. Firstly, a visit to the evocative Men by the Sea sculpture at Esbjerg followed by a visit to the fascinating Marsk Tower, a 25 metre tall iron double helix structure representing the DNA of the human body. After this, a brief visit to the wonderful beach at Rømø, a vast expanse of sand and dunes where anyone can drive on to in their cars and have fun!

A southerly drive followed back into Germany to the fine city of Hanover where our drivers are camped for the last night by the shore of a glorious lake, enjoying a last night celebration with other drivers (affectionately known as “Screwballers”) before the last, and longest, haul yet – the return to Calais and good old Blighty!Their little car has excelled itself, and with over a thousand miles covered so far, the drivers are hoping that the little Ford can make it all the way home for a well-earned rest.

The 'Green by Design' just giving page is

:https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/GreenByDesignTeam-ScrewballRally?utm_id=1&utm_term=KQpMrgB7z

Green by Design - Screwball Rally 2023 pt7

Sun, 24 Sep 2023 06:58:22 GMT

Day 3 - Esbjerg

Day 3 finds our drivers entering the stunning countryside of Denmark in the Screwball Rally. Not far into the country, they took a diversion to the idyllic seaside town of Aarøsund for a refreshing break in some very welcome sunshine. It was also an opportunity to take a dip in the crystal waters and set up some photographs for posterity.

Leaving the island of Aarø across the water in the distance, and heading west across Denmark, our intrepid trio have now reached the outskirts of Esberg for the night before setting off again in the morning for the return to Germany.

Please follow links if you would like to support the 'Green by Design' team in raising money for these four fabulous charities: We Remember Submariners, Veterans Outreach Support, Jacob's Well and Head Up Charity.

The 'Green by Design' just giving page is:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/GreenByDesignTeam-ScrewballRally?utm_id=1&utm_term=KQpMrgB7z

Green by Design - Screwball Rally 2023 pt6

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 07:56:28 GMT

Day 2 - Hamburg

After days of rain, our determined Screwball Rally drivers arrived in Germany today to glorious sunshine. A long straight run up the A1 Autobahn has delivered them safely to a campsite just outside Hamburg. After testing the windscreen wipers almost constantly for two days it was time to find out that not having air conditioning was a smart move.

The campsite for the evening is in lowlands on the banks of the famous river Elbe. The many locals camped here have been both amused and bemused by the arrival of so many curious cars and their equally curious drivers. Tomorrow the rally crosses a border again towards Denmark!

The 'Green by Design' just giving page is:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/GreenByDesignTeam-ScrewballRally?utm_id=1&utm_term=KQpMrgB7z

Green by Design - Screwball Rally 2023 pt5

david.england@attis.org.uk (David England) — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 07:47:07 GMT

The ferry and journey to Amsterdam

The first day of the 2023 Screwball Rally started early at 04:30! On to the ferry at Dover and a chance to catch up with all the other splendid teams in the rally. The first step was a visit to the museum at Dunkirk which vividly portrays the appalling conditions suffered by the British and French forces as they awaited rescue from the beach in 1940. A walk out to the beach itself offered a chance to witness the wide open vista and to walk, humbled, in the footsteps of heroes.

A seemingly endless traffic jam from there to Amsterdam awaited the intrepid drivers through miserable rain and spray. But the evening brough a welcome opportunity to take the tram into the city and savour its fine architecture, vibrant nightlife and even some well-earned refreshment in one of the many hostelries!

The 'Green by Design' just giving page is:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/GreenByDesignTeam-ScrewballRally?utm_id=1&utm_term=KQpMrgB7z

Green by Design - Screwball Rally 2023 pt4

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 18:04:56 GMT

Meet the Sponsors

The 'Green by design' team sponsors are: Attis, RJS Waste, Ecomotus, Caldera, plus another that wants to remain anonymous.

In the photo are Andy & David (Attis), Tony (RJS Waste) and Jason & Kirstyn (Ecomotus).

These sponsors have played an essential part in getting us ready for the rally, and we thank them all for their assistance.

The rally starts on 20th September and we will be keeping you informed of the teams progress both before the rally and during it.

The 'Green by Design' just giving page is:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/GreenByDesignTeam-ScrewballRally?utm_id=1&utm_term=KQpMrgB7z

Green by Design - Screwball Rally 2023 pt3

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 15:18:16 GMT

Meet the team

The 'Green by design' team are: Andy Painting, David England and Mark (Cozy) Powell.

As there was no way that we will fit 3 grown (possibly far too grown!) adults into a small car, we had to add a camouflaged roof box, you might have to zoom in to see it. This has a solar panel feeding a motorcycle battery to power the laptop, so that we can keep the support team and the charities informed of our progress.

Please note the use of tame clothing so that we don’t stand out too much.

We've now had the photo shoot on top of Portsdown hill, we've met with the charities and we are all ready for the start.

The rally starts on 20th September and we will be keeping you informed of the teams progress both before the rally and during it.

The 'Green by Design' just giving page is:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/GreenByDesignTeam-ScrewballRally?utm_id=1&utm_term=KQpMrgB7z

Large scale traffic management

andy.painting@attis.org.uk (Andy Painting) — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 16:34:52 GMT

Attis proudly announce their delivery of a key element of a port’s development

The work Attis has undertaken on a traffic management plan for an international port has become pivotal to the its strategic long-term redevelopment, according to one of the port’s directors. Attis were originally engaged to ‘find’ more parking spaces for lorry trailers, and in doing so developed a three-stage development plan that not only delivered additional spaces, but substantially increased traffic throughput through the use of existing and planned infrastructure.

Portsmouth International Port is a busy and vital link in freight and passengers between the UK and France. As part of its ambitious future planning, the port recognized the requirement to improve traffic flow and parking requirements within its boundaries. The port also has ambitious plans for environmental sustainability, and any improvements needed to be mindful of this. The resultant report that Attis created demonstrated a three-phased approach, with each phase being complimentary to the one before. Beginning with simple adjustments to the day-to-day operations, the plan culminated with a radical redevelopment of the port’s access and egress routes to the national road network.

Each phase was carefully considered in line with the other phases so that each built on the development of the previous phase. This allows for a progressive, planned approach which can be budgeted for over time without impacting on the port or its customers. By maximizing the use of existing port infrastructure throughout the development, Attis were able to demonstrate considerable returns on investment for this crucial piece of the UK’s transportation framework.

The traffic management plan now forms an inherent part of the Portsmouth International Port’s master plan to provide one of the most efficient and sustainable ports in the country. And as part of the Shaping Portsmouth alliance, Attis are proud to be contributors to this impressive proposal.

Attis have undertaken a great deal of work for the port as principal designers for a number of infrastructure projects, and their knowledge of the port and its ambitions helped to secure this important traffic management project. As always, Attis have exceeded expectations and are delighted that their work is now central to the Port’s future development strategy.

Green by Design - Screwball Rally 2023 pt2

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 09:32:47 GMT

Adding a shade of 'green'

The problem with entering a sub £1000 car is that it is unlikely to be any shade of green! So we visited our friends at Ecomotus www.ecomotus.co.uk who have kindly lent us one of their EcoPro fuel additive systems which reduces harmful exhaust emissions whilst also providing increased MPG.

So whilst an old banger can’t be emerald green, it can be a shade of olive green.The rally takes place towards the end of September and we will be keeping you informed of the teams progress both before the rally and during it.

The 'Green by Design' just giving page is:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/GreenByDesignTeam-ScrewballRally?utm_id=1&utm_term=KQpMrgB7z

Green by Design - Screwball Rally 2023

Wed, 23 Aug 2023 07:28:20 GMT

Raising the green banner

Attis are delighted to share that two of the team will be taking part in the screwball rally 2023. The 1,500 mile rally to Denmark and back in aid of charity will be completed in a specially prepared vehicle.

The rally takes place towards the end of September and we will be keeping you informed of the teams progress both before the rally and during it.

The 'Green by Design' just giving page is:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/GreenByDesignTeam-ScrewballRally?utm_id=1&utm_term=KQpMrgB7z

Sussex chamber of commerce - construction forum

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 06:26:37 GMT

Design and risk management presentation

Dr Andy Painting and David England were invited to be the key note speakers at the Sussex Chamber of Commerce construction forum at the East Sussex National Resort on 27th June. The presentation was titled ‘An effective strategy for safe design in engineering and construction’ and was presented in two parts. In the first part, Dr Painting spoke about the importance of managing the design effectively from the initial concept stage through to planning the production (or construction) of the asset. In the second part, David England demonstrated how the risk in projects could be effectively managed to prevent scope creep, error, and wastage. The presentation demonstrated the symbiotic relationship between design and use and the need to manage the risk throughout the design lifecycle.

The presentation was well received and was followed by a good range of considered questions which helped to stimulate the conversation around this complex and engaging subject.

HSE RR1198 - Implementation of the Principal Designer Role within CDM 2015

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 12:13:59 GMT

Alignment with the beliefs of Attis

The HSE’s recently released report into the implementation of the role of the principal designer demonstrates some important benefits that this crucial duty holder can bring to a project. It also points out that the range and depth of skills and knowledge required to fulfil the role properly is unlikely to be realistically covered by one individual. These include civil and structural engineering, architectural and building services, as well as an understanding of construction, maintenance, operational use, and of course health and safety. The report goes on to state that this technical knowledge and experience is augmented by the most effective principal designers with soft skills such as leadership, persuasiveness, and conscientiousness.

All of this can assist greatly with ensuring not only the safest outcome in the design but also in the safety of the construction and use phases, thereby helping to reduce risk and costs during the lifetime of the asset. The findings of the report support the findings of Dr Andy Painting and David England at Attis, who have transposed this conscientiousness into a service level second to none. It also reinforces the message contained in their first book, An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction, which promotes the use of CDM2015 as an effective framework for safe design and delivery of any project. The competency of this duty holder was also the main drive of discussions that the authors had with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities with reference to the Building Safety Bill prior to it receiving Royal Assent. Their argument against the lack of effective implementation under this new law reflected what now very firmly appears to be the case under CDM.

Implementation of the Principal Designer Role within CDM 2015, RR1198 (2023), HSE

Attis presentation to the British Ports Association

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 17:29:46 GMT

Procuring the right Principal Designer solution

An excellent opportunity for Attis to inform the British Ports Association infrastructure group of the many advantages of using an independent CDM Principal Designer (PD). This also raised the requirement to procure the PD separately and prior to the design and/then build tender, since the PD will assist the client in defining the initial risks, checking the competency of the tenders (from a CDM perspective) and, according to PD, assisting with the early concept design reviews and the customer statement of requirements.

The current procurement philosophy employed by many businesses seems to miss the whole point of the principal designer, hopefully this will change as people become more aware of the advantages of independence.

Effectively managing the case for safety - Part 3 - Operations

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 10:28:10 GMT

The significance of operations

If culture provides the “planning”, then operations provides the “doing” of an organization. It may not be constructive to think of either of these components as having a greater significance than the other, just as it would not be useful to think of Plan being more important than Do in Plan-Do-Check-Act. Certainly in terms of analysing an organization’s real attitudes and motives towards safety, what they say they will do and what they actually do are equally important.

It may also be true that an organization might not have a formally-derived culture, and it may not have an advanced mechanism of documenting or administering its management function. But it will always be doing something operationally, even if it is just providing advice or lending money. Operations is where the organization’s undertaking is transformed from an idea into a reality and is therefore where the most immediate risks to safety occur. For this reason, it is where safety professionals tend to focus their attention. But as demonstrate, the environs of the control measures that we introduce, in whatever capacity, have an almost infinitely variable effect on those measures. And it is for this reason that we should look deeper into the assessment of workplace risk and the consequent introduction of safety control measures.

We need to be asking the “what if?” questions about all our control measures to make sure they can robustly stand up to threats from a multitude of directions.

Controlling work through risk assessments begins with understanding the process itself. The use of job safety analyses helps to break down tasks into constituent parts which can then be individually assessed for risk, both within the part itself and in the task as a whole. By addressing tasks in this way, it should be possible to extrapolate other operational factors involved, such as: who might be completing the task and their probable level of competency; where the task might be performed and whether this raises additional risks; how the task might be performed, perhaps during different times or seasons or weather conditions, or even under varying stressors.

Comprehending tasks in this way allows us to understand the types and levels of threat that our control measures face.

Available directly from Routledge Taylor & Francis Group and all good bookshops.

Our previous book, An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction, published by Wiley, is also available.

Books sales better than expected

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 15:03:25 GMT

Safety across all sectors and industries

We are very happy to announce that the sales of our first book ‘An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction’ ( Wiley ) are higher than expected, with strong sales a year into publication. Along with the recent publication of our second book ‘Effectively Managing the Case for Safety’ ( Routledge ), it shows that the message of good, sound safety advice across all sectors and industries is being absorbed by the people who matter most.

Effectively managing the case for safety - Part 2 - Culture

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 18:58:43 GMT

Measuring culture and its impact

There is a current fashion for referring to “safety culture”, as if this should be in some way divisible from other aspects of an organization’s function. Consider how likely it might be that a company could have an outstanding safety culture but a poor one in respect of employee engagement? Or an ambitious and well-documented safety culture but a lackadaisical approach to its customers, in terms of the quality of safety of the products or services it provides? Quality, welfare, financial probity, management obligation and engagement—all these as well as many other factors concerned with an organization’s undertaking are a result of, or are influenced by, a commitment to safety and safe practice. Safety is an aversion to a harmful outcome, howsoever it may be derived, and culture is the key to encapsulating and practising that aversion.

Culture is impacted by many things including, but not limited to:
Communication
Metrics
Behavioural maturity
Risk appetite
Organizational maturity
Training
Risk tolerance

This is just an excerpt from the book and culture involves a lot of other things, off course you will have to buy the book to find out more.

Available directly from Routledge Taylor & Francis Group and all good bookshops.

Our previous book, An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction, published by Wiley, is also available.

Independent Design Review

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 18:21:29 GMT

Designing out the risk

For large or complex projects where a variety of designers are committed to individual phases or aspects of the work, a client invariably needs to ensure that the design as a whole considers any risks that may exist. These may stem from the interaction of various parts of the design, or from the overall design’s interaction with its environment, or with existing structures or assets. Attis have provided strategic design risk assessments for a number of infrastructure projects, helping to eliminate uncertainties for the client, as well as myriad stakeholders.

"Portsmouth City Council and Portsmouth International Port have used Attis to provide independent design reviews on a number of projects. These reviews have provided excellent feedback on the designs, capturing significant risks as well as often proposing practical solutions to them. This has helped us to keep the projects on track and minimising possible errors later on. We have seen many valuable returns on cost which help us to deliver better projects for the city and its communities. "

Martin Lavers - Assistant Director (Infrastructure)

Portsmouth City Council

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Effectively managing the case for safety - Part 1 - CODA

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 07:23:24 GMT

What is CODA

The quality of the output from any undertaking in controlling risk will only ever be as valuable as the information input to it. Simply identifying a risk, and introducing some suitable control measure, is seldom enough. All control measures will have, to a greater or lessor extent, some flaw or failing. These flaws will become apparent under various conditions of stress to those controls: we call these flaws the environs in which the controls exist. Understanding these environs allows an organization to develop better controls or, at the very least, be able to identify where potential failures in the controls might occur. The information we require for this endeavour is split into the following four sections:

Culture – Operations – Documentation – Administration

The considerations in CODA are not checked for their existence but for their suitability. That is to say, we should avoid the simplistic recognition that a policy has been created, or a study has been completed, or that any particular document is in place. To examine the environs of our control measures is to ensure that the policy actually represents what happens on the shopfloor; that the study’s conclusions were considered by the decision-makers and acted upon accordingly, and; that the document that is in place relays the right information to the right people.

We will be discussing the four parts of CODA in successive posts over the coming weeks.

To begin your journey ahead of that, Effectively Managing the Case for Safety is available to purchase now.

Available directly from Routledge Taylor & Francis Group and all good bookshops.

Our previous book, An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction, published by Wiley, is also available.

Health and Safety Audit

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 18:12:26 GMT

Using the CODA technique

The purpose of this report is to identify any safety-related issues that the organization may have. The methodology of the audit is not merely to identify the presence of compliance with regulatory requirements and mandatory documentation, but to establish if this compliance is actively engaged with and adhered to. This in line with the principles developed by Attis after years of research and real-world experiences. The auditing of safety is carried out under four headings: culture, operations, documentation, and administration (or management in this context), and is abbreviated as CODA. These categories are identified as the four ‘environments’ from which all types of risk to any organization can originate

"As part of its continuous improvement of health and safety, Apollo required a complete review of its safety systems. Attis provided a fully in-depth report focussing on areas where our various safety measures overlapped. The straightforward action plan that they developed helped us to easily identify the resources that were required to make the necessary improvements. "

Barry Lee - Health & Safety Lead

Apollo Fire Detectors Limited

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HMS Warrior 1860 – Engineering and Safety Support

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 10:38:21 GMT

Supporting the historic dockyard

Supporting the HMS Warrior 1860 Preservation Advisory Group (PAG) including:

Docking process safety assessment
Asset management and engineering governance improvements
Moorings and infrastructure engineering support

"Attis provided support to the PAG during a project which included the development of a docking process and safety assessment, the re-development of HMS Warrior’s defect and risk register, into a more user friendly and meaningful format as a complete asset management system.

I would thoroughly recommend Attis for any company looking to upgrade their engineering or safety governance. "

Tony Ford - Executive Officer at HMS WARRIOR 1860

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

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Portsmouth Port Traffic and Parking Improvements

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 07:51:56 GMT

Strategic improvement options

As part of its future development requirements Portsmouth International Port has a need to review and improve its current traffic flow and management as well as the provision for space available for freight into and out of the port.

"As part of the Port's Master Plan for future development we asked Attis to review the current traffic flow and management inside the Port's operational area. Their dedication and insight have created exciting solutions that we hope to integrate further as part of our overall plans for the future. "

Mike Sellers - Port Director

Portsmouth International Port

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Effectively managing the case for safety

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 17:23:29 GMT

What it is about and who it is aimed at

For anyone whose job involves the assessment of risk or the management of safety, this book will be invaluable.

In this, the second of our books on risk and safety, we explore the situations that lead to risk, and why the control measures that we put in place sometimes fail. We reveal how current safety-thinking should be challenged, and how developing incisive control measures - for any type of risk - can be achieved.

The book draws on the work of Dr Andy Painting in engineering safety and develops it into a new, simple mnemonic for any profession, industry, or project to use. If you deal with risk as part of your job, or are responsible for safety at any level, this book will help you to make more efficient decisions on controlling risk and mitigating threats to safety.

With a foreword by renowned accident investigator and risk specialist Dr Tony Cox MBE, this book examines how threats to safety can be effectively controlled ensuring the likelihood of harmful events is reduced.

Available directly from Routledge Taylor & Francis Group and all good bookshops.

Our previous book, An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction, published by Wiley, is also available.

More Attis Projects

South East Hampshire Rapid Transit Scheme

david.england@attis.org.uk (David England) — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 12:14:12 GMT

North - South improvements

The South East Hampshire Rapid Transport programme (SEHRT) is a series of schemes intentioned to improve the journey experiences of pedestrians and cyclists in and around the city of Portsmouth. Attis have been appointed as principal designers to a number of these schemes and, as part of their enhanced package of support to the engineering design teams, have assisted in the analysis of risk.

The role of principal designer is there to promote the safest possible design outcome through the implementation of the general principles of prevention.

"Attis has been invaluable in advising on design aspects across all the projects included in this programme. They have also assessed risks on both individual elements of the proposed scheme as well as the overall programme design and commissioning. This has proved to be really helpful for the whole engineering team. "

Claire Buxton - Senior Project Manager

Portsmouth City Council

More Attis Projects

Strategic Health and Safety

david.england@attis.org.uk (David England) — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 12:11:13 GMT

Strategic review of health and safety management

Brightwell Dispensers required both a strategic review of their health and safety policies and procedures following the loss of key personnel in that department. They also required operational and technical assistance during the pandemic with specific Covid control measures relating to many areas of the business.

"Brightwell Dispensers were well aware of the capabilities of Attis personnel, having employed them previously on a range of projects. The advice and assistance provided this time was as pragmatic and professional as ever and helped us ensure improved levels of safety and welfare for all our staff. "

Alan McElwaine - Head of Operations

Brightwell Dispensers Ltd

More Attis Projects

Berth 2 Levelling

Sun, 29 Jan 2023 12:06:50 GMT

Extending and levelling an existing berth

Portsmouth International Port wished to bring larger and more frequent cruise ships into the City of Portsmouth. To achieve this Berth 2 was reduced in height and extended. Attis were appointed as Principal Designer for the project. During the project, Attis undertook a number of design reviews to ensure that the client’s wishes were captured in the statement of requirement and that as the design matured it was independently reviewed against that statement.

Each review identified the risks associated with the design, construction, operation, maintenance and the final disposal. These were reported and recommendations were provided to the client.

"The development of extra berthing capacity at Portsmouth International Port was vital in developing the city as a destination for cruise ship operators. Attis played a crucial role in developing this project and aiding the council to provide a first class additional to the city's infrastructure. "

Barnaby Fry - Principal Project Manager - Regeneration Directorate

Portsmouth City Council

More Attis Projects

Border Control Point

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 19:42:16 GMT

Building a custom Customs facility

HM Government required all ports of entry into the UK to be prepared for the increase in border controls as a result of the UK leaving the European Union. Portsmouth International Port had a unique requirement to support unaccompanied and accompanied freight entering the UK and has a particular issue with available land. The project requirements were set by Government although these were initially a little vague. The project should have taken 36 months but due to the initial urgent requirement the project was condensed into 18 months. This meant that the design moved at a fast pace and required dynamic design and risk reviews throughout to ensure that the decisions made were informed and managed for risk.

"Attis provided extremely helpful and professional advice throughout this fast-paced and complex project which involved inputs from a number of government departments as well as the requirements of the port and local council. Attis provided regular risk reviews and design reviews throughout the project enabling the Port to make quick and informed decisions.

Attis provided extremely helpful and professional advice throughout this fast-paced and complex project which involved inputs from a number of government departments as well as the requirements of the port and local council. Attis provided regular risk reviews and design reviews throughout the project enabling the Port to make quick and informed decisions."

Steve Watkyns - Head of Engineering

Portsmouth International Port

Why it is important to have an effective design strategy (part 4b)

andy.painting@attis.org.uk (Andy Painting) — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 09:26:14 GMT

Is it safe and what are the residual risks?

The health and safety file is the third and final documentary requirement of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. In Appendix 4 of the Regulations, it states that the file “must contain information about the current project likely to be needed to ensure health and safety during any subsequent work, such as maintenance, cleaning, refurbishment or demolition.” From this, we can see that much of the information required for the file has already been included in the acceptance documentation described above. However, it should be appreciated that the reason for the health and safety file is different to that of the acceptance documentation. The acceptance documentation is for the client and is intended to provide them with all the relevant information, including that involving safety: firstly, to demonstrate that they have the product they have paid for; secondly, that the product meets or exceeds regulatory requirements; and, thirdly, what the client can expect in terms of operability.

The health and safety file is for the end user(s) and is intended to cover all aspects of safety-related operation of the product throughout its use, maintenance and ultimate disposal. A list of the other information that should be considered for inclusion in the health and safety file is identified in Appendix 4 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Important points to remember about the health and safety file are that:

The level of detail in the information is proportionate to the risks involved.
The information is provided in a clear, concise and convenient form.
The information is accessible and easily understood.
The information is amended throughout the lifetime of the product to reflect any changes or additions to it.
The health and safety file remains with the product for the entirety of its operational life and is made available to anyone who has reason to view its contents.

The responsibility for ensuring the creation of the health and safety file under the CDM regulations rests with the client, but it is the principal designer who must begin assembling its contents during the design process. At the end of the project either they, or the principal contractor (producer), must complete the file for submission to the client. However the file is generated, it can be seen from the list of relevant information that should be included in the file that it is vital to anyone, during the lifetime of the product, who is engaged to amend, redesign, dispose of or add to the product or any component of it.

The relevance of creating and disseminating the file properly should not be underestimated. The entire design process, from start to end, is guided by having the relevant information to hand at the appropriate time and managing that information in a controlled way. The output of the design process—a finished product—relies equally on information being available in order that it can be used or operated effectively and safely. This can only be done if its hazards and limitations of use are identified and recorded. This is, in effect, the idea behind the ‘golden thread’, which calls for relevant safety information to be made available and managed accordingly throughout a product’s life cycle. It is a venerable initiative. However, the reasons and tools for creating a ‘sphere of safety’ around our designed products have long been in existence and it is our legal duty to abide them and our moral duty to implement them.

Why it is important to have an effective design strategy (part 4a)

andy.painting@attis.org.uk (Andy Painting) — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 09:17:52 GMT

Did we get what we asked for?

Once the validation design review is complete, and the stakeholders are agreed that the product can enter service, a formal acceptance should take place. This will be from the client to the controlling authority for the design at the point that production ceases. This may be the producer, the designer, the project manager or some other entity and will have been decided and documented as part of the management structure at the beginning of the project. This formal acceptance again demonstrates that all parties have concluded their responsibilities appropriately, as well as documenting that the client has accepted the final output of the project thereby releasing the producer from their involvement in the design process. Where the producer is contractually obliged to continue their involvement with the product whilst it is in use, perhaps for the purposes of setting-to-work, training or snagging, the formal acceptance also provides a reference point for the date from which this activity commences.

The acceptance document package, passed to the client upon formal acceptance into service, might contain the following:
The risk register, detailing risks mitigated, controlled and outstanding.
Details of any limitations of operation.
Details of any systems that are not in service, perhaps where the client is to integrate them at a later date (lighting or CCTV systems for example).
Approval certificates for structures, materials or components.
Test certificates.
Maintenance requirements, procedures and periodicity and/or manufacturer’s guidance notes.
Details of any hazardous materials, their location and any special precautions or handling techniques.
Drawings, plans, schematics and general arrangements.
Safety case(s).Limitations of operation.

The formal acceptance should also identify any training requirements for the use, maintenance and disposal of the product. This may be in the form perhaps of specialist training that is required to a manufacturer’s stipulation or a general or accredited level of qualification.

Racing at Goodwood

andy.painting@attis.org.uk (Andy Painting) — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 09:20:55 GMT

Sponsoring the future of engineering

Attis are delighted to be sponsoring the Horndean Technical College (HTC) and their two vehicles which the students have designed, built and raced in the Greenpower Challenge. The Greenpower Education Trust is a UK based charity that aims to get young people enthusiastic about Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).

These passionate young adults, working as a team, overcome some race day challenges and, with the pressure on and some stiff competition, raced well coming 15th and 32nd in race 1 and 14th and 31st in race 2.

The Attis team also had a great day at the Goodwood motor circuit watching them race.

Why it is important to have an effective design strategy (part 3)

andy.painting@attis.org.uk (Andy Painting) — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 15:13:26 GMT

Is the design good enough to start construction?

The full/technical design review at the end of the design process is the last opportunity to ensure that it meets all the objectives of the client’s agreed requirements. It is also an opportunity to ensure the design meets the core constraints of the project: can it be made in time; will it be made to budget; and will it be to the expected quality? The capability and capacity of the production stage should also be judged against the requirements of the design, which should now be apparent.

Supplementary to these considerations are whether observable and foreseeable risks have been identified and recorded, and that suitable mitigations or control measures have also been identified as well as naming champions to carry out these measures where possible. The design should be tested against the operational and maintenance requirements—the normal and abnormal states of operation—as well as any exceptional or emergency conditions that may be foreseeable.

The full design review is also where the validation plan can be examined for objectivity and completeness. All of the systems, materials or components of the design that require validation at the end of the production stage should be identified and the relevant and necessary procedures, certification or documentation that are required to substantiate the validation process listed against each one. The validation of specialist systems, materials or components would have been recorded after consultation with the relevant suppliers or manufacturers earlier as part of the additional stakeholder process.

The full/technical design review is an opportunity to ensure that:

Key stakeholders are agreed that the design remains viable or whether it should be halted, revised or refined.
The design has reached a suitable level of maturity to be produced.
The design remains faithful to the client’s statement of requirements.
Emerging risks connected to the production and operation of the product are identified and mitigated.
The objectives of the validation plan have been agreed by key stakeholders and this is embedded into the production stage.
Formal approval to move to the construction/production stage can be agreed.

Why it is important to have an effective design strategy (part 2)

andy.painting@attis.org.uk (Andy Painting) — Wed, 25 May 2022 06:44:00 GMT

Exploring the feasibility of design

The purpose of the design review at this early stage is to confirm the feasibility of the design by assessing the proposed concepts against the background of information pertinent to it: business case, statement of requirements, and preconstruction information. Additionally, there should be posed such fundamental questions as:

Is the design feasible?
Is the design as required?
Can the design be technically produced and in the required quantity?
Is there a marketplace for the design?
Are there any limitations of use for the design, and are these acceptable?
Has the organization got the capability and capacity to produce the design?

From the business case, the design review should be assessing that the relevant financial input remains available for the project, especially if any of the proposed concepts have taken an approach relying more on initial capital expenditure (CAPEX) to significantly reduce lifetime operational expenditure (OPEX). This is where having the early engagement of the client’s financial/procurement teams can prove invaluable as they may well be able to provide timely answers to these questions. The proposed concepts should be reviewed against the core constraints that the client has set in place and, again, having the appropriate decision makers in conference at the time can produce swift answers.

As well as the initial financial input required in the project, it is important to understand if any proposed concepts, particularly those of a less orthodox nature, present an operational expenditure greater than that anticipated. Savings at the beginning of a project do not always reflect in savings overall during the product’s lifetime, thus requiring a balanced decision on the costs and benefits to be made. This can be equally applied to the validation of the product prior to handing over to the client or end user. The validation, where the product is tested against various parameters of its functionality, can prove to be costly or time-consuming if complex systems have been introduced during the design process. These costs in time and money may of course be repaid if the systems offer, perhaps, operational savings during the life of the product.

The statement of requirements should be reviewed against the proposed concepts to ensure they meet this specification as fully as possible. Variations may be due to the matters raised above and, once more, engaging the appropriate stakeholders at this juncture can provide the answers as to whether the client is prepared to accept these variations.

The feasibility design review is an opportunity to test the proposed concepts against the statement of requirements. This is to ensure that:

The client’s statement of requirements remains valid with regard to their original intent.
The designer has the right quantity and quality of information to progress the design further and has considered this information appropriately.
Emerging risks connected to the design, production, operation, maintenance, and disposal of the product are identified.
Variations to the time, cost, or quality of the product can be analysed and either agreed or disallowed.
Novel or unorthodox proposals can be discussed openly and analysed in terms of lifetime costs, benefits, and suitability.
Senior stakeholders and key decision makers have an opportunity to review and refine the design as necessary.
Approval to move to the next stage of the design process is formally documented.

' An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction ' is available from Wiley and Amazon [ISBN 978-1-119-83203-4]

Why it is important to have an effective design strategy (part 1)

andy.painting@attis.org.uk (Andy Painting) — Thu, 19 May 2022 11:57:22 GMT

Initiating the design process

At the start, where decisions are to be made about the efficacy of the venture, it is important to consider the individuals who will have high-level responsibilities to the project, the client, and the design. But what of those organizations who do not have the necessary skillsets in important areas of the project?

It is entirely possible that a given organization may not have the relevant experience, competency, or availability of personnel to undertake a project to fulfil the initiating need. A small company, for example, which plans to expand its warehousing facility, is unlikely to have a construction expert. In many such instances it is likely the organization will engage external consultants or other advisers to assist them. These external personnel should not be forgotten in the documenting of the project’s roles and responsibilities although it is to be borne in mind that they should always report to a senior stakeholder within the organization. This will provide an additional level of assurance that their input is consistent with their contractual obligations.

The business case must consider these aspects in conjunction with the other organizational-level parameters. If the organization is to be too reliant on external advice, this may have cost implications that could make the project unviable. Or, alternatively, the possibility of reduced impartiality or enthusiasm in the project might present as a risk to its timely completion. A lack of experience or availability in the client’s own organization must be recorded as a risk and suitable control measures identified. These risks and measures will all have a bearing on the business case as a whole, including the make/buy and do nothing approaches.

At this stage, it may be relevant, and indeed only possible, to identify the following responsibilities.

The identity of the key decision maker.
The identity of the key project lead, if different from above.
The person responsible for creating and/or maintaining the risk register.
The identity of any individuals who champion any mitigations identified in the risk register.

Once responsibilities have been identified and forms of communication have been agreed, these should be captured in a communications plan.

An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction

andy.painting@attis.org.uk (Andy Painting) — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 15:08:32 GMT

Embedding the concept of safety in design

In An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction, safety and risk professionals David England and Dr Andy Painting provide a comprehensive exploration of the design process, from initial idea to the validation of the product in service, from a product and project safety perspective. In that context, the authors show how the appropriate implementation of the requirements of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 can not only improve health and safety on a project but can also improve the project’s output as well as offering savings in both capital and operational expenditure.

Readers will discover how the seemingly complex matters of regulation and risk management can be practically applied to projects via examples, illustrations, and real-world references. They will find out how safety regulation, standards, and initiatives all converge on the same goal—the safest output from any given project.

The book achieves three primary goals:

To improve the understanding and implementation of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
To reduce errors during the design process via the effective implementation of design management strategy
To embed the concept of safety in design

The book is available in hardback from all good book stores or direct from Wiley

Attis Authors Launch New Book

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 12:50:05 GMT

How to embed safety in virtually any project in engineering and construction

We are delighted to announce that the first book from Dr Andy Painting and David England of Attis is to be published on 3rd February 2022. It is already available in electronic format to download. The book – An Effective Strategy for Safe Design in Engineering and Construction – is a comprehensive and definitive guide to approaching and embedding safety in the design of virtually any project.

As well as covering the core elements of design, such as regulatory requirements and practicality, the book also discusses more specialized topics such as risk management and human influences. Written in a engaging style, it is perfect for students and practitioners alike, but will also prove invaluable for clients, procurers, project managers and people working in construction and engineering.

The book highlights the usefulness and importance of using existing regulations and uses these as a framework for ensuring safety is at the heart of every type of construction, manufacture and engineering production. And because of its adherence to these regulations, the book is also invaluable for anyone who has a responsibility as a duty holder in construction.

Available from Wiley

There is no universal safety solution

andy.painting@attis.org.uk (Andy Painting) — Sat, 20 Nov 2021 11:28:21 GMT

It’s all about communication, cooperation, control and competence

Each location where a task is carried out generates its own unique concerns regarding safety. There are always the relevant concerns of the task itself but the location, as well as the individuals both carrying out the task and in the vicinity, are also of interest. An office setting may appear at first to be quite benign, but what if the office is on the 20th floor, or has a high number of public visitors? Installing an electric socket may be the work of a moment for a trained electrician, but what if it’s 100m up in the nacelle of a wind turbine? Proper regard for safety must consider all these aspects – the environmental and social settings – if it is to truly effective.

Repairing a wooden floor, in a shed or house, may be quite a simple task that requires only a few considerations of the tools used and PPE required. Turn the shed into a treehouse and you now have to consider fall prevention and issues with floor loading. Now put the repair on a historic vessel, one that in still in service with the Royal Navy (hard to believe but true). Surround yourself with very old and dry timber and allow the general public to continue visiting the vessel. Then add the fact that the repair must be carried out sympathetically using the original methods of heating tar, mixing with hemp rope and jamming this in between the planks. Things have now started to get a little complicated.

It may not be the usual thing that safety practitioners get asked to advise on but it is the kind of thing that the experts at Attis get involved with, along with public infrastructure and many other highly visible and high-value projects. Having to create safe systems of work for one of the most famous warships in the world may be a great honour, but, as with all work at this level, it requires focus and a pragmatic approach. In essence, it requires the Four Cs approach of communication, cooperation, control and competence.

The competence of people like electricians, carpenters and boat builders is gained through qualification and experience. The reason we have these valued tradespeople is because of the skills and knowledge they bring to the workplace. Communicating with them about their methodology and work practices is vital in understanding how the work will be done. For a safety professional, it is not only important that they understand what the work will entail but how it will be achieved. Some work practices may seem at first to be eccentric or even unsafe, but this is why we have competence. Working on live electrics, for example, may be anathema to a safety practitioner but in certain circumstances it is unavoidable for the trained electrician.

Breaking down any work into its component parts is an excellent way to understand the relevant risks at each stage. This way, each stage and each risk can be assessed and the appropriate mitigation provided. Such mitigation might include specialist tools or removing a particular hazard or even relying on the individual’s competence. It sounds easy but it takes a skill and knowledge to identify relevant risks and cooperate with the workforce about the right sort of mitigation. In short, it takes competence on the part of the safety professional.

Once the work is planned, it needs the right controls to be in place to ensure it is carried out correctly. This falls under the framework of instruction, information, training and supervision. Once again, all of these need to be appropriate to the work, the location and the individuals involved; not only carrying out the work but also in the vicinity. It is rarely as easy as just writing a risk assessment and letting people get on with it. Controls also need to consider exceptional circumstances, such as fire, bad weather or sudden deviations in the work or the workplace. And communicating this to the right people is also crucial – having a terrific evacuation plan is no good if no one in the workplace knows what it is.

The proper implementation of safety isn’t necessarily easy, and is rarely something that can be done “by the numbers”. It’s about applying logical steps to the risk assessment process and forming a safe working procedure that people can effectively use to complement their skills and experience.

Is time, cost & quality really a triangle?

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 07:33:50 GMT

Surely, it’s all about balance?

It’s fairly certain that just about everyone has either heard of, or has used in conversation, the term “time-cost-quality triangle”. It’s an expression that has been around for a long time and, for most people, reasonably portrays the effect that these three features have on any sort of undertaking. The inference is that if a change is made to any one of them, it will affect the other two. But is a triangle the best way to think of this relationship? Does it provide a visual demonstration of what really happens?

Imagine a project or undertaking as a balanced system: if all things stay the same throughout, then the end product or result will emerge with the required quality, and on time and on budget. It is, of course, sadly rare that any project goes 100% according to plan, however detailed that plan might be. All sorts of circumstances can emerge or evolve during any project, and any one of these can affect the intended output, causing time, cost or quality issues that have to be agreed. We did say “imagine” after all.

Many of these issues will have been recorded as risks to the project at the beginning. Risks like what will you find underground whilst piling; will the cost of steel increase; was the statement of requirements clear enough; are the right people involved in the design process; has someone just changed their mind on the specification? Some of these risks are associated with scope creep, a situation that means what has been priced and estimated against is no longer viable. Even changes that should make a project run more quickly, or smoothly, often have a negative effect by increasing redesign time or procurement of alternative materials. It’s very rare that a risk will have a beneficial effect on the project.

Understanding the scope of the project – the ultimate ambition of the statement of requirement, if you like – is important in ensuring we can identify potential scope creep as soon as possible. If we accept the changing scope of the project, and funding and timescales remain the same, the result will be a negative effect on quality. If, on the other hand, we don’t want to accept that our new car model will only have three wheels, then we have to compensate elsewhere in the project.

Similarly, allowing more time for the design or production phases, with a static scope for the project, will have a positive effect on the resultant quality of the output. This is the balancing of time, cost and quality that a simple triangle really cannot convey properly.

Understanding the potential risks at the outset of any design allows the client to make funding decisions based on their interpretation of the level of risk and the potential impact. Each client will have their own appetite for risk, as well as the organizational capacity to deal with some risks better than others. As the scope of a project increases it can be counterbalanced by the release of resources from the client, whether this is in the form of time, money or effort. Alternatively, the client may accept the impact that scope creep will introduce and deal with it downstream within the organization.

This is why it is extremely important to put far more effort into the start of any design or build project. The immediate upfront cost will, undoubtedly, be higher but the savings to be gained later on in the project – possibly even during the in-use phase of the end product – will invariably outweigh those costs many times over. It takes careful skill and expertise to recognize, at the very beginning of any project, what the foreseeable risks might well be and ensure that the client is properly informed as to the potentiality of impact to them. You could say, it’s a careful balancing act.

I’m too busy for Health and safety

david.england@attis.org.uk (David England) — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 07:23:15 GMT

I’m trying to run a company

Thirty years ago, setting up a company was relatively easy and straightforward. Today, things are a lot more complex, with many different and sometimes seemingly conflicting responsibilities and laws to comply with. And then someone with a clipboard and a hi-visibility vest turns up and tells you that you need to spend a load of time and money on more paperwork! If only they would leave you alone so you can get on and try and make some money.

Attis consultants have been there, seen it, done it, bought the T-shirt and a ‘Kiss me quick’ hat to go with it. People who have had to come up with results, day in and day out, quickly and often under huge pressure working for prominent organisations. In short, we understand exactly what it is that you have to go through just to makes end meet. So, reassuringly, we are already speaking your language before we even get our clipboards out.

But adding health and safety to your organisation, like some sort of ‘bolt-on’ that just ticks the box is not ideal. Making the safety of everyone in your organisation a singular priority – a natural part of what you do as an organisation – is key to improving staff morale. And that in turn will have a positive effect on productivity. Your clients will also be comforted by your intrinsic safety values and will be more likely to keep their custom with you. Your suppliers will be required to follow your example – and those who don’t will have to improve, or find themselves replaced, meaning your supply chain improves in efficiency, quality and continuity. The families of your staff will appreciate that their loved-ones work for a responsible organisation, one that values its employees. Suddenly, your organisation, by encouraging a good health and safety culture, has touched and improved the lives of many, many more people than it actually employs.

This is no rose-tinted imagining; an unrealistic dream of a land of milk and honey and happy people with hi-visibility vests and clipboards. Interestingly, much of what needs to be done to create this landscape is already being done by your organisation. You already have plans and policies in place that govern what you do and how you do it. You will already monitor your organisation for things like productivity, profitability and efficiency. You may already employ administrators and clerks to keep tally on a variety of information. With just a few minor changes, this information can be wrapped around a culture of health, safety and welfare that can only improve your organisation; and the potential that is has to be truly great. Now is that worth spending time on?

Thinking before designing

david.england@attis.org.uk (David England) — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 09:07:27 GMT

It’s relatively straightforward

The role of the principal designer is mandated by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM) which clearly states what they should do during the earliest stages of a construction project. Plan, manage and monitor the design phase; procure pre-construction information; ensure proper liaison between the various stakeholders and; ensure the competency of any designers they appoint. It all sounds relatively straightforward and perhaps it’s easy to understand why the role is often given to the lead designer in a project.

But the role is a little more complex than that, and was specifically made so by the HSE when they revised the regulations in 2015. It is also the point that CDM applies to a great deal more than what we might consider traditional construction. Engineering construction, maintenance, modification, civil engineering, repairs: the list is surprisingly long, and perhaps excludes so few “types” of construction that it may be hard to think of something it doesn’t apply to. Additionally, the duty of the principal designer is not just about how something is designed, but about how it will be used and maintained throughout its life.

It was this element of design, the having to think about the environment in which the output of a project will interact and how it will be used that created the driving force behind Attis in the first place. Dr Andy Painting, the company’s founder, spent 23 years as a submariner maintaining some of the most technologically advanced and secretive equipment in the Royal Navy’s arsenal. 23 years of squeezing between pipework and contorting in to cramped spaces to try and reach a valve led him to think about how design should be more cognisant of the end user. His later realization that CDM actually provided the perfect framework for this recognition eventually became the basis of the principal designer service that Attis offer today.

The method of interrogating a design for the potential problems it may cause, whether it’s during the production, maintenance or use phases, is not especially difficult, but it does require a deep knowledge and understanding of not just real-world operations, but also how real-world operators. Being able to predict how something will be used, as well as how it should be is something that generally only comes from years of experience. And being driven to find all manner of novel ways to repair inaccessible valves, under water and on a classified mission is one of the best ways to understand what someone might do in order to get the job done!

Another important aspect of any project is understanding what levels of financial input are budgeted for both the initial build phase (the CAPEX) and the during the asset’s operational life (the OPEX). Sometimes, the expense involved in changing a design can be greater than the cost of operationally managing the issue throughout its designed life. In these cases it’s important to understand the client’s appetite for expenditure and this often means the inclusion of their procurement or financial departments can help speed up the decision-making process at the design phase. Saving money at the design phase, however, is not an option where the risk is safety-related. In these cases the application of the general principles of prevention is always the most important factor.

Essentially, risks can be observable or foreseeable: the pre-construction information of a project should identify the observable risks that could jeopardize it. The ability to understand and identify the foreseeable risks that could happen after the project has finished, and people are using, maintaining and repairing the asset calls for a special skill set borne of experience, training and expertise. And the ability to ask lots of questions.

Issues with clean air in electronics production rooms

david.england@attis.org.uk (David England) — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 10:00:34 GMT

Apparent lack of fresh air

Attis were recently asked to examine complaints of a lack of ventilation in an electronics production facility. Obviously in these times of a pandemic, the apparent lack of fresh air in any workplace can be a cause of concern for workers. There is a great deal of guidance from both the HSE and Public Health England on the subject of ventilation but electronics manufacturing requires a specialized approach that is not perhaps immediately apparent. This particular location was, for example, compliant with electrostatic discharge (ESD) procedures but was not categorized as a cleanroom under the ISO standard.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require any workplace to be well-ventilated and in these current times of concern about Covid-19, the provision of fresh air for people at work has become all the more important. Fresh air does not destroy the virus but providing ample quantities indoors helps to flush the virus particles (known as virons) out of the air. It is not the fresh air that is important but the level of airflow that helps to prevent the spread of disease. Current guidance, therefore, recommends opening windows in workplaces (passive airflow) and increasing the amount of fresh air intake to air conditioning units (mechanical airflow).Opening windows, however, is not an option in electronics manufacture and assembly. The highly precise nature of the components and manufacturing process mean that potential contamination from dust and particulates coming from outside could ruin delicate devices. These types of facilities therefore rely on air conditioning systems almost exclusively to provide a suitable quantity and flow of clean air. The use of fans can assist with airflow but in the current pandemic their use is not advised by the NHS and Public Health England suggest using them only when pointed outwards towards an open window. And there are two other factors to consider: one affecting the quality of the electronics themselves and the other which can affect the personnel working in the facility.

Humidity is well known to be a factor in the ability of surfaces not only to retain a static charge but also to yield (discharge) it. Walking across a carpet in very dry air – say, 10% relative humidity (RH) – could develop a static charge of some 35kV but this reduces considerably to perhaps around 7.5kV at only 55% RH. But electronics manufacture is susceptible to high levels of RH as well as contamination as we have discussed. High humidity can lead to component corrosion and soldering defects which will affect product quality. Humans, too, are susceptible to very high and very low levels of humidity and both they and electronics tend to work best in the range of 30 to 70% RH.But what of virons (virus particles)? What effect does humidity have on them? A paper on the mechanistic insights on airborne influenza virus survival, transmission and incidence (Marr et al) published by The Royal Society suggests that the influenza virus’s ability to remain suspended in air can be affected by relative humidity. It should be remembered that influenza is a type of coronavirus similar to that which cause Covid-19.

Virons are suspended in moisture particles that are ejected when a person sneezes or coughs. At very high RH levels these particles remain at a relatively large size and can sink to the ground within a few minutes. As RH levels fall (the air becomes drier), the moisture particles reduce in size allowing the virons to remain suspended for up to several hours.

Added to all of this is the effect of various gases in the air which can cause tiredness, lack of concentration and even nausea. Gases like carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and even low levels of oxygen can all affect a human’s ability to function correctly. Electrical equipment and machinery can also cause air to become ionized which in itself can affect the perceived quality of air in the workplace. Air that feels “stuffy” or “stale” might be overly ionized and this could be alleviated by an air ionizer. These devices, however, do not purify the air as such but instead cause particulates in the air to cling to surfaces, thus making the air “feel” fresher. Air ionizers may some bactericidal benefit too, which may be welcome during the current pandemic; however, they can also generate ozone (O3) which is in itself a noxious gas to humans.

So what can be done to tackle air quality in electronics manufacturing? We would suggest the following:
Ensure the workplace allows for a minimum of 11m3 of space per worker. This is a requirement of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the HSE suggest that maintaining at least this minimum can help to mitigate the effects of disease spread. Remember that ceiling heights above 3m should not be factored in.
Set air conditioning units to maximum fresh air intake and possibly run the units for longer either side of the working day.
Test workers and equipment regularly for ESD and also test and maintain any ESD equipment that you have installed.
Test for levels of CO, CO2 and oxygen. CO is exhaled by humans at roughly 0 to 2ppm and is recommended not to exceed 9ppm. The EH40 8-hour exposure limit is 30ppm. CO2 is exhaled by humans and in a well-ventilated indoor environment should be in the range of 400 to 1000ppm although the HSE recommend an upper limit of 800ppm. Oxygen (O2) should be in the range of 19.5% to 23.5%. Normal ambient air contains 20.9% oxygen.
Test for gases in a variety of locations in the facility to identify if there are any dead spots in the ventilation which may require additional temporary air conditioning units.
Try to minimize the number of personnel moving in and out of the facility and consider if an air-conditioned antechamber may help with maintaining air quality in the facility.
Test for relative humidity and establish if this is at the optimum level for both worker comfort and product quality. You may need to seek advice from the equipment manufacturer. Portable humidifiers or dehumidifiers could be deployed to correct excessive levels either way.

It’s also important to point out that if any air conditioning units are fitted with filters that require changing, they should be treated as a potential bio-hazard when being removed. Some studies suggest that the coronavirus Sars-Cov-2 which is responsible for Covid-19 can survive on certain surfaces for up to 15 days. Protecting maintenance personnel is therefore important.

Health and safety costs me money

david.england@attis.org.uk (David England) — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 18:27:22 GMT

And where’s the benefit?

Writing policies and risk assessments; checking this and that legislation; monitoring performance and compliance; buying hi-visibility vests and safety boots – all of this costs money – money that comes straight off the bottom line. And where’s the benefit? No sooner has Bob got new safety boots, or Sally’s got a new hi-visibility vest than they’re wanting another set! And then some health and safety adviser turns up and tells you the fire doors need changing, or the extractor fan is no good.

Sometimes it might seem that just complying with all the health and safety legislation today is a non-stop excuse for spending money. It isn’t. It really, really isn’t. At the very core of the legislation is the requirement not to harm people – people who work for you, and people you do work for; people who visit you, and; people who may be affected by what you do, make or design. If you do harm someone, and it’s proven to be your fault, then you will most likely be prosecuted – and that will cost you money. Not just in fines, but in compensation, lost production, lost revenue and from poor goodwill or publicity. Sentencing guidelines for health and safety offences (that came into effect in 2016) dramatically increase the level of fines that courts are required to hand down. And that’s not even counting the ethical side of things: how would you genuinely feel if someone you employ was seriously injured at work? So, preventing yourself ending up in court has already potentially saved you many thousands of pounds and a lot of sleepless nights, at the very least.

Health and safety professionals often see employers simply throwing money at health and safety believing that this is the best way to be compliant. More often than not, it is quite possible to save money by simply spending it in the right places, or on the right equipment. Sometimes, changing the way a task is performed, or changing the way the machinery in a factory is laid out, or altering the movement of people and vehicles can actually prevent harm more readily than spending a fortune on signs, notices or training. Sometimes, changing the way things are done can actually increase production and therefore revenue.

If a company does not make money, then it may well fold. If that happens, then all the people who work for it will be out of work, and that causes stress, which is a well-known root cause of ill-health. It is not therefore something that an adviser in health and safety wants to do – they are committed to preventing ill-health, whatever its cause. So that means trying to make companies better, stronger, more productive and more profitable; not just compliant with the law. Profitability is not just the preserve of accountants or financiers – professional health and safety advice can increase the bottom line too.

Health and safety? It’s just common sense, isn’t it?

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 14:48:25 GMT

Innate sense of self-preservation

Nobody sets out each day at work to hurt anyone. We have an innate sense of self-preservation that prevents us from exposing ourselves to unnecessary harm, as well as a natural instinct to help and protect others. So surely health and safety really is just common sense? Unfortunately, accident investigations show that time and time again a complete absence of common sense has been the root cause in situations where people have been injured whilst at work.

Let’s take a common example we have probably all done at some stage in our lives – changing a lightbulb whilst standing on a chair. Common sense should tell us that chairs are not meant to be stood on. It should tell us that we could easily loose our footing, that the chair could topple or collapse, and that we could be hurt falling from it. But we’ve all done it, so why? Well, the reason is our perception of risk. We may have done this task before and not come to any harm. We may feel confident in performing the task and we tell ourselves that we are only exposing ourselves to a small amount of risk for a short period of time. But how long does falling off a chair and breaking your ankle take? One second, maybe two?

All of life is a risk. You could be lying in your bed, all cosy and warm and safe, and a piece of satellite comes crashing in through your roof. That may seem extreme, but it has happened – fortunately so infrequently that we don’t really think about it. Our perception is that the risk is very small. And so is our perception of risks that we face every day, even at work. If you have performed a task a thousand times at work and never had so much as a bruise, you will probably continue doing the task that way forever more. But if the one time it goes wrong causes you to have a catastrophic accident someone might ask “where was your common sense?”

Health and safety professionals do use quite a lot of common sense, but equally importantly they are trained to see a bigger picture of the work practices that they examine. They learn to see beyond the obvious and ask questions like ‘what happens if this component fails?’ or ‘how do people escape from a fire if they are performing this particular task?’ Knowing what the law requires is only half the story – being able to apply it logically, sensibly and pragmatically is important too, because just telling people to do something a particular way just because the law says so often has a limited effect. Just look at how many people still drink and drive for example.

And after an employer has become compliant with the law, the real work of improving from there begins. Achieving best practice is what every employer should be striving for – best practice for their own industry, or profession, or undertaking. This can be quite a complex task if it is to be done properly, affordably and achievably. It often takes someone who is trained and experienced to create the environment in which best practice can flourish. It’s certainly likely to take more than just common sense.

The Bigger Picture

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 09:44:51 GMT

Accurate interpretation

We live in a world where information and data are instantly available in a variety of formats and often in overwhelming quantities. We may think that with so much information to hand we should be completely informed about any project that we are undertaking. But is it the quantity of information or the quality of it that should concern us? And once we have the right information, are we best placed to interpret it accurately?

Sometimes it is very easy for people to only see the answers they want to see in data they are presented with. The answers they want to see support what they are expecting to see - this is a perfectly normal human response known as confirmation bias. When preparing the pre-construction information for a construction project, it is all too easy to miss important links or associations between various pieces of information because we are too “close” to the situation, meaning that we are unable to see the impact that something may have on something else so seemingly disconnected.

Management-speak created the term “helicopter view”, which meant to see things from a macro scale in order to understand the correlation of things. This is, quite literally, what Attis do when preparing pre-construction information for a project. We fly a sub-250g drone across the proposed site, as well as conducting ground-level surveys in order to see how any observable or foreseeable risks might impact the project. From this we can then make any necessary proposals for further, more incisive surveys, such as ground-penetrating radar or lidar.

Often, hazards can only be best viewed from an aerial perspective allowing the risks that they pose to better understood. And if more detailed surveying needs to take place, Attis call in specialists like Harry Fuge of Pathfinder Drone , who can provide various drone services including extremely accurate aerial photography of a site as well as producing detailed mapping suitable for a range of risk mitigation. Anyone undertaking pre-construction information should do so with “boots on the ground”, but Attis also ensure that we have an eye in the sky too.

Accidents - Cause and Effect

david.england@attis.org.uk (David England) — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 16:24:19 GMT

Accidents will happen

They do say that “accidents will happen”, but this is no justification in the workplace. UK law requires that accidents are recorded and investigated – but what constitutes an accident, and where does one start in investigating them?

Firstly, we need to understand the language of accident investigation. Consider a badly loaded pallet of boxes in a warehouse, so poorly stacked it is bound to collapse. This is called an undesired circumstance: a situation that has the potential to cause harm. If the pallet collapses just after someone has walked past, this is called a near miss: an event that had the potential to cause harm. If the pallet topples over onto someone then this is clearly an accident: an event that results in harm. Many studies have been conducted into accident theory and analysis but essentially the premise is the same: the more undesired circumstances there are, the more likely there will be near misses and the more likely one of these will result in an accident.

The word accident is also something of a misnomer. It suggests an event for which there was no control, a circumstance that arose from nowhere. In fact, very few ‘accidents’ have no underlying cause. This is why the police no longer refer to road traffic accidents (RTA), preferring to call them road traffic incident (RTI) or collision (RTC). This, for the investigating authorities, suggests there is an element of blame attached.

But we are not looking for blame in the workplace. Our poorly stacked pallet may have arrived like it; it may have collapsed under its own weight or have been hit by a forklift. However, as you may infer from this, the reason the pallet is about to collapse has an underlying cause, which may be one or more of the following:

Insufficiently strong boxes,
Boxes poorly interlaced,
Pallet stacked too high,
Product in the boxes too heavy,
Poor loading by the courier,
Courier driver driving erratically,
Courier vehicle in poor condition,
Load not properly secured in the courier vehicle,
Poor training at the despatch location,
Poor training at the receiving location,
Incorrect forklift technique,
Poor layout of the warehouse.

It is these causes that we should seek to understand in order to prevent it happening again. By preventing further instances of poorly stacked pallets we are preventing the possibility of an accident occurring.

So should we investigate every poorly stacked pallet that arrives at our warehouse, when it receives a thousand pallets a day? That sounds like a full-time job! An investigation at this level, into an undesired circumstance, could be as simple as noting the consignment details, the courier, the time and date and then assigning a trained crew to disassemble and reassemble the pallet. Simply recording this data in our diaries might help to identify a rogue courier or a supplier with shoddy pallet wrapping equipment or an errant driver. We make a call, have a conversation with them and the problem is resolved. Fewer undesired events lead to fewer near misses and hence fewer accidents.

Proper accident investigation is a time consuming and often unsettling business. Dealing with injured people, startled witnesses, clearing up afterwards, losses in production – it can all take a toll on a business and its staff. Dealing with undesired circumstances may seem trivial, but it can prevent accidents from happening at source. Getting your staff on side, encouraging them to point out potentially dangerous situations, is the first step to reducing the losses associated with accidents. Have regular team talks, make frequent visits to the shop floor specifically to see what goes on and ask questions. But remember, it isn’t about looking for someone to blame, it’s about looking to make things safer and more productive for everyone. Safety may not be cheap, but compared to an accident it could be priceless.

Are you dying to get a good tan

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 13:38:31 GMT

Soaking up the sunshine

he brevity and unpredictability of the British summer is what drives many Britons to soak up as much sunshine as possible, at every opportunity. And although the last year or so has been wildly different to usual, it is a time that many office workers watch outdoor workers in jealousy, wishing they too could have an outdoor job in the brief summer weather. But that golden tan comes at a price.

For people who have to work outdoors, and for anyone who rushes out into sunlight at every chance, there can be a heavy price to pay. Exposure to the ultraviolet light (UV) from the sun carries a high risk of developing skin cancer, the most common cancer in the world. UV can also cause cataracts or macular degeneration in the eyes.

In Britain, it is estimated that 5.5 million people have been exposed to UV due to their work. But both types of skin cancer, non-melanoma and malignant melanoma, are treatable if found early enough, and both are connected principally to long-term exposure of the skin to the sun.

Applying a good quality sun cream with a high UV factor, and replenishing it regularly, is a good way to protect exposed skin. Covering the skin with clothing is better, but in hot weather this can be counterproductive to sweating which is the body’s natural cooling system. Wearing sunglasses to protect the eyes is also important, but it should be remembered that poor quality sunglasses can have an adverse effect. By reducing the amount of light entering the eyes, sunglasses cause the pupils to open wider which, in the event of poor-quality sunglasses, can cause even more UV to enter the eyes.

If you employ people who have to work outdoors as part of their job here is some advice to help control exposure:

Monitor the UV Index – many weather forecasts give this index, on a scale of 1 (low) to 11 (extreme). Use this forecast to plan outdoor work as far as possible, or to arrange suitable additional precautions.
Remember that cloud cover does not filter out UV. Up to 80% of the UV can still get through thereby still potentially creating a risk.
60% of UV radiation occurs between 10am and 2pm so try to plan the work around this time if possible, or ensure that suitable additional precautions are in place.
Providing shade for outdoor workers and encouraging rest breaks to be taken in the shade could reduce exposure to UV by more than 50%.
Encourage the wearing of long sleeves and trousers and hats with a wide brim in the sun, but remember to adjust work-rates accordingly. Hard work in hot weather can rapidly affect a person’s wellbeing and their ability to think and act appropriately, and heavy clothing can affect a person’s naturally ability to naturally cool themselves by sweating.
High humidity – often found in the UK – can adversely affect a body’s ability to sweat in order to cool down. Checking a good weather forecast, or investing in an inexpensive humidity probe, will help to identify difficult working conditions. Extra breaks and water may be needed, as well as the ability to properly rest between work periods in a mechanically-ventilated space can all help.
Always make sure that plenty of drinking water is available and that people have the opportunity to drink it.

Above all, encourage a sensible approach to being out in the sunshine. We may all feel better during our all-too-brief summer months, but the aftereffects should not have to last a lifetime.

Delivering over and above

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 09:18:56 GMT

Reflecting the identity of a company

Welcome to the third iteration of the Attis website. Over the years we have developed many marketing documents for various activities and have seen our business grow and develop. And as a website is the portal to which most people turn to in order to gain further information about a company, it is important that it reflects the attitudes and personality of that company. We hope you like it.

Corporately, we have spent many hours deliberating – as most businesses do – about what the website should look like and how people can interact with it. And, of course, it is important to remember how it will look on various devices. We were fortunate to engage Karl Salter at Simplified Ideas to take our early concepts and turn them into website gold. We at Attis are sticklers for “getting it right” and Karl has been eminently patient with our endless ummings and errings.

Karl not only delivered a good looking functional and informative website, he also went over and above our expectations by making videos to show us how to maintain the website and how to upload articles. These videos were made whilst Karl was working on our own website, so there can be no excuses for us from now on!

It was important that we could work with someone who understood our commitment to our corporate ethos at every level. The text, design, photographs – everything is done by us, in-house. Even the stylizing of the photographs is done by us, to make sure everything ‘fits’ our identity. Going over and above is something we feel very strongly about here at Attis, summed up by our motto ‘Advice without limits. Service without compromise.’

We also wanted somewhere to keep people updated on all manner of safety-related matters, including the imminent release of a book by two of our colleagues. Dr Andy Painting and David England have written a book on embedding safety into the design of just about anything and we hope to bring you more news of that shortly. It promises to be a fascinating read!

In the meantime, you are more than welcome to join us on LinkedIn to keep updated and of course to ask any questions.

Recognition of Principal Designer Competence

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 16:02:45 GMT

Demonstrating competence

We are delighted and extremely honoured to have been awarded the highest level of competence for the role of principal designer by the Institute of Construction Management (ICM). Level 6 on the ICM Principal Designer Register is only awarded to individuals and companies that can demonstrate their experience in providing this important regulatory role to large, specialist and complex high value projects. Attis are the first organization that has been awarded this highest level.

This recognition demonstrates to clients the level of expertise that we can bring to a project. Being a principal designer is not, of course, just about ensuring compliance with the CDM 2015 regulations. It is also about being providing incisive, independent advice primarily to the client but also to the principal contractor and design team, and our succinct and unbiased advice throughout the project promotes safety from the initial ideas stage right through to the validation and handover.

One of the things we are often asked about is what type of projects we can assist with, and essentially it is any project connected to industrial, infrastructure, maritime infrastructure or specialised historic or complex projects. The principles behind the management of safety in any project is the same no matter what the intended output, from software development to shipbuilding. It is about understanding and accurately documenting the client’s needs and effectively capturing and managing the risks throughout the project: whether that is risks connected with the design, construction, operation or maintenance of the end product.

Providing professional, insightful, end-to-end advice to our clients is at the heart of what Attis does. Advice without limits. Service without compromise.