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Warehousing & Workplace Transport Inspection Environmental Health Officer?
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We are a Ltd company who manufacture pumps and gearboxes, no direct link to food and drink industry. We have recieved a contact from somone claiming to be a Environmental Health Senior Technical Officer, requesting to carry out an inspection at our site. He has stated that they are currently carrying out a series of proactive warehousing and workplace transport inspections across the local authority area. Topics he has listed for the inspection are:
Workplace transport controls – internal and external • Driver training and supervision
• Working at height – suitability of equipment • Manual handling • Load safety • Welfare for visiting drivers • Security of large waste containers We are not a warehouse as such (we do hold minimal stock) and we have no transport division. Is this within the remit of local Environmental Health and what powers do they have for a visit of this nature ? I have had a look for information online and from what I see this would be regulated by HSE not the local authority Environmental Health? I have worked within H&S Private sector for 20 years and never had a request of this nature or any requests for inspection from Environmental Health ? Thanks in advance
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Rank: Forum user
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Hi, Give the local authority a call to confirm they are carrying out inspections in the area. Explain the nature of your business and clarify whether it is a business type to warrant an inpsection for warehousing and transport. Check his credentials when he arrives and call his emplyer - to ensure it is the local authority and not someone posing as such to confirm who he says he is and the nature of his visit.
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 2 users thanked PDarlow for this useful post.
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2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user
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2 users thanked Roundtuit for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user
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I agree sounds more like you fall to HSE, in the past as a Local Authority inspector I did have a duel warrent and worked on some iniatives with the HSE but im not aware of any running now. PDarlow gives good advice - the other thing to check if they arrive is their Authorisation, and it should be more than an ID card it should tell you which Section 18 powers they have been given (You dont automaticaly get them all depending on your experiance) However with the removal of OSRP and Factrory act registartion it is getting harder for LAs to keep track of whats on their district - i would bet (but not much as im a Yorkshireman) that they have just done a search on the internet and thought "they sound like a warehouse" a simple case of mistaken identity Edited by user 25 January 2023 13:01:35(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified
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2 users thanked HSSnail for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Originally Posted by: Roundtuit 
But only if they are the enforceing authority under the regs - or as i say a special project between the HSE and LA. I would occasionaly go to a premises thinking its main use ment i was the inspector, only to stop the inspection after a while and go - im realy sorry but i should not be here - classic example is deciding if somewhere is residential care or a nursing home as often they are mixed use and it depends on the number of beds allocated to each - which can change between inspections. Edited by user 25 January 2023 13:02:03(UTC)
| Reason: Fat Finger Syndrome - hitting wrong keys
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2 users thanked HSSnail for this useful post.
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harken, being suspicious by professional nature, I wonder what this person might be wanting to sell you or find out about your business. So, advice already given is sound - ask to see their warrant when they turn up. But, I don't really understand why they would want to ask permission to inspect if they are a fully authorised EHO with a warrant. As a former HSE Inspector I was involved in lots of similar initiatives to that described but we would have to have some very special reason to give advance warning of a visit. Would just turn up - that way you would be more likely to see what happens on a usual day, NOT what happens when they know the "Inspector is coming"! Way back in the hot Summer of 1976 I worked in a food factory for a few months. Every third Thursday the auditor from the well known supermarket would come round. So every third Thursday the windows would be closed and the wooden brooms were hidden away and the shiny plastic ones came out. When the auditor left, the windows would be opened again (it was VERY hot) and the wooden brooms came back out (not least as they were much better at cleaning up). So, why would someone with a warrant that gives them authority to visit "at any reasonable time" pre-announce their visit for a topic which is so generalised. DIfferent if say the initiative might be to look at some specific type of plant where the Inspector might want to check that you actually have it and/or you want to make sure that the person responsible for e.g. maintaining the plant is going to be around at the time of the visit. THEN you want it in the diaries. It is possible that this "technical officer" doesn't have a full warrant so is constrained in how they work. But I can't really understand why a local authority would want to hire people with limited skills for a topic which should be the proverbial food and drink for a typical EHO.
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1 user thanked peter gotch for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Originally Posted by: peter gotch It is possible that this "technical officer" doesn't have a full warrant so is constrained in how they work. But I can't really understand why a local authority would want to hire people with limited skills for a topic which should be the proverbial food and drink for a typical EHO.
Careful Peter i was a specilist H&S inspector with a Local Authority for over 20 years (and generalist food H&S prior to that) and not even an EHO. Like all organisations you get people with different skills, EHOs tend to be multy skilled, (food hygiene, H&S, Housing & Environmental Protection) in training and then often will undertake further training to specalise in their chosen area. I have come across good and bad inspectors in LAs and the HSE. For anyone who has read this comment please ignore i totaly misread Peters comment! I thought he meant EHO should be just doing food and drink - a common misconception, but he was meaning the H&S info should be clear to the officer doing the inspection- which i agree with. But people have to learn. Under the guidance issued by the HSE for LA inspection it is not unusual to make an appointment Edited by user 25 January 2023 14:27:28(UTC)
| Reason: Miss read the post i was quoting
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2 users thanked HSSnail for this useful post.
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Both LA and HSE can perform these functions - your health and safety poster should detail the appropriate enforcemnet body. There is a link on the HSE website covering this https://www.hse.gov.uk/lau/enforcement.htm . I doubt its a scam , if in doubt give the local authority a ring.
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1 user thanked ajw for this useful post.
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For the avoidance of doubt (!) I was not referring to EHOs who only deal with food hygiene issues but those who have warrante to enforce the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and its "relevant statutory provisions". Whilst the "enforcing authority" regulations are intended to allocate most higher risk workplaces to HSE, local authorities get to inspect LOTS of high risk workplaces such as warehouses with "logistics" being an activity that is associated with many fatal and serious injuries. Entirely sensible to do a "blitz" targeting the things mentioned in the original post, but why do this by appointment? That would be just a way of removing flexibility in how an EHO plans their days, when they can just decide "I've got a couple of hours free, so I will do one of those warehouse logistics inspections that I am targeted to do this year" as an UNANNOUNCED inspection. Exactly the same as when I was an HSE Inspector and had to decide on who to visit in the hours between 12 noon and 2pm, when I myself was not taking a lunch break. So you pick somewhere which will be working even if the boss is out to lunch. You don't need the big boss to be around to see how vehicle movements are controlled throughout the shift! Edited by user 25 January 2023 17:23:16(UTC)
| Reason: Replaced easily misinterpreted word
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1 user thanked peter gotch for this useful post.
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