uk’s leading food safety and health & safety …€¦ · are not cheap to buy. it is highly...

The year 1996 was notable for the boyband Take That splitting up, the Spice Girls releasing their first single “Wannabe” and for the first episode of lifestyle reality television show Changing Rooms. Petrol cost just 52.9 pence a litre and Independence Day was a hit at the box office. More importantly however, a legacy was born. Back in 1996, in a small home office in Gloucestershire, Envesca, previously SE Food & Hygiene Services, was launched by Sue and Simon Ellis. With a vision of championing a safe and healthy environment, we set out determined

to build a business renowned for the highest quality service. We wanted to create a positive learning environment that engaged, inspired and encouraged everyone involved and that delivered outstanding results. Fast forward 20 years and it’s these same principles which

underpin everything Envesca does.

Envesca now provides health and safety and food safety consultancy and training services both locally and nationally and offers over 55 courses. The company employs 15 staff and 28 associate trainers with both of us still at the helm as Directors.

The company’s success is down to a number of different things but there are two in particular which we believe have had the greatest impact on our success. The first is our relationships with our customers. The second is our fantastic team. We have no doubt that these key elements are the driving force behind our success.

So it is with enormous pride that this year we celebrate 20 years in business and we thank everyone

who has been involved in helping Envesca become the business it is today. There will be plenty of celebrations throughout the year and we’ll be saying “thank you” to our valued customers in lots of different ways - so keep an eye out!

We look towards the coming years with positivity and determination to deliver on the promises the business was founded on.

Thank you, because we couldn’t have done it without you!

Sue & Simon Ellis

PS And what of Take That? Well, we had heard they’re doing the odd gig or two!

Quotes Of The Month

01452 890327 • [email protected] envesca-limited

Celebrating 20 years!

Spring 2016

U K ’ S L E A D I N G F O O D S A F E T Y A N D H E A L T H & S A F E T Y S P E C I A L I S T S

Safeguard

Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it.Winston Churchill

I never dreamed about success, I worked for it. Estée Lauder

Envesca through the years: 1996 > 2006 > 2016

Inside this month...Big Lesson of the Month p2Customer Spotlight p3Meet the Team! p4Focus On Training p4Achievement Gallery p5Customer Case Study p6Safety Signs p7Forthcoming Training Dates p8

For more information, visit the website at www.envesca.co.uk

Defibrilator or CPR?


Safeguard - The Envesca Newsletter. Spring 2016.

Did you know that on an annual basis around 30,000 people in the UK are treated for cardiac arrest by the emergency services and of these 5% are likely to happen in the workplace? Did you also know that if early defibrillation is administered soon after a heart attack, the survival rates are as high as 75%? With each passing minute the chances of survival diminish by 10% and beyond 6 minutes lasting brain damage may be sustained, that is if the casualty can be resuscitated at all.

Now consider the fact that the average response time of the emergency services is ten minutes. In light of these figures many employers either now hold defibrillators in the workplace as part of their first aid provision or are seriously considering starting to use them.

In this issue’s Big Lesson we focus on how you should decide whether this piece of equipment is beneficial to your workplace and what the training requirements are.

What does a defibrillator do that CPR doesn’t do?It is more than likely you have first aiders in the workplace who are trained in CPR so why would you require a defibrillator, after all they are not cheap to buy. It is highly unlikely that CPR alone would be

able to stimulate the heart back into its normal rhythm.

Defibrillators for use by lay people in the workplace are called “Automated External Defibrillators” (AEDs). They are very sophisticated pieces of equipment that are designed to first perform an electrocardiogram (ECG) to identify a shockable rhythm, then deliver a controlled electric shock to stun the heart in order to restore a regular rhythm. An AED can only deliver a shock if a shockable rhythm is found so they cannot be abused and cannot cause further damage by incorrect use.

What type of workplaces are they useful in? To be honest every workplace would benefit from having a defibrillator as sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) can happen to anyone at any age for a number of reasons. However some workplaces have a higher risk of employees suffering SCA than others, such as those that have:

• an ageing work force, particularly in industrial companies

• work sites with high voltage equipment

The workforce and type of equipment are not the only factors that increase the risk of an SCA. Bear in mind the statistics given in this article’s introduction, time is a major factor when it comes to successfully dealing with SCA. If your premises or works location impede the emergency services, then having an AED on site could make a big difference to the casualty.

Consider if your premises are situated in the following types of location:

• Urban locations, which may be dif ficult for emergency responders to reach due to the need to negotiate traffic, staircases, elevators, escalators or crowds of people.

• Industrial campuses that may have tight security controls or spread out facilities.

• Relatively remote locations, which may result in longer response times by emergency medical services.

As with all first aid provision you should carry out a risk assessment to determine whether or not an AED is suitable for your workplace.

How do you use them?Finally it is worth considering the day may come when you are very glad that you bought an AED for your workplace as it might be your life it saves!

If you decide to provide an AED in the workplace then make sure you address the points below to get the best out of them.

“An AED can be used safely and effectively without previous training; its use should not be restricted to a trained rescuer. Training should however be encouraged to help improve the time to shock delivery and correct pad placement.”

So although training is not a legal requirement it is recommended that people who are expected to use AEDs are trained. The training covers:

• how to recognise the signs of a heart attack

• CPR and its use in conjunction with the AED

• the conditions where an AED can be used and what an AED does

• the use of an AED in various situations

Envesca offer a CIEH accredited Level 2 Award in Basic Life Support and Safe Use of Automated External Defibrillator course, which will give candidates the practical skills and confidence to use such a device where it is available. It is delivered in house by our qualified trainers so is a cost effective option to have several employees trained with minimum disruption to your business.

For further details on this course visit the first aid section of our website: www.envesca.co.uk



Cheltenham College has been educating young people since 1841. They are one of the foremost public co-educational boarding schools in the country, with an enviable reputation for academic achievement and breadth of extra-curricular opportunities.Their aim is to provide a first class all-round education, combining stunning traditional surroundings with a dynamic and modern co-educational context.

At Cheltenham College, they don’t just teach. Their passion is education in the broadest sense of the word; they aim to promote genuine personal enquiry and intellectual appetite, to provide each pupil with innumerable opportunities for success and to ensure they leave College fully prepared for life beyond school.

The College takes their job of providing food very seriously. They provide approximately 1,800 meals a day, seven days a week and their dedicated chefs work hard to provide a menu to cater for every pupil’s needs, whether it be a dietary or religious requirement or purely personal taste.

10 Year Partnership Over the past ten years Cheltenham College and Envesca have worked together to ensure that all catering staff are highly trained with a combination of public and in-house courses undertaken. Courses include Level 2 and 3 Awards in Food Safety, Level 2 Awards in Health and Safety, Customer Care and Principles of Manual Handling.

As Andrew Hailes, Domestic Bursar, stated,

We recognise the importance of keeping up to date with changing legislation and the need to ensure that our staff have the best quality training possible.

Andrew highlight’s Envesca’s “specialist knowledge” and the company’s accessibility as a key to building a “good relationship” over the years.

Envesca is confident that the relationship will continue to flourish and grow following Andrew’s comments that

Envesca have trained our new recruits as well as refreshing the knowledge of our other staff members. Also updating our Food

Safety Management System and Health and Safety Manual as our requirements change and develop. Their annual inspection gives us very good guidance as to how we might be viewed by the Environmental Health Officer (EHO) and enable us to improve our systems and processes on an ongoing basis.

Just as Health and Safety regulations can change, Andrew

recognises that Envesca continues to have a positive input into the improvement of their processes with the outcome of a staff that is “more vigilant and motivated with a greater understanding of Food Safety and Health & Safety procedures”. There is also a possibility of future collaboration between Cheltenham College and Envesca “regarding nutrition and possibly developing their online training needs”.

Cheltenham College recognise that their staff are their greatest asset and the key to ensuring the provision of a consistent and varied food offer. They invest both time and resources in developing the necessary skills to ensure their staff remain motivated and focused.

Envesca looks forward to being part of and contributing to this investment.

Cheltenham CollegeBath Road

Cheltenham GL53 7LD01242 265638 • www.cheltenhamcollege.org

Customer Spotlight

Spanish born Tais has worked in the hospitality industry for over 10 years and has experience in all roles from Waitress to Chef and from Receptionist to Bar Manager. During this time she’s met many famous people including David Cameron, David and Victoria Beckham and she even served breakfast to the Hairy Bikers, although embarrassingly, she didn’t know who they were at the time!

After several years “on the tools” Tais decided to train as an Assistant Manager before moving on to training as a Restaurant Manager. Her career as a trainer started with training 16 to 18 year olds in hospitality and catering, which she did for six years, before she became a Food Safety trainer. She currently delivers CIEH Level 2 Food Safety courses for Envesca.

Tais, her husband and daughter go geocaching

almost every weekend. Geocaching is an outdoor hobby where one uses a GPS tracker to find hidden “caches”. Tais shares, “It means I spend most weekends walking for miles through fields and woods and getting covered in mud but we all love it!”

Meet Tais!



Focus On TrainingThe transportation of all food (fresh, dry, tinned, frozen, etc.) in all types of packaging or unpackaged is a major part of the supply chain/logistics industry. It is important that those involved are not only aware of the transport, storage and distribution requirements of the industry but also the requirements of handling food at the various stages of the process to ensure food safety. This includes not only the handling, packaging, transportation and storage of the food itself but also the personal hygiene of those involved.

The CIEH Level 2 Award in Food Safety for logistics is a short, concise course which has been developed to allow employees involved in food logistics to gain a recognised qualification.

It is specifically designed to be relevant to people working in the Logistics sector such as drivers transporting foodstuffs or warehouse operatives dealing with the storage and distribution of foodstuffs.

This qualification underlines the importance of food safety and provides candidates with an understanding of how to identify and control food safety hazards throughout the supply chain activities of storage, transport and distribution.

What’s Covered• Reporting food safety hazards

and illnesses

• Legal responsibilities of drivers and warehouse staff

• Importance of personal hygiene

• Effective cleaning of storage areas and vehicles

• Safe use and storage of chemicals

• Pest control

• Risks to food and food packaging in transit, storage and at delivery from microbial, chemical,

physical and allergenic hazards

• Food safety procedures for delivery, storage, date marking and stock rotation

• Food and environmental temperature controls

• Record keeping

• Reasons why food may be returned

• Control measures and corrective actions

What You Will LearnBy the end of the course candidates will understand how:

• Individuals must take responsibility for food safety

• To keep him/herself clean and hygienic

• To keep storage areas and vehicles clean

• To keep food safe

To find out more about the CIEH Level 2 Award in Food Safety for Logistics call us today on 01452 502113.

We like to use real people, just like YOU in our newsletters and emails. So we need your help. We are looking for customers to take pictures of their staff with their new qualifications. And if you send us your photo you may receive a little gift from us!

Please email any photos to [email protected] or call us on 01452 890327 to arrange for a visit to take a photo.

Achievement Gallery

Chris Harvey | Operations Manager, The Book DepositoryCIEH Level 4 Award in Health and Safety. Sector: Online Retailer



Sandra Baker | Envesca LtdCIEH Level 3 Award in Health and Safety. Sector: Training Company

Campbell Strefford | Nottingham Healthcare NHS TrustCIEH Level 4 Award in Health and Safety. Sector: Care

Ralph Wiskin | St Edwards SchoolCIEH Level 4 Award in Food Safety. Sector: Schools & Colleges

Diana Carr | Gloucester Charities TrustCIEH Level 2 Award in Food Safety Refresher. Sector: Care

James Cox | Old Prebendal HouseCIEH Level 3 Food Safety – Merit Pass. Sector: Care



Customer Case Study

With over ten years of experience creating care communities across the UK these retirement villages offer an alternative to the conventional residential care setting, with purpose built facilities ranging from independent and assisted living to care homes.

Each of the villages has its own architectural style which is often sympathetic to the local environment, whether in the Cotswolds, Oxfordshire, Cheshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and the soon to be completed Derbyshire. The Richmond Villages home designs have won a number of awards: London Evening Standard, Daily Telegraph New Homes and What House Awards. Similarly, the beautiful Richmond Villages grounds and gardens have also gained recognition, winning a gold award at the New Home Garden Awards.

Richmond Villages receive consistently high ratings from the independent Government regulator, - the Care Quality Commission, for the provision of Outstanding Healthcare and was also the Great British Care Awards National Winner 2012.

With such high standards to maintain Richmond Villages recognise the value of all staff members and encourage all employees to continue

their professional development and training, from care and nursing staff to hospitality and catering employees and even management staff.

Susie Oakley is the Operations Director based at Southam in Warwickshire and has recently been busily focused on the new Village based in Witney, Oxfordshire. As with all of their locations, Witney will have a restaurant and café which are focal points for the community. The restaurants are open seven days a week and cater for regular meals as well as special occasions and as all Villages are licensed, most facilities also enjoy a bar area too.

As the website proclaims ‘Good food is very high on the agenda’ and therefore Susie has identified specific Food Safety training for both hospitality teams and management.

Susie continues by saying that,

Hospitality is a key part of our business and, as

such, so is food safety. We deliver a large number of meals every day to our residents, some of whom are immune-compromised, as well as to members of our Wellness Spas and members of the public. We pride ourselves in what we provide and want to ensure that we follow best practice at all times.

Richmond Villages

relationship with Envesca started over five years ago, initially booking one course for their facility in the Cotswolds. Their criteria at the time was for: location, availability and appropriate range of courses, professionalism, reputation and the ease of booking and subsequent administration.

However, as Susie states,

Having attended one course and been

impressed with the organisation and the staff involved, we then have extended the use of Envesca to the whole village group across the country.

Richmond Villages now work hand in hand with Envesca to carry out annual audits in both “health and safety” and “food safety”. Recent training courses attended by hospitality staff members include Level 3 Food Safety and Level 2 Healthier Food and Special Diets and when asked how employees have reported on their experience with Envesca, Susie replied that,

the staff who have undertaken training have

all been impressed with the training delivery and felt confident and knowledgeable as a result.

Richmond Villages offer expert and professional facilities and services within the care industry, but recognised their own limitations when it came to the training and development of its staff. Susie remarks,

We consider this to be a specialist area and wanted

the reassurance of knowing that we were working with experts in the field.

Envesca is proud to be that expert!

Richmond Villages is an award-winning retirement village operator with five luxury retirement villages already established, a complex at Witney, which has recently opened its doors and another at Aston-on-Trent, due to open in 2016.

Susie Oakley, Operations Director

Richmond Care Villages Unit 5, The Court, Holywell Business Park, Southam, Warwickshire, CV47 0FS

www.richmond-villages.com0808 2782 016

Be Aware of Safety Signs


However, if signs will not help to reduce the risk or the risk is insignificant then there is no obligation to use them. This can lead to confusion for employers over where a sign is necessary and where it is not. To add further to this uncertainty, the regulations do not require employers to supply signs for the benefit of non employees such as visitors which often comes as a surprise to businesses. The best way to determine what signs are necessary is to carry out a risk assessment of the workplace.

In order to provide some guidance on this matter, this article will cover seven common safety signs and where to use them.

1. UK Health and Safety Legislation PosterIt is a legal requirement to display this notice in every workplace. If this is not practical then the health and safety legislation leaflets should be distributed to all employees.

2. Fire NoticesFire action notices should clearly show the action that needs to be taken in the event of a fire. They give information to both the person discovering the fire and occupants of the premises who hear the fire alarm. The instruction should be clear and succinct and include information such as who should raise the alarm, tackling the fire and evacuation procedures. There are standard formats for such notices that can be obtained from

sign suppliers. They should be located on noticeboards in communal areas or in the case of premises such as hotels also on the back of bedroom doors.

3. Fire Exit and Emergency Escape SignsThese are used to mark emergency routes and exits in the event of a fire or other incident, they should be white markings on a green background. The fire exit sign should be shown above the exit door. If the fire exit sign itself is not visible from all work areas, then it should be supplemented by the use of directional signs that indicate the direction to the fire exit. It is important to note that it is not acceptable to use a directional arrow sign on its own. It must be accompanied by either the words “fire exit” or a fire exit symbol. If natural light levels are low or there may be some difficulty in seeing the sign in the event of an emergency, then additional illumination of the sign will be required.

4. First Aid SignsA first aid sign shows a white cross on a green background. They should be located next to first aid box locations in order that the box may be quickly accessed in the event of an emergency. A useful addition to the first aid sign is a list of the company’s first aiders and if appropriate, contact details.

5. No Smoking SignsJuly 2007 saw a total smoking ban in all enclosed public places, work places and certain vehicles in the UK.

The smoke free legislation means it is an offence not to display the appropriate No Smoking Signs, resulting in fines up to £1000. Signs must be displayed at every entrance to smoke free premises and meet the following minimum requirements:

• Be a minimum of A5 in area (210mm x 148mm).

• Display the international no-smoking symbol at least 70mm in diameter.

• Carry the following words in characters that can be easily read: ‘No smoking. It is against the law to smoke in these premises.’

6. Overhead Obstacles and StepsMany workplaces have localised hazards such as low doorways or steps in inappropriate places that are trip hazards. In many instances it is not reasonably practicable to remove the hazard, so signs may be used to make employees aware of their presence. Warning signs should be black symbols or writing on a yellow background. They should be located adjacent to the hazard in a position that is clearly visible to a person approaching the hazard. Yellow and black diagonal stripes may also be used along the edges of doorways or raised platforms to indicate danger.

7. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)These signs show the type of PPE that should be used in a certain

work area. They are white symbols on a blue background indicating that it is a mandatory requirement to wear PPE. The signs should show the type of PPE that should be worn and where it should be worn. They should be sufficiently large and clear, ideally positioned at entrances to the area and again within the work area. Standard symbols should be used wherever possible, although the law does m a k e a l l o w a n c e s for minor deviations to suit specific circumstances.

Take Action

When was the last time you assessed the effectiveness of your emergency exit signs? As a minimum, you need to check that all emergency exit doors have the fire exit sign shown above them. Can you easily see and follow the emergency escape signs throughout the building? Finally try again with the lights out! Make sure all signs are appropriately illuminated so that they can be followed in the dark.

Remember, Envesca offer a

number of different level Health

and Safety courses, all of which

include details on safety signage.

For further details and information

visit www.envesca.co.uk.

Did you know that legislation requires that safety signs are used where the risk cannot be reduced any other way?


Forthcoming Training Dates

Envesca, 1st Floor, 5 – 7 Stroud Road, Gloucester GL1 5AA

envesca-limited

01452 890327 • [email protected] • www.envesca.co.uk

BIG

SAVINGS!Save up to 45%

Find out how at

www.envesca.co.uk/

course/offers


April 20166 April

Health and Safety for Directors and Senior Managers – Gloucester

6, 7, 8 AprilCIEH Level 3 Award in First Aid at Work – Gloucester

7 AprilAdvanced Food Hygiene Refresher – Gloucester

11, 12, 13, 14, 15 April and 4 MayCIEH Level 4 Award in Food Safety – Gloucester

13 AprilCIEH Level 2 Award in Fire Safety Principles – Swindon

18, 19, 20 AprilCIEH Level 3 Award in Fire Risk Assessment – Gloucester

19 AprilCIEH Level 2 Award in the Emergency First Aid at Work – Gloucester

20, 21 AprilCIEH Level 3 Award in First Aid at Work Requalification – Gloucester

21 AprilCIEH Level 2 Award in Health and Safety in the Workplace – Gloucester

25 AprilCIEH Level 2 Award in Food Safety – Gloucester

26 April, 3, 10 MayCIEH Level 3 Award in Food Safety – Gloucester

27 AprilCIEH Level 2 Award in Fire Safety Principles – Gloucester

May 2016C6 May

CIEH Level 2 Award in the Principles of HACCP – Gloucester

12 MayCIEH Level 2 Award in the Emergency First Aid at Work – Gloucester

13 MayCIEH Level 3 Award in Food Safety Refresher – Gloucester

17, 18, 19 MayCIEH Level 3 Award in Training Principles and Practice – Gloucester

20 MayCIEH Level 2 Award in Food Safety – Gloucester

23, 24, 25 MayCIEH Level 3 Award in Health and Safety in the Workplace – Gloucester

26 MayCIEH Level 2 Award in the Principles of Manual Handling – Gloucester

27 MayCIEH Level 2 Award in Food Safety Refresher – Gloucester

27 MayCIEH Level 2 Award in the Principles of COSHH – Gloucester

31 MayCIEH Level 2 Award in Environmental Principles - Gloucester

June 20162 June

CIEH Level 2 Award in Food Allergen Awareness – Gloucester

2 JuneCIEH Level 1 Award in Nutrition – Gloucester

6, 7, 8 JuneCIEH Level 3 Award in Food Safety – Gloucester

8 JuneCIEH Level 2 Award in Emergency First Aid at Work – Swindon

9 JuneHABC Level 2 Award in Customer Service – Gloucester

10 JuneHABC Level 3 Award in Effective Auditing and Inspection Skills – Gloucester

13, 14, 15, 16 JuneIOSH Managing Safety – Gloucester

14, 15, 16 JuneCIEH Level 3 Award in First Aid at Work – Swindon

20 JuneCIEH Level 2 Award in Health and Safety in the Workplace – Gloucester

21 JuneCIEH Level 2 Award in Emergency First Aid at Work – Gloucester

21 JuneCIEH Level 2 Award in Food Safety – Gloucester

23, 24, 27, 28, 29 June and 13 JulyCIEH Level 4 Award in Food Safety – Gloucester

We are continuously updating our dates. Please check our website for the most up-to-date listings.

uk’s leading food safety and health & safety …€¦ · are not cheap to buy. it is highly...

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