Health & Safety Policy

Print Clan is an inclusive screen printing studio that nurtures creativity in people at any ability. We accommodate social, design and fine art based projects by offering access to screen printing resources and training.

1. General Statement of Policy

Print Clan is committed to the provision and maintenance of safe and healthy working conditions, equipment and systems of work for all its staff, volunteers and members and will provide such information, training and supervision as may be needed for this purpose.

Print Clan also acknowledges its responsibility for the health and safety of visitors to the premises and to people who may be affected by our external activities.

Print Clan is committed to:

    • Provide adequate control of the health and safety risks arising from work activities;

    • Consult with staff, volunteers and members on matters affecting their health and safety;

    • Provide and maintain safe workshop space and equipment;

    • Ensure safe handling and use of substances;

    • Provide information, instruction and supervision appropriate to the needs of staff, volunteers, members and course participants;

    • Ensure that staff and volunteers are adequately trained in the performance of their work tasks;

    • Take all reasonable steps in order to prevent accidents and cases of work-related ill-health;

    • To maintain safe and healthy working conditions; and

    • To review and revise this policy as necessary at regular intervals

2. Responsibility

The overall and final responsibility for health and safety at Print Clan is the Director, Arianna Mele, and Studio Manager, Suzie Cichy.

They are responsible for ensuring that this policy is put into practice and for making any day-to-day decisions that are consequently required.

All staff, volunteers and members have a responsibility to co-operate in order to ensure a healthy and safe workplace and environment:

    • To comply with health and safety rules made by Print Clan

    • Not interfere with anything provided to safeguard the health and safety of themselves and others

    • To act with reasonable care in respect to the health and safety of themselves and others

    • Report all health and safety concerns to an appropriate person

Any individual who identifies an actual or potential health and safety problem, that it is not within their authority or competence to put right, must immediately bring the matter to the attention of a Print Clan staff member directly.

3. Risk Assessments

Team members at Print Clan will undertake risk assessments for the following:

    • General assessment of the whole workshop space

    • Individual assessments made for each taught workshop or course/process specific

    • Risk assessments for external workshops and live screen printing events

Results of risk assessments will be logged and checked or amended as necessary at a minimum frequency of once a year. Results of risk assessments or changes to them will be recorded and all staff members will be advised of these. The responsibility for ensuring that risk assessments are undertaken lies with the core Print Clan staff team.

4. Consultation

Print Clan is committed to effective consultation with staff, volunteers and members on matters relating to health and safety. Any individual may approach a member of the Print Clan team on any matter that gives them cause for concern, who shall act on any guidance given and discuss changes or decisions with other team members.

5. Safe Environment, Equipment and Special Hazards

All Print Clan staff are responsible for identifying all equipment in need of maintenance; for ensuring that effective maintenance procedures are drawn up; for ensuring that all identified maintenance is implemented and for checking that new equipment meets health and safety standards before it is purchased.

Any problems found with equipment should be reported to any member of the Print Clan team.

Special Hazards are identified as follows:

    • Use of heat equipment

    • Use of chemicals for printmaking

    • Use of cutting equipment

Where heat equipment such as a heat press is on the premises, Print Clan will ensure members are trained and competent to use it safely and make sure it is PAT tested bi-annually.

All users of the workshop are required to securely store any flammable liquids or chemicals in the locked COSHH cabinet within the workshop. See section 6 for further guidance on chemicals.

6. Safe Handling and Use of Substances

Print Clan will:

    • Identify all substances purchased by Print Clan which need a COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) assessment and Material Safety Data Sheet;

    • Undertake COSHH assessments and keep records;

    • Ensure the implementation of assessment results;

    • Inform relevant colleagues about COSHH assessments;

    • Check that new substances can be used safely before they are purchased

Members must:

    • Consider the use of substances when working in the workshop

    • Wear all Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) advised by Print Clan when using substances

    • Store substances in the designated places

    • Not bring their own hazardous chemicals to the workshop

COSHH assessments will be reviewed annually or if new substances are added to the workshop.

7. Information, Instruction and Supervision

Statutory health and safety information will be made available by Print Clan staff at induction. A workshop member induction will explain general health and safety in the workshop and process specific health and safety such as use of chemicals and safe use of equipment.

All members will also be provided with a copy of the customer welcome pack which has further guidance about health and safety procedures in the workshop.

Members may also be given verbal guidance by technicians as required when working in the workshop. Members must listen and observe any practices or advice given.

During courses and workshops for non-members, course tutors are responsible for advising of general health and safety and specific concerns related to their course at the outset of the course. Tutors will take a register of all course participants.

A shared folder containing copies of risk assessments and COSHHis available to all staff members on the Google Drive. Health and safety guidelines will be printed and placed around the studio. 

For safety reasons Print Clan does not allow any person younger than 16 to engage in regular activity on the premises, including as a member or an attendee on a course.

Where employees or volunteers of Print Clan are required to undertake work at locations under the control of other employers, the employee shall consult with the Health and Safety Officer/deputy to determine whether any special measures need to be taken with regard to the employees’ health and safety based upon risk assessment.

8. Competency for Tasks and Training

Induction training in health and safety will be provided for all new employees, volunteers and freelance workers working within Print Clan’s premises and recorded as appropriate.

New members will receive relevant information and guidance on health and safety as part of their induction.

Specific training sessions, aimed at increasing health and safety awareness and also in relation to particular themes (including fire safety, electrical safety and reducing risks from workshop hazards) will be offered to staff, volunteers or members at suitable and timely review periods as felt necessary by the Print Clan team.

Print Clan is committed to providing relevant training to individual employees meeting the particular requirements of their job. This will be subsequently reviewed in the event of significant changes to working practices or environment.

9. Accidents, First Aid and Work-Related Ill Health

First Aid boxes are kept by the sink in the kitchen area of 241 High Street premises.

Any accidents must be reported to the Print Clan Staff Member in charge of running the print studio on that particular day. Staff Members are responsible for logging any accidents in the accident book and informing the Director.

10. Monitoring

In order to check working conditions and environments and to ensure safe working practices are being followed, Print Clan will:

    • Undertake continual visual inspection of the workshop space, kitchens, toilets, corridors, entrances, fire exits and escape routes – in order to ensure that they are free of obstruction, appropriately lit and free from trip and slip hazards generally.

    • Report and record every accident/incident, incidence of work-related ill health or report of a dangerous occurrence at committee meetings.

    • Make regular updates to the health and safety policy and procedures as required.

11. Emergency Procedures

The core Print Clan team will ensure a fire risk assessment for the premises will be undertaken at least every 6 months and will ensure that appropriate consequential measures are undertaken.

Escape routes will be subject to continuous visual inspection in the course of daily use.

Fire extinguishers will be checked annually.

Print Clan do not have a fire alarm. The nature of the open plan building all on ground level means it is possible to raise the alarm verbally and vacate onto the outside pavement. In the event of a fire 999 must be called and no person should re-enter the premises.

Fire safety notices are posted prominently in the workshop, giving guidance on evacuation procedure and emergency information.

Fire extinguishers are provided in order to assist people needing to create a safe exit route during a fire. Print Clan does not advise people to use these to tackle a fire as an alternative to immediate evacuation unless they have had adequate training.

12. Advice to Members

Members are responsible for their own health and safety within the workshop. This however, does not remove the obligation from Print Clan to ensure that they are undertaking reasonable measures to ensure this. Print Clan will therefore consider on a case-by-case basis, the frequency with which it should undertake spot checks and renew risk assessments in the light of individual memberships.

Members will be given written guidelines concerning health and safety in the customer welcome pack. This information will be reviewed and reinforced clearly during the Member’s verbal induction. In addition to this, process guides on how to safely use equipment is clearly displayed around the studio.

This policy was written on 13th July 2020 and will be reviewed annually.
Last reviewed: April 2023