SCENARIO
A large golf resort is located in a rural mountainside setting. In the centre of the golf resort are the main buildings, that include a clubhouse, a storage facility, and a garage. Next to the clubhouse is a large gravel car park that can accommodate 200 vehicles. Because there are no marked parking bays, visitors park their vehicles wherever they can. On busy days, visitors drive in all directions around the car park to try and find a space; meaning that parked vehicles regularly become blocked by other vehicles left in unsuitable places. Vehicles are often left in the car park overnight.
Maintenance vehicles and pedestrians must pass through this car park to gain access to the golf course. It is common practice for the golfers to leave equipment in the car park while they prepare to go onto the golf course. A grit bin (containing road salt) is located at the front of the car park for de- icing. The grit bin is often not re-filled.
The main buildings
In the clubhouse there is a large event room, a swimming pool with spa facilities, and a gymnasium. People who use the event room often organise their own entertainment by hiring a mobile disco or a live band.
The swimming pool’s water pumping, heating, filtration, and chlorine dosing system is automated and is located below ground level in a plant room. Access to the plant room is through a trap door adjacent to the pool, down a ladder. The automatic dosing unit continually monitors the free chlorine and pH levels in the swimming pool and adjusts them as necessary. Stored on the plant room floor are bags of ‘chlorine granules’ (a chlorine-containing solid chemical). The last risk assessment was carried out when the swimming pool was built 5 years ago, before it was operational.
The storage facility is a separate steel-framed building with brick walls and a concrete floor. Access is through a small, aluminium roller-shutter door, that is kept wide open during the day for easy access. There are multiple light switches by this door. One large, double-glazed window is located on either side of the door. There are old filament-bulb lights suspended 5 metres above the floor.
Some of the lights are not working as the light bulbs need to be replaced.
A range of hand-held petrol-powered equipment is kept on one side of the storage facility, alongside a gas-fired barbecue. Five, full petrol cans are also stored in this area. Due to limited storage space, substances such as fertilisers, seeds, and liquid weedkillers are also stored nearby. Liquified petroleum gas (LPG) is supplied in 13kg and 25kg canisters. The canisters are stacked against the back wall next to the weedkiller. Empty LPG canisters are exchanged for full ones on a monthly basis.
Fertiliser granules, rich in ammonium nitrate, are stored in 25kg sacks and stacked against the back wall. There can be up to 20 bags stored at any one time. The fertiliser sacks are opened and emptied into equipment used for spreading, which often leads to spillages.
The liquid weedkiller is delivered in 5-litre bottles. There are usually around 30 - 50 bottles in the storage facility. The liquid weedkiller is poured into a pressure sprayer. Six months ago, the golf resort received an environmental enforcement notice for minor leakage of weedkiller into the drainage system, coming from the storage facility.
The liquid weedkiller is delivered in 5-litre bottles. There are usually around 30 - 50 bottles in the storage facility. The liquid weedkiller is poured into a pressure sprayer. Six months ago, the golf resort received an environmental enforcement notice for minor leakage of weedkiller into the drainage system, coming from the storage facility.
Spill kits are regularly used to clean up spillages. However, there have been occasions when workers have complained of missing items in the kits when using them.
Next to the storage facility is a brick-built garage that is accessed through a large roller-shutter door. This door is regularly kept closed, especially when the weather is cold. The garage is used to store and maintain all maintenance vehicles, such as a 4-wheel-drive tractor, three ride-on grass cutting machines and four small all-terrain vehicles. The vehicles are regularly moved around in the garage. The vehicle maintenance work carried out is simple and limited to cleaning, minor repairs, and monitoring.
Older maintenance vehicles are often left unattended with engines running to warm them up before use. These vehicles sometimes cause an obstruction in the garage.
There is an inspection pit in the garage. The steps down to the pit are worn and slippery, and workers have noticed mouse faeces in the area. The garage is heated by steam-heated radiators. One propane space heater is available to use in colder months; LPG canisters from the storage facility are used to fuel this. On one occasion, when replacing a used canister, an empty canister was accidentally retrieved from the storage area.
There is a maintenance schedule designed to reduce simultaneous vehicle work. However, on many occasions three or four maintenance activities have been carried out at the same time. The schedule is displayed on the left-hand wall by the roller shutters, above the garage inspection sheet. The garage inspection sheet was last signed and dated three weeks ago.
Workers often use the garage as a shelter for smoking and breaks. On one of these occasions, a discarded cigarette ignited some waste. A worker tried to raise the alarm by shouting, but could not be heard over the radio that was switched on. They went to retrieve a fire extinguisher from the clubhouse and extinguished the fire alone.
The greenkeeping team
The greenkeeping team consists of a head greenkeeper, four greenkeeping workers (2 part-time and 2 full-time) and a greenkeeping apprentice. Training is informal and completed when problems are identified.
Recently, the greenkeeping team designed and built a fairway raking attachment made from materials found around the site. This rake is pulled by the 4-wheel-drive tractor across the fairways to clear debris. Although the fairway rake has changed the tractor’s balance, the greenkeeping team is happy with the result.
On the way home, one of the greenkeeping workers sees a discarded petrol-driven strimmer on the roadside. Proud of what they have achieved with the fairway rake, they take the strimmer home and attempt to repair it. They are able to repair the motor and put heavy-duty tape over the cracked guard. After having a short practise at home, they bring the strimmer to the golf resort a week later. It is a hot day. The worker is wearing shorts, t-shirt, and sandals when they take the strimmer onto the golf course and begin work. Two hours later, the strimmer requires refuelling. The worker goes to the garage to get some petrol, leaving the strimmer unattended. On the way to the garage they decide it is time for a short break and to drink some water. After this break, they return with a full can of petrol and refuel the strimmer, spilling petrol in the process.
The health and safety consultant
The golf resort manager has become worried about the number of accidents and incidents that have occurred recently. Therefore, they contact a health and safety consultant for advice. They tell the consultant about the recent accidents and incidents across the site:
- One of the full-time greenkeeping workers was using the tractor and rake in freezing cold weather. While driving the tractor across a 25% slope, that they thought had recently thawed, the tractor hit a frozen part of the ground and slid for 20 metres. After gaining speed, the tractor then stopped suddenly on thawed ground and rolled over onto its side. The driver was thrown out of the vehicle, causing them to break their leg.
- For a recent wedding held in the event room, the groom had booked a live band. The band members had travelled from another country. On arrival at the venue, the band set up their electrical equipment. They used the event room’s electrical supply to plug in a multi-plug (six- gang) extension socket. They used two, inexpensive, plug-in (four-way) cube extension leads on each end of the multi-plug extension socket, so that they could supply at least 10 pieces of electrical equipment. This included amplifiers, decorative set lighting, and some portable electric heaters. Some of this equipment had traces of stick-on green labels that were no longer readable. One musician was playing their 30-year-old guitar when the sound from the attached amplifier cut out completely. The lead singer asked the guitarist if everything was okay, the guitarist said that they regularly got an electric shock because their amplifier electric supply cable was brittle, had cracks in it, and sometimes live conductors were exposed. They pointed to a roll of insulating tape in their hand and shouted that they had done this type of quick repair at numerous, recent events.
The band started their sound check, and almost immediately, workers in the building became aware of a burning plastic-like smell in the event room. One of the workers asked the band to stop playing and started to check the area. The worker found scorch marks around the live pin on one of the plugs attached to the multi-plug extension lead, the plug casing was also unusually hot to the touch. Further along the multi-plug extension lead, the worker found a continental two-pin plug with bent pins, forced into one of the plug sockets.
- In the garage, a vehicle was driven over the inspection pit for an oil change. However, visibility was poor due to some of the lights in the garage not working. A new worker, who wanted to make a good impression, decided to change the vehicle’s oil after watching an online video. They stepped down into the inspection pit and began to remove used oil and replace the oil filter. During the activity, engine oil spilled onto their arms, chest, and legs. Shouting for help, they began to clean up the spilled oil with rags. No one heard the worker. Once the task was finished, the worker complained of dizziness and a sore throat. They threw the oily rags into the garage waste bin. They did not have any spare clothing, but they refused to return home to get changed.
- There have also been a few incidents in the car park, and visitors often ask for closed-circuit television (CCTV) car park footage. A recent collision on a dark evening involved two cars coming from different directions that tried to turn the same corner in the car park at the same time. On the same day, one of the greenkeeping workers was reversing the 4-wheel-drive tractor out of the garage and drove over two sets of golf clubs that had been left on the ground while golfers unpacked their car.
- One of the most serious accidents happened in the pool area. The gym manager had been conducting one of their regular visits to the plant room while wearing their usual t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. When entering, they would usually leave the trap door open to let light in from the pool area. As there are no fixed atmosphere monitors in the plant room, they are expected to check the atmosphere using a hand-held device, although this is rarely used. When the plant is operating, the area can become very warm and humid, with a strong smell of chlorine. The gym manager had noticed that the newly-fitted pipe brackets were becoming corroded, and the electrical equipment was becoming overheated. When checking this issue, they also identified a small leak coming from some of the pipework. While the gym manager was occupied in the plant room, another worker from the clubhouse came to the pool area to look for them. They slipped and fell through the plant room’s trap-door opening, knocking themselves unconscious when they hit the floor. Some club members stopped swimming and got out to see what was happening.
The health and safety consultant advises the golf resort manager that a thorough investigation of the accidents and incidents is required, and that they will return the following week to begin the process.
