Many health and safety consultants have no qualifications and businesses and organisations can be seriously mislead by engaging consultants who really know nothing about the subject, says Mr Peter Start, joint academic director of the University College Dublin Centre for Safety and Health at Work (CSHW) in Belfield.
CSHW offers a satellite-delivered certificate course in safety and health at work, a diploma in safety, health and welfare at work and, possibly in the future, a degree course in the subject.
"The certificate isn't like some of the certificates that are being peddled around by some of the commercial organisations" where you get a certificate of attendance. The UCD certificate is only awarded to people who pass the exam and "it is an exam that you cannot just bluff your way through", he says.
The 25-week Friday-morning course is delivered by satellite to various centres around the State, such as Athlone, Cork and Dundalk. A lecture and interactive discussion is televised live from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. followed by an off-air tutorial at each centre.
Belfield is also a centre, according to Mr Start, "although the interesting thing is that the signal going across to the university industry centre" travels far "because it goes from the studio across to RTE, then is beamed up to the satellite out in space, comes back down and that's how they get it. So it's had a long journey".
While the certificate course is not a full professional competency course, people holding the certificate should be aware of what lies within their competence and know when to call in an outside expert or refer to someone else within the organisation educated to diploma level.
The two-year part-time diploma course covers "all aspects of health, safety and welfare at work" such as machinery, lift management, industrial hygiene, safety in agriculture, safety in the construction industry, electrical safety and related matters.
"Very much more advanced in depth and detail than the certificate course," the diploma is a "very tough qualification to get", he says.
Mr Start adds: "We are hoping that we will have a degree course in health and safety for people who want to go beyond the diploma level. . .
"Things are changing. Universities are now having to give up some of their high ideals and realise that they do have a function in preparing people for the workplace and not just preparing people's minds."
The next UCD satellite-delivered certificate course in Safety and Health at Work starts in a number of local centres in October 1999. For further information, contact: The manager, continuing education, University Industry Programme, Roebuck Castle, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4. Telephone 01 706 8712. Fax. 01 283 0669.
For your diary:
The employers' body, IBEC, will be conducting a series of regional briefings to outline the Health and Safety Authority's new guidelines on safety management systems.
The briefings will cover practical exercises on: policy development and prioritising of objectives; implementation strategies; review of performance measuring process; and a study of major accidents to develop strategies to prevent recurrence.
They take place in Dublin (May 10th), Donegal (May 11th), Galway (May 11th), Limerick (May 12th), Cork (May 13th) and Waterford (May 13th).
IBEC will hold seminars on managing the problems of hearing loss claims in Jurys Hotel, Cork (June 1st) and the Green Isle Hotel in Dublin (June 2nd). The seminars will explore the specific legal requirements concerning workplace noise; hearing assessments - what they mean; claims handling; and developing a strategy.
Wednesday, April 14th will see the Dublin launch of the Workplace Safety Group Initiative, which has already been presented in Waterford, Limerick, Cork and Sligo.
The initiative, which is supported by IBEC and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, is intended to facilitate an amicable resolution of workplace injuries and so prevent unnecessary legal costs.
It involves looking after people who are injured, rehabilitating them and settling compensation either through direct mediation or arbitration.
At the time of writing, IBEC is finalising a report concerning compensation for workplace injuries in the Republic. It is understood the report will argue that the Republic's compensation costs are disproportionately higher than others and that these are associated with significant overhead costs.
It is also expected that the report will look at other aspects of compensation as it applies in the court system. IBEC confirms the report is due "very shortly".
For further details of any of the above diary events, contact Ms Carol Kenna at IBEC, Confederation House, 84-86 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2. Telephone: 01 605 1631.
