Application of Legal and Best Practice Procedures for Greater Health and Safety in Sports Facility Operation: A Case Study of the Nottingham University Sports Centre
Application of Legal and Best Practice Procedures for Greater Health and Safety in Sports Facility Operation: A Case Study of the Nottingham University Sports Centre
Introduction
A sports facility is a work place with highest potential risk of accidents and disastrous incidences. This is owing to the vast number of physical transactions that take place which though regulated by rules of the games or sport being played are still at risk of human errors of omission and commission . For this reason, the relevance of the various legislations governing the safety conditions and procedures at such facilities becomes very important. This study reviews the various health and safety legislations with respect to the sports facility operation and evaluates their applicability with respect to the Nottingham University Sports Complex, as a case.
The University of Nottingham Sports Centre is a Sports facility available for students, university staff as well as general public on membership basis. The facilities include a Fitness Suite, Swimming pool, a multi purpose sports hall, floodlit hockey pitch, a floodlit pitch for football and rugby. Also included are two multipurpose studios which are suitable for many activities including sports, group exercises, dance and other activities.
The Health and Safety Legislations as Applicable
It is important to note that the health and safety of participants in sporting activities are not covered by sport specific legislations but general laws. Two of the overarching pieces of legislation in this respect are the Heal and Safety at Work Act, 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. In cases of accidents to employers or members of the public, certain incidents need to be reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation 1995. However there are certain exceptions to this rule in the form of the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 and the Safety of Places of Sports Act 1987. However these latter laws are concerned with the safety of Spectators and not the participants of the sports activities .
Workplace Health and Safety Act, 1974
As per the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, apply to sports facility management and owners. The law requires them to ensure practicable health and safety of people using their facilities. The act outlines the duties and obligations of facility management and towards prevention and minimization risks associated with health and safety of the staff working at the facilities. In such cases, the extent of the management’s legal obligation depends on level of control it has on the premises as well as the nature and kind of the facility, material and substances provided on site. The act not only requires employers and management to protect not just the working staff, but also those volunteering to work such as coaches and also the club members, visitors as well as the members of the outside playing teams and the spectators as well.
Under the above law, the employers and employees have a common ‘duty of care’ towards all others affected by their activities. Therefore the sports facilities have requirements that are specific to their activities and that comprise of safe procedures as well as use of safe equipments and also to provide relevant guidance on how to carry out the activities safely and to effectively manage the associated risks.
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999
As per the above regulations, it becomes mandatory to access, obtain and practise the requirements under the Health and Work Safety etc. Act, 1974 and do a risk assessment of their premises and activities before the activities take place based on the act. Further, the regulations provide guidelines as to how to deal with specific health hazards, situations or operations at work .
As per the regulations, the risk assessment activities must strive to identify the facilities, equipment and activities involved along with the hazards associated. Also, the people potentially at risk due to such hazards and the level of the risks associated must be identified. However, these regulations are subject to different interpretations and application by different Sports facilities and bodies and thus there seems to be a need to reduce the ambiguity in the regulations.
The Relevance and Applicability to the Facility
The Sports facility such as the Nottingham University Sports Centre must develop internal safety procedures to identify and document the potentially hazardous incidents and devise a set of operating procedures to address not only the health and safety aspects but also a set of best practices to minimize customer complaints. The guidelines stipulated in the Workplace Health and Safety Law (HSW), 1974 are not just mandatory but effectively relevant for the facility as it is a huge centre with multiple sports facilities and the high potential incidence of risk arising out of the various sporting events taking place in such a facility amounts to impeding the day to day operations. The centre currently is being refurbished and for this reason is operating from the sports centre on Nightingale Field expected to go through 2016, the duration of the building works at David Ross Sports Village . Thus it is appropriate that plant and layout of the facility which is currently being redesigned must for example display a poster outside its Fitness Suite providing a clear message about health and safety and the precautions users must take while using the Suite.
As per the HSW, 1974, the centre must keep up to date with the safety regulations and must train and orient its staff as well after making necessary changes to its safety manual and procedures. Additionally, the training for individual tasks such as preparing its rugby and football pitch with both player and spectator safety in mind is required.
As per the management of health and safety requirements, 1999, the Nottingham Sports Facility must keep in place systems, policies and procedures. For instance the multi purpose sports hall at Nottingham Centre must have a written statement of its health and safety procedures. Also, the responsibility for ensuring adherence to the policy must clearly be defined by the centre. Additionally, the centre must have a clearly defined safety program that is concerned with educating the staff and users about the need, importance and ways to observe safety rules at the centre in accordance with the relevant laws. The program must also have a clear schedule of the training, orientations, drills and accountability exercises that ensure implementation of the safety procedures .
The Awareness aspect of the health and safety issues for all the participants in the sports activities at the centre must be observed especially at its football and rugby grounds, where the spectator frenzy can lead to disasters. The upcoming sports facility of the Nottingham sports centre must design its layout and operating procedures to minimize the risks of any sports accidents. The sports facility must be aware of the various insurance policies offering protection against perceptible negligence claims against it by the users and accordingly insure the owner and management.
Conclusion
As per the above discussion, the Sports facility complex such as the Nottingham Sports Centre, must not just the observation of various safety procedures to minimize incidental hazards, but also devise ways and means to minimize the risks arising out of any such incidences. The awareness and training aspect of the safety efforts are of paramount importance as they are the final step in the preparation for the implementation of safety standards . The customer complaints at such facilities must be promptly addressed as they usually are inevitably linked to user safety with implications for day to day running of the facility. Apart from the operating procedures, the sports facility must have a safety program in place which comprises of the schedules of meetings and awareness sessions as well as the drills or practice sessions for the staff to deal with potential safety threats with respect to various types of sporting events or activities. Insuring the sports personnel and the management is a good strategy to ensure smooth and relatively uninterrupted operations of the facility.
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