For most major incidents it will be necessary to set up an 'incident room' as an 'on-site' facility and an 'incident control' as an HSE base.
Normally occupiers of premises will allow HSE staff to use an allocation of their office accommodation for the purposes of managing an investigation.
This facility is usually offered to HSE on a goodwill basis, although it is underpinned by HSW Act s.20(1) and whilst inspectors may reasonably request the use of office facilities this should not be insisted upon in the event of major disruption. At such times inspectors should use their discretion in making such requests.
Inspectors should make their own local arrangements when an occupier refuses to provide facilities, it is impracticable for the occupier to do so, secure communications, document/evidence storage are required or the incident occurs in a remote location.
The options include:
The advantages of setting up an incident control office are:
The control office will need to make the best use of available facilities and could be set up in the HSE office conference room, a general office or an inspector's office. The requirements listed above can be provided at most HSE offices. OSD maintains facilities in the conference room at the Aberdeen office which may be available to staff. There is a similar arrangement at OSD's Norwich office.
Arrangements also exist with REFIT to provide mobile and temporary office services for control offices including additional PCs, printers, telephones and network connections.
A request to set up a temporary office should be sent to BEU/REFIT to invoke the Temporary Office Service. The request should include:
REFIT will provide:
Once the Temporary Office Service has been invoked, HSE will provide and furnish a suitable office for the service.
The required desktop and communications services will then be installed and configured in the provided office, as per the agreed invocation requirements.
Once a service is no longer required, all equipment and services will be decommissioned accordingly.
Note: only HSE approved authorisers can invoke the Temporary Office Service.
HSE, through the REFIT contract, have sole use of a mobile major incident room (MMIR) that can be used in the event of a major incident where a protracted site presence is expected and where significant numbers of staff may attend. The facility is designed for the use of six staff but it may be possible to provide extra offices on request through REFIT, but these will not arrive as quickly as the first unit. An extra charge will be levied for this.
A judgement will need to be made by HSE Investigation Team Leader whether the dutyholder can provide the facilities that HSE needs in accordance with HSWA section 20(2)(l). In the event that this is not possible or suitable, then the HSE facility can be used. The investigation team may also use the facility to ensure privacy.
Theunit is a customised mobile office of approximately 10 by 3 metres. It weighs about 3.5 tonnes and is sited on levelling jacks. It is delivered to site by HGV. It can only be located on hard surfaces. The unit is free standing and self-supporting, with its own power supply, but subsequent mains electricity and telecom links can be plugged in.
Deployment is either by lorry-mounted crane lifting the unit off a 40-foot trailer or by sliding the unit off backwards from a low loader. The crane option requires the trailer to be parked at right angles to the sitting position to allow a 90-degree slew of the crane to unload. This option requires significant space to allow for vehicle manoeuvring.
It has three independent rooms, each serviced by a separate door to the outside. The main room has six desks in it and 14 power points. Except for the curtained windows, the walls are lined with white boards. The desks can be moved about. There is an air conditioning / heating unit driven from the 6.5 KVA petrol generator that is provided.
REFIT have provided 6 computers for the facility and as part of the call out procedure, a hardware engineer will also visit site to ensure they are working, in case staff are unfamiliar with the equipment provided.
Connections to HSE servers will be via mobile telephone calls unless a decision is made to arrange for BT landline/ISDN. There is a combined fax / photocopier / printer.
There are facilities fitted to allow a mains 415v plug-in connection to be arranged in the event that permanent power is required. The second room is a smaller room with a desk and chairs, more suited as a small meeting/interview room. It also contains the kitchen. The third room houses a chemical toilet and washbasin. The facility has janitor support.
To invoke the service, call the Computacenter Disaster Recovery Team hotline on 0800 413290 (or 0208 750 6363 or 0208 750 6464). The hotline number is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
You will be asked to provide the following information:
Within 15 minutes of your call, the Computacenter Duty Manager will contact you to confirm the exact details of you requirements. You will be asked to provide the following information:
The precise location for delivery of the unit, either by address or OS grid location.
A brief description of the incident e.g. rail crash, chemical spill
Any details regarding access to the incident area e.g. Is there a low bridge? If the area is cordoned off, where or to whom should the driver report in order to gain access?
Name(s) and contact number(s) of the HSE Investigation Manager, or nominated coordinator, at the incident location.
The preferred delivery time. The aim is to get the MMIR to site in the shortest time possible. The unit is housed at a depot in Milton Keynes, which should be taken into account when agreeing the estimated time of arrival. The maximum time for delivery is 24 hours.
Following invocation, the Computacenter Duty Manager will maintain contact with the invoker regarding the estimated time of arrival of the MMIR, and will act as the escalation point for any issues that may arise. The Duty Manager should be the first point of contact for any service or delivery queries you may have.
If circumstances change, and the MMIR Service is no longer required, please call the hotline number (as above) as soon as possible.
