The world of animation may seem like child's play but even in this fun-filled environment, the health and safety risks are genuine.
Oscar-winning Aardman Animations, the production company that brought the world Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run, has a long-standing relationship with Santia Training which has led to less accidents and incidents and an improved health and safety culture across their three Bristol-based studios.
Some of the most significant hazards that Aardman has to manage, affect the model-making team. To create well-loved characters such as Morph and Shaun the Sheep, the team uses a wide range of dangerous chemicals which form constituents of modelling materials including paints, plaster and plastics. For example, the hardener component of many 2-pack materials presents potential skin and respiratory irritations which can lead to allergic reactions.
Twenty-five staff in the model making team and facility department recently benefited from our COSHH (Control of Substances that are Hazardous to Health in the Workplace) Awareness & Assessors training course delivered at its premises. The themes covered in the day-long course included general hazard awareness and consolidating COSHH risk assessments to cover the wide range of chemicals the team use. The morning session focused on working safely with hazardous materials with the afternoon for those in a management and supervisory capacity focussing on COSHH Assessments and managing the risk.
Aardman takes the welfare and safety of its uniquely skilled workforce very seriously. It has safe systems of work in place to ensure compliance with COSHH (2002), which states that companies should undertake "a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk created by that work to the health of those employees and of the steps that need to be taken to meet the requirements of these regulations."
Aardman adopts the risk control measures as required by COSHH to minimise risk. Exposure is prevented where possible or minimised for example using fume cupboards, flexible extraction arms which are positioned on benches to draw fumes from the process away from the model making staff and protect them from noxious or volatile chemicals. They also use suitable personal protective equipment including masks and gloves, where necessary to further reduce risk. This dynamic production company recognises the importance and benefits of training for their dedicated workforce to maintain compliance with regulation 12 of COSHH that states the need for suitable information, instruction and training. Many of the staff are temporary and each production often involves new recruitment, thus there is a challenge to ensure that all staff have received the necessary awareness training.
The in-company training approach has clear benefits; not only does it eliminate staff travel, it minimises disruption to work but savings also apply if there is a large group of attendees. It also ensures that there can be a focus on tasks relevant to their activities rather than generic chemical industry hazards. We understand that there is no 'one size-fits all' training solution; every business has its individual needs and requirements and we tailor our training accordingly so it can be applied to their workplace.
Dr Alex Hills , experienced in occupational hygiene and hazardous area classification was the consultant who delivered the training for Aardman. He was able to consider only the chemicals used by the model making team and mock risk assessments and control measures were undertaken and discussed. This enabled the team to apply what was learnt directly to the everyday work hazards and risks and manage them effectively. Alex says:
"Working with Aardman Animations was fun by the very nature of what they do. The team I worked with are currently creating models such as ships, crowd scenes and characters for a feature called " The Pirates! - In An Adventure With Scientists"; the creative skill involved is incredible. It is a good example of how it isn't only t he obvious chemical-based industries that need COSHH training. Chemical issues are a health and safety concern across a huge diversity of sectors, and we offer bespoke training to suit any organisation that needs to manage these kinds of risks."
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