Unit 10

Unit 10 : Awareness of Health and Safety in the Creative Media Sector


Understand the relevant health and safety regulations in the Creative Media sector


1.1 Describe key elements of health and safety regulations, relevant to working in the Creative Media sector
Health and Safety skills when in the Creative Media Industry are just as important as any other industry, having many hazards and risks which if not monitored could be harmful or possibly life threatening. The key elements are organisation, what measures and procedures need to be put into place to keep risks and hazards identified and to a minimum. Planning and making sure that everything is up to the legal standard. Policies are put in place to make sure that these health and safety requirements are being met. First aid boxes should be fully equipped and all staff should be fully aware of where the first aid box is. The correct procedures should take place to prevent potential injury or harm in the workplace.




1.2 Explain safe working practices for a specific job role 
A Lighting Director would need to be able to plan ahead and to have a logical approach to problem solving. It is also key to have a good knowledge of the Health and Safety regulations. The safe working practices that would need to be put into place would include ensuring that electrical equipment such as over head lights don't overheat. Loose wires and cables are considered a risk and measures should be put into place to control that all wires are kept together and clearly marked so that they are not putting anyone in danger. They should also be kept tidy when not in use.

1.3 Describe the main employer responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act
Main employer responsibilities in the work place include

• Ensuring that every employer is fully aware of the Health and Safety requirements and has a good understanding of procedures and policies.
• Provide employees with information and training.
• Ensure that any risks to employees health and safety are minimised. 

2.1 Describe the differences between hazards and risks 
A hazard is something that can cause harm for example, chemicals, working at height and loose cables. A risk is the chance that somebody will be harmed by the hazard. Which can be classified by high, medium and low.


2.2 Carry out a risk assessment
A risk assessment is a careful examination of what could cause harm to people. In the Creative Media industry the production company/producer can look at the whether adequate and controlled measures have taken place or more need to be put in place to reduce the risk of harm. Minimum legal standards should also be met.

Carrying out a risk assessment

The first step is to look for hazards and concentrate on the areas that could be a risk and cause injury or harm. The second step is to look at who may be harmed or affected by the hazards. Next you need to evaluate the risk and consider the severity of harm it may cause. By doing this you need to judge whether the risk is high, medium or low and detemine what needs to be put in place to control these measures. A way to control the measures is by using the hierarcy of approach which includes the following steps

• Avoid the risk completely
• Reduce the risk to acceptable levels
• Provide training and protective equipment if the risks can't be solved in another way
• Reduce risk at source by developing safe systems of working, giving collective measures priority.

The fourth step is to record the findings which should be communicated to the people that could be at risk. In the Creative Media industry this would mean ensuring that production teams are informed of the hazard, risks and what can be put in place to control it. Companies should keep a record of their findings for future reference. The legal requirement is to record findings if the company is 5 or more people but smaller companies are required to record details of their findings to show that they have carried out a correct risk assessment. The last step is to review and go over your risk assessments as new hazards could be introduced if there is any change in any procedures or activities. Risk assessments should be reviewed every 3 years if none of the procedures have changed.



An example of a risk assessment

My Risk Assessment -

In the middle of my apprenticeship we moved to a different building so I assessed the hazards: 

2.3 Report identified hazards and risks to the appropriate parties 

Hazards that would be common in a Creative Media industry as most of the injuries are from working at height for example, focusing or adjusting lights and setting up equipment. Measures would have to be put into place at it is considered a high risk. There is a legal hierarcy for selecting equipment at height based on the safest possible method of work. Another thing that would be considered a hazard in the creative media workplace would be manual handling. Most loads are heavy and difficult to move in combined spaces this could be considered a risk and again controls would have to be put in place to prevent harm or injury.

2.4 Suggest ways of reducing risks to health and safety in a specific Creative Media job role

To prevent these risks happening in the media industry control measures would have to be put into place. When working at height for example in staging you could bring scenery items down to ground level to adjust them or you could use auto focus or bounce focus lights so there is a low risk of injury. For work positioning you could use fixed length lines to prevent falls. Another thing that could be put in place is using nets or harnesses to put on when adjusting equipment.