Reading through endless acronyms and jargon can be pretty confusing which is why we have tried to keep things as simple as possible and also written this handy blog for you in case you aren’t sure what certain things mean.
ALARP As Low as Reasonably Practicable (see SFAIRP)
BOHS British Occupational Hygiene Society
BSI British Standards Institute
CBI Confederation of British Industry
CDG The Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations
CDM Construction (Design & Management) Regulations
CFC Chlorofluorocarbons
CFM Cubic Feet per Minute – Amount of air flowing through a given space in one minute
CHIP Chemical Hazards Information and Packaging
CO Carbon Monoxide
CO2 Carbon Dioxide
COMAH Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations
COSHH Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations
DB Decibel
DDA Disability Discrimination Act – Replaced by the Equality Act
DSE Display Screen Equipment
DSEAR Dangerous Substances & Explosive Atmosphere Regulations
EA Environmental Agency
EAW Electricity at Work Regulations
EHO Environmental Health Officer
EMAS Employment Medical Advisory Service
FA Factories Act
FH(G) Food Hygiene (General) Regulations
FLT Fork Lift Truck
FPA Fire Precautions Act – See also RRFSO
FPWR Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations – See also RRFSO
RRFSO Regulatory Reform ( Fire Safety) Order
GMC General Medical Council
GP General Practitioner
H&S Health & Safety
HAZCHEM Hazardous Chemical Warning Signs
HR Human Resources
HSE Health & Safety Executive
HASWA Health & Safety at Work Act
ICOH International Commission on Occupational Health
IOD Institute of Directors
IOSH Institution of Occupational Safety & Health
IRM Integrated Risk Management (Us lot)
LOLER Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations
LPG Liquid Petroleum Gas
MEL Maximum Exposure Limit
MHOR Manual Handling Operation Regulations
MHSWR Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations
MSD Musculoskeletal Disorder
MSDS Material Data Safety Sheet
NAWR Noise at Work Regulations
NEBOSH National Examination Board of Occupational Safety and Health
NOSH Something to have at lunch
NHS National Health Service
NIHL Noise Induced Hearing Loss
OHSAS 18001 BSI Standard for Occupational Health & Safety
OSRPA Offices Shops & Railway Premises Act
OMG We made this one up
PAT Portable Appliance Test
PPE Personal Protective Equipment
Ppb Parts Per Billion
Ppm Parts Per Million
PUWER Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations
QA/QC Quality Assurance/Quality Control
RCD Residual Current Device
RIDDOR Reporting of Injuries, Disease & Dangerous Occurrences Regulations
RITA Record of In-Training Assessment
RoSPA Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
RPE Respiratory Protective Equipment
RSA Regional Specialty Adviser
RSI Repetitive Strain Injury
SBS Sick Building Syndrome
SFAIRP So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable (see ALARP)
SWL Safe Working Load
TUC Trades Union Congress
VDU Visual Display Unit
WHO World Health Organisation
WHSWR Workplace (Health Safety & Welfare) Regulations
WRULD Work Related Upper Limb Disorder
WEL Work place Exposure Limit
F(S)A Fire (Scotland) Act
HSA Health & Safety Authority (Republic of Ireland)
ICO Information Commissioners Offics
WLL Working Load Limit (See also SWL)
OSHCR Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register
