Now I’m not one to moan about H&S stuff usually, but there’s a sign on the water fountain at work saying that for H&S reasons you are only allowed to full small plastic cups from it. No bottles.

Wtf? Really? It’s over its own sink, you’re no more likely to spill water from a bottle than a little plastic cup..?

Is there any way I can challenge over-zealous H&S assessments?

first thing is to ask to see the risk assessment that must have been carried out

Some water coolers only give out those tiny conical “cups”,bloody useless!.

Bottle of water, 2 man lift??

Oh yeah, and the other thing that really pisses off the entire staff here is that there are no kitchens and no microwaves (apart from one that is time locked to only work after hours) so you can’t bring or store your own food. This has been specified as a H&S issue, and many people have been trying to get it overturned.

God knows why – apparently there’s more of a risk with hot drinks and food here than there is in every other bloody office in the country!

Are the plastic cups provided? No problem then. Fill plastic cup from cooler, fill bottle from cup. Repeat until full. Sorted.

you’re no more likely to spill water from a bottle than a little plastic cup..?

But more water means the potential consequences might be worse?

Are there are lot of PCs or other electricals nearby?

You can’t go blaming H&S for any of this. There’s an idiot somewhere laminating signs that’s to blame.

Find the laminator, pour the cup of water in it. Job done.

Is it something to do with the manufacturer of said plastic bottle, i.e evain, volvic etc….. Not recommending the bottles are refilled. I could be wrong though ❓

Are the plastic cups provided? No problem then. Fill plastic cup from cooler, fill bottle from cup. Repeat until full. Sorted.

Good plan!

I’m not blaming H&S legislation, I’m blaming the assessor and wondering if the legislation includes an appeals process 🙂

Are there are lot of PCs or other electricals nearby?

No, it’s in the canteen. Afaik it’s the only drinking water tap in the building, so I would have to walk a long way carrying open cups to bring water to my desk.

Not recommending the bottles are refilled.

I’m sure the manufacturers of cycling drinking bottles DO recommend their bottles are refilled!

is it a hygiene issue? rather than the filling and carrying of bottles could it be that re-using bottles and having them come into contact with the machine is risky with respect to the spreading of germs?
either way, it’s bunkum.
in protest I’d put my mouth round the tap and drink from source.

You’re not supposed to refill disposable water bottles. Something to do with the plastic composition. I used to ignore this till I discovered one that had gone green. Grim. These days, if I’m using disposables I’ll refill them for a couple of days and then replace.

Cycle bottles et al are designed to be reused. Not sure as I’m seeing the H&S issue in putting water into a water bottle. I’d guess what’s more likely is that it’s an effort to reduce the amount of water everyone’s tearing through. How many people fill a bottle in the morning then pour half of it away the next day and refill it?

I’m all for a safe working environment, but I’m also a big fan of common sense natural selection. If you can’t work out that coffee might be hot without having to have a warning printed on the cup, you probably shouldn’t be out of the house without a responsible adult to help you.

Ours have the same signs. It’s the germ transfer excuse with us. This article suggests that your bottle might be slightly less hygienic than you think though!

Mates a shop floor manager at Buxton spring and he was only the other day strongly suggesting not refilling bottles due to some germ or another.

Germ transfer? My bottle = my germs, and I’ll take my chances with those. Work are satisfying their obligations by providing germ-free water at source. The moment I dispense it, it’s my problem.

What about the risk of transferring your cooties to the water spigot for the enjoyment of others?

It may now also be the same in England, but in Scotland it is illegal to refill a glass from a beer tap in a pub. This is due to the risk of cross-contamination.

Work are satisfying their obligations by providing germ-free water at source. The moment I dispense it, it’s my problem.

That’s what they’re trying to do but there’s always someone who comes along and uses their water bottle on it spreading their germs to others.

one of my collegues was told off by the H&S officer for drinking directly from the fountain. he quickly retorted the fact that a re-used bottle is likely to have more pathogens than his mouth. they couldn’t really argue considering his mouth didn’t even touch the fountain but their bottle neck did.

To answer your specific question:

– assuming your workplace is of reasonable size (which it presumably is to have this sort of stuff) then there will be a health and safety committee. They are your route for feeding back when nonsense happens. You will have employee representatives on that committee. Unfortunately, in my experience, this roll seems to self select for exactly the sort of person you wouldn’t want in that role.

As for what risk they have identified I can see two possibilities:

– the risk that you do take the water back to your desk and spill it everywhere; by providing conical cups they make it unlikely that you will attempt to do this [although I would see it as a challenge!]
– the risk that people refill dirty cups therefore contaminating the nozzle or lever that triggers the flow. Next user then gets their ‘dregs’ on/in their cup. Some people will never wash a bottle / cup and as reported above it can get a bit manky.

Is this one of those “mineral” water dispensers (19L barrel on top). If it is you probably don’t want to drink its contents anyway. I’ve tested several of them for microbial content both during routine use and just after they have been serviced. Many of them would fail to meet the drinking water (potable water) standard, and I think everyone I tested was way below the standard you would expect from a normal kitchen tap. Imagine if you filled a gerry can up then drove on a camping trip a week later, having left it in the boot of your warm car for a week then every time someone wanted a glass of water you bubbled a ‘glass of air’ through the water – leaving it in the sun and generally festering. Would you still want to drink that water 3 or 4 days into the trip? In some offices a barrel can last 2-3 weeks between changes, and deliveries of barrels might only be every month or two…

I think you should rebel against The Man.

We had similar signs in my last work, as long as you don’t touch the mouth of your bottle to the tap, I don’t see the problem. I flouted it on a twice daily basis. Never got sacked. Or Legionella.

This is quite common in those gym places I believe, but that’s more because they want to sell you bottled water.

But more water means the potential consequences might be worse?

Good point, you should never over dilute the potent memory effect of Homoeopathy.

You’re not supposed to refill disposable water bottles. Something to do with the plastic composition. I used to ignore this till I discovered one that had gone green. Grim. These days, if I’m using disposables I’ll refill them for a couple of days and then replace.

Cycle bottles et al are designed to be reused. Not sure as I’m seeing the H&S issue in putting water into a water bottle. I’d guess what’s more likely is that it’s an effort to reduce the amount of water everyone’s tearing through. How many people fill a bottle in the morning then pour half of it away the next day and refill it?
Hmmm, that sounds plausible to me.
I refill disposable bottles, but they’re always emptied out and allowed to dry afterwards, and any signs of ikkyness they are properly washed out with a bottle brush.
I’ve seen proper cycle bottles develop an interesting green tinge when left for a while as well.
I’m not a cheapskate reusing water bottles, I hardly ever buy bottled water, but the bottles are a more convenient size to stick in a bag.

It’s a while since I did this but your workplace is supposed to have a means of heating food, providing potable water and somewhere to store the food prior to heating it. The welfare at work regs are your friend. Guidance is here.
If you’re feeling snippy a question about the competence of the person deciding how your welfare facilities are used might not go amiss.

the risk that people refill dirty cups therefore contaminating the nozzle or lever that triggers the flow

Well that’s a reasonable point, thanks 🙂

It’s a while since I did this but your workplace is supposed to have a means of heating food, providing potable water and somewhere to store the food prior to heating it

We do have a full service canteen. I suppose that trumps those requirements?

+1 for what Poly says 😆
We had issues with water dispensers at my work. The tap water is rank and after many years of people bringing in their own water to work our employer caved in and had dispensers installed. Some of these dispensers were in brightly lit areas or in an area with lots of daylight. These didpensers suffered from nasty algae growths!!! They now have “hoods” over the water bottles. Full water bottles must be stored in a dark area away from daylight if being stored for any length of time to prevent algae growth ❗
Given what we found out during that period no-one re-uses a drinks water bottle 💡
btw we used to make th polymer that is used in the manufacture of bottles…

I once got told off for filling a 2 ltr camelbak at work “was taking the P**s” apparently although the water wasn’t at all yellow!.

One of these days I’m going to do a risk assessment to demonstrate the risks of overzealous H&S, not least that it turns everyone off so much and demotivates any interest in it that the important bits get missed too.

Are the plastic cups provided? No problem then. Fill plastic cup from cooler, fill bottle from cup. Repeat until full. Sorted.

lol, like your thinking 😉

+2

Are the plastic cups provided? No problem then. Fill plastic cup from cooler, fill bottle from cup. Repeat until full. Sorted.