Inform, train and supervise
August 1st 2007 Areview of training needs in your company could be a good time to give your whole health and safety policy a check up, explains the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents' (RoSPA's) occupational safety advisor Roger Bibbings The UK is a world-leader in work-related risk management due to systems of prevention that have been built up over generations. Yet despite this, there are still 1.6 million workplace injuries every year as well as 2.2 million cases of ill health caused or made worse by work, the biggest cause being musculo-skeletal disorders such as back pain. In 2005/06, 212 people suffered notifiable fatal injuries at work and 384 members of the public were also killed. Ten workers in the manufacturing industries alone died after contact with moving machinery. These figures exclude the many hundreds of employees killed in accidents while driving as part of their job, the tens of thousands who suffer permanent disabling injuries, and the thousands of people who die early due to past exposure to harmful agents such as asbestos or other cancer causing agents. It is clear, therefore, that there is still much work to be done to tackle workplace health and safety problems. The underlying principles of health and safety There are obvious legal and moral reasons for keeping safety and the protection of people's health at the top of the agenda. There is also a very powerful 'business case' for safety. On the other hand, because of the huge variety of issues under the health and safety banner plus the need to keep up-to-date with regulations, guidance and product innovations health and safety can appear a massive challenge, particularly for smaller firms. The good news is that the underlying principles of health and safety management are really quite straightforward. Essentially, employers have to ensure, 'so far as is reasonably practicable', the absence of risk to the safety and health of employees and others affected by their undertakings. They also have to provide essential welfare facilities. There are certain basic principles, which if implemented effectively, enable organisations to achieve this: Have a system in place to manage health and safety and, if you employ more than five people, set it out in a written policy statement. You need to be able to show how you plan, organise, control, monitor and review preventative measures, and you need a 'competent person' to help you understand and respond appropriately to your legal duties. Identify your main hazards (things that could cause harm) Assess your risks (which have the highest probability and worst consequences?) to make sure your risk control measures are adequate and that they are used and maintained. (If you employ more than five people, you need to record the results of the assessment). Safety measures have to be sensible and balanced. You do not need to go over the top. But if necessary, put in place back-up measures such as emergency procedures. Inform, train and supervise employees. Do certain things consistently like: consulting your workforce; regular health and safety checks; reporting, recording and investigating accidents and near-misses; providing employees and others with certain basic information. Also make sure you have provided suitable first aid and welfare facilities and have employers' liability insurance. Make time periodically to review performance and feed back lessons learned to improve controls and management arrangements. There is an underlying requirement to reduce or eliminate hazards at source, or isolate people from them (for example, by guarding machinery), before using other forms of control. Relying on the use of personal protective equipment such as respirators or protective footwear is a last resort and is only acceptable when all other options have failed. Help is at hand Reassurance should also come from the fact that significant help is available, including from the Health and Safety Executive. RoSPA offers a range of training courses, consultancy services and resources, with a growing focus on meeting the specific needs of individual companies. It is also important to remember that a safe and healthy working environment cannot be achieved by just one person within a company. It has to be a team effort, involving employees and their representatives, and being led from board level. Getting proper health and safety co-ordination going with other businesses with which you come into contact is also vital. Checking your arrangements Checking up on whether the foundations the policies, procedures and people - for managing health and safety systematically are up to scratch in your firm might seem burdensome, but it is actually a valuable use of time. It can help to highlight things that work well and that should be maintained, as well as flag up areas that might require increased attention. More articles from RoSPA: | 
