Managing Workplace Safety
Workplace safety must be managed in just the same sense as
personnel and sales for example. Some of the areas to be considered
are discussed below.
Safety Policies
If you have five or more employees you must prepare a written
safety policy which clearly sets out the organisation and
arrangements for workplace safety. A safety policy is a working
document which helps to clarify responsibilities for safety,
formalise procedures such as accident notification and explain
safety rules to staff. As such, it is the starting point for
effective safety management.
Policies should include the following items as a
minimum:
- A brief statement of the company's commitment to health and
safety.
- Details of your organisation for safety including people and
their responsibilities, and any committees or working groups.
- Details of the main hazards in the workplace and precautions to
be taken to control the risk of injury. This can include safety
rules and procedures such as accident reporting, fire and first
aid.
The length of the policy will depend upon the complexity of
your business; the Council's Officers will be able to advise
further and guidance booklets are available. Your safety policy
must be reviewed regularly to ensure it is still up to date, be
actively brought to the attention of all staff and be signed and
dated by senior company management.
References
- Stating Your Business - Guidance on preparing a Health and
Safety Policy Document for small firms (INDG324)
- Booklet "Our health and safety policy statement: guide to
preparing a safety policy statement for a small business". (ISBN 0
7176 0424 1) n
Risk assessment
The management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
places a duty on the employer to identify hazards in the workplace
and assess the risks of injury that they present to both employees
and non employees. Non employees may include contract workers,
customers and the public. Assessments and control measures
identified need to be recorded and the information made available
to employees. Employers are required to appoint a competent person
to assist in undertaking these requirements. The self employed are
also required to assess the risk to their own safety.
Training and Information
Under the Health and Safety Information for Employees
Regulations 1989 every employer must display a poster or distribute
a leaflet to employees setting out basic information on health and
safety law. Both poster and leaflet "Health & Safety Law -
What you should know" are available from "HSE Books". (See the
reference section at the back of the book for details). Employees
must also be given the name and address of the enforcing authority
for the workplace and the HSE's Employment Medical Advisory Service
(EMAS). The poster has spaces to write in this information.
In addition, employees must be given information and training
to enable them to carry out their duties safely. "The
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: Approved
Code of Practice" specifically identifies employers'
responsibilities on training. They must understand the potential
hazards and how to avoid them.
Where possible training should be in the form of courses
making use of appropriate material and equipment and given by
competent people i.e. those with suitable qualifications or
experience. You should keep records of any training given, even in
house training. The records should include course content and
people trained. Remember to pay particular attention to the
training of young and inexperienced employees.
An introductory leaflet, 'Mind how you go', aimed at younger
employees is available free of charge. Some jobs, such as forklift
truck drivers and some abrasive wheel workers, require special
training to a particular standard. Consult your safety inspector if
you are in any doubt about your training needs.
References
- IND(G)2(L) Mind how you go!
- Booklet Train to survive.
Systems of work
A quarter of all fatal accidents at work involve simple
failures in systems of work. Employers are under a legal duty to
provide safe systems of work, i.e. ways of doing things for their
staff. It is unlikely that safe systems will occur in a workplace
naturally so it is important that tasks are assessed with safety in
mind and that the following items are considered:
- What are the risks from this task?
- How can these risks be eliminated or minimised by a safe system
of work?
- Does everyone know and understand the safe system of work?
Safe systems can involve the use of protective clothing,
proper lifting techniques or the use of proper equipment or guards.
For certain jobs, such as machinery maintenance or working in
confined spaces, safe systems of work should be incorporated into a
permit-to-work system in which workers must read and sign written
instructions prior to starting work. Further guidance on safe
systems is available from your inspector.
Assessing your performance
It is important that you monitor health and safety performance
on a day to day basis at your own work place. You or supervisors
should carry out safety inspections informally and formally at
regular intervals. Safety checklists of matters to be looked at can
be helpful in this. Inspections should check that the workplace is
safe, that guards and other items of protective equipment are being
used; that safe systems of work are being followed and that the
measures identified from the risk assessments are being applied.
Such inspections should aim to improve safety standards and to
demonstrate the importance of safe working to staff. Improvements
should be made and checked where problems are
identified.
Consultation
It is essential to consult your employees if you want to
improve your health and safety standards as their co-operation and
knowledge are vital. Where unions are recognised in the workplace
staff are legally entitled to appoint their own safety
representatives to discuss health and safety matters with their
employers. They are they are also entitled to carry out inspections
and investigation in the workplace. Where there is no union present
it is also a legal requirement (Health & Safety
(Consultation with employees) Regulations 1996)
to consult employees about matters which affect their health and
safety. He may either consult them all directly or through
representatives they have elected. Employees are also legally
required to consult their employers if they consider there are
situations or shortcomings which affect their health and
safety.
Reference
- COP 1 Safety representatives and safety committees
- HSC 8 Safety committees. Guidance to employers whose employees
are not Members of recognised independent trade unions.
- IND(G) 199(L) Safety representatives and safety committees : a
brief guide for the work force.
- IND(G) 232(L) Consulting employees on health and safety.
Safety Documentation
It is recommended that safety documentation be kept separately
and filed or displayed as appropriate. A basic check list for a
typical business is given below; you may require more than this
depending upon the nature of your equipment and business.
- Safety Policy.
- Information for employees poster or leaflet "Health &
Safety Law".
- Risk assessment and control measures identified.
- Certificate of Employers Liability Insurance.
- Letters and reports from Council or HSE inspections.
- Your own inspection reports
- Staff training records.
- Accident book
- Accident reporting forms.
- Fire certificate (if required).
- COSHH assessment.
- Electrical test certificate and records.
- Inspection and test certificates for lifting and other
equipment.
- Noise assessment (if required).
- Manual handling assessment (significant findings) if
required.
Contractors
Employers should exchange information with the contractor on
the risks identified in the work place (risk assessments). The
contractor is also obliged to provide similar information
concerning any risks they are likely to introduce and the
preventive measures identified.
The health and safety duties of employers mean that they have
particular responsibilities where contractors and sub-contractors
are concerned. The checklist on the following page outlines some of
the necessary safeguards.
- Choose contractors that are competent and reliable.
- Require contractors, preferably in writing, to comply with all
relevant statutory requirements.
- Require contractors, preferably in writing, to comply with your
company's safety rules. Provide sufficient information on the
detail of these rules; you may use your safety policy to do
this.
- Obtain a copy of the contractor's safety policy (if the company
is large enough to require one) and satisfy yourself as far as you
are able that it is adequate.
- Assign responsibility for the contractor to a supervising
officer for the duration of their time on site so that the
necessary safety checks and management supervision can be
made.
- Consider restricting the contractor to certain areas of the
premises.
References
- HS(G)65 Successful health and safety management. (ISBN 0 7176
0425 X) n
- Booklet Essentials of health and safety at work. (ISBN 0 7176
0176 X) n
- IND(GS) 132(L) Five steps to successful health and safety
management.
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 :
Approved Code of Practice. (ISBN 0 11 886330 4) n
Managing Safety - a checklist
- Is there a written safe policy if there are more than
four employees?
- Are safe systems of work in place and operated?
- Is safety performance assessed internally by checklist and
inspections?
- Are contractors adequately controlled?
- Are employees consulted about safety?
- Is adequate training and information available for staff?
- Have all the hazards and associated risks in the workplace been
assessed and the preventive measures identified? Have these been
recorded if there are more than four employees and the findings
brought to the attention of employees?
- Is the accident book kept up to date and kept available for
inspection?
think about.......
1)
- Is the policy formally reviewed annually?
- Is the policy still current or have procedures or structures
changed?
- Is the policy signed by the managing director or
equivalent?
- Are people's responsibilities and chains of communication clear
in the policy?
- Are all staff aware of the policy?
2)
- Is the policy formally reviewed annually?
- Is the policy still current or have procedures or structures
changed?
- Is the policy signed by the managing director or
equivalent?
- Are people's responsibilities and chains of communication clear
in the policy?
- Are all staff aware of the policy?
3)
- Are safety inspections carried out regularly?
- Are defects remedied promptly?
- Are checklists used to monitor performance?
- Are risk assessments and measures reviewed and monitored on a
regular basis?
- Has a competent person been appointed in the department?
4)
- Have safe systems of work been established for hazardous
jobs?
- Are staff aware of appropriate systems of work?
- Are permit to work systems in place where necessary?
5)
- Is responsibility for contractors assigned to a manager?
- Are reputable competent contractors selected for work?
- Are contractors' safety policies reviewed?
- Are contractors given adequate information about site
hazards?
6)
- Does the employer see the Accident Book regularly?
- Do the employees know where to find the Accident Book?
7)
- Are staff training records kept up to date?
- Is adequate induction training provided?
- Is refresher training provided for existing staff?
- Are staff given adequate information about health risks?
8)
- Are staff consulted about safety standards and
precautions?
- Are safety representatives and committees used if
requested?
- Are staff/committee suggestions regarding safety assessed and
implemented where appropriate.
Any further information can be obtained by contacting the
Food & Safety
Team