Unit IA Revision Guide Element IA1: Principles of Health and Safety Management R IA L Reasons for Effective Management of Health and Safety We can identify three main reasons for the need to manage health and safety risk. Moral Employer owes a duty of reasonable care to his employees. AT E Society expects employers to ensure the health and safety of their workforce. It is unacceptable to place employees in situations where their health and safety is at risk. Legal M Preventive - enforcement notices issued by enforcement inspectors. PL E Punitive - criminal courts impose fines and imprisonment for breaches of legal duties. Compensatory - employees are able to sue in the civil courts for compensation. Economic Insurance will cover some costs of accidents and ill-health, such as: M Compensation claims from employees. Damage to motor vehicles. SA Other costs that cannot be insured against: Fines from criminal prosecutions. Loss of highly trained and/or experienced staff. C Effects on employee morale and the resulting reduction in productivity. R Bad publicity leading to loss of contracts and/or orders. R Organisations can find it very difficult to fully quantify costs of accidents for a variety of reasons. The company may: Lack resources (expertise/time/people) to perform the analysis. Lack understanding that some costs exist and so miss them entirely. Suffer from under-reporting/non-reporting (and so be unaware). Not know the full cost for a long time (on-going civil case, effect of loss of goodwill, etc.). © RRC International 13 Unit IA Revision Guide Societal Factors which Influence an Organisation’s Health and Safety Standards and Priorities Certain societal factors influence health and safety standards, particularly: R IA L Economic climate - wealthy countries can afford to give occupational health and safety a higher priority. Government policy - those who work tend to be healthier than those who are unemployed. Improving workers’ health will help keep people at work, who can then contribute financially to society. AT E Risk profile - higher-risk activities demand greater standards than for lower-risk activities. Globalisation - businesses that operate across the world may adopt different standards depending on the requirements of the host countries. M Migrant workers - in recent years immigration policies have increased the proportion of migrant workers. PL E National level of sickness and incapacity – in the UK, for example, the proportion of the working-age population on incapacity benefits is much higher today than in the 1970s. Societal expectations of equality - health and safety standards and priorities can be determined by changes in societies’ expectations of equality. M Uses of, and the Reasons for, Introducing a Health and Safety Management System SA What is a Management System? All management systems have the same common elements: Plan - implies having a considered policy. C Do - concerns the arrangements for putting the plan into practice. Act – means performance should be reviewed leading to continuous improvement in the management system. R R Check – means it is necessary to assess or monitor performance. 14 © RRC International Unit IA Revision Guide Health and Safety Management Models C SA M PL E M AT E The general principles of the guidance are illustrated in the following figure: R IA L Most organisations have management systems for one or more aspects of management. In relation to safety, two good sources of advice are OHSAS 18001:2007 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems - Requirements and the UK HSE publication HSG65 Managing for Health and Safety (2013). A characteristic of these management models is that they view the organisation as a system with inputs, internal processes and outputs. The Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle based on the approach in HSG65 R Application of the PDCA Cycle R The Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle achieves a balance between the systems and behavioural aspects of management and treats health and safety as an integral part of good management rather than as a stand-alone system. The cycle starts with a planning process to control risks which is implemented through risk assessment, checked by measuring performance and reviewed so that action is taken to improve. © RRC International 15 Unit IA Revision Guide The Reasons for the Introduction of Health and Safety Management Systems Management system models offer a framework for management to focus on in order to manage health and safety. Appropriate allocation of resources. Appropriate allocation of responsibilities. Setting and monitoring performance standards. AT E Feedback and implementation of corrective action. R IA L The following are key issues that require a health and safety management system to deliver: A simple justification for introducing a health and safety management system is to improve the business through: M Better health and safety performance which will reduce the costs from accidents and incidents. Greater awareness of legal requirements which will reduce the chances of committing an offence. PL E Improved relations and morale as employees see that their health and safety is being looked after. Improved image and positive PR from a publicly responsible attitude towards employees. M Greater business efficiency which will reduce costs. Reduced insurance premiums by demonstrating more effective risk control. SA Greater confidence from banks and investors by showing more effective risk management systems. R R C Principles and Content of Effective Health and Safety Management Systems Health and Safety Policy Health and Safety Management Systems Sets the whole framework of the safety management system (SMS) and should: Demonstrate commitment. Frame the company vision on health and safety. State the overall health and safety objectives of the organisation. 16 © RRC International Unit IA Revision Guide Express commitment to improving health and safety performance. Be authorised by top management. Commit the organisation to compliance with legislation. R IA L Be communicated to all employees and other interested parties. Be kept up to date by periodic review. Communication of Health and Safety Information Communicates: AT E –– The company’s approach to managing health and safety. –– The organisation’s commitment to health and safety to existing employees (preferably by means of their own copy). Can be used: M –– In the induction of new employees (to stress the importance of safety). –– To involve workforce representatives in writing and amending the policy, when necessary. –– At regular briefing sessions to communicate information relating to different sections of the policy. PL E Requirements for a Written Health and Safety Policy A health and safety policy may be a requirement of national legislation in some regions. Even if it is not a legal requirement, it is required by ILO-OSH 2001 (which supports ILO conventions) and OHSAS 18001. M General Principles and Objectives of a Health and Safety Policy Document The principle of the health and safety policy document is that it sets out: SA What needs to be done. Who needs to do it. How it’s going to be achieved. C The policy is therefore usually made up of: R A statement of intent that sets out the aims and objectives of the organisation regarding health and safety. R An organisational structure that details the people with health and safety responsibilities and their duties. The systems and procedures in place to manage risks. © RRC International 17 Unit IA Revision Guide Practical objectives might include: Supporting human resource development. Minimising the financial losses which arise from avoidable unplanned events. R IA L Recognising that accidents, ill health and incidents result from failings in management control and are not necessarily the fault of individual employees. Recognising that the development of a culture supportive of health and safety is necessary to achieve adequate control over risks. Ensuring a systematic approach to the identification of risks and the allocation of resources to control them. AT E Supporting quality initiatives aimed at continuous improvement. Key Elements of a Health and Safety Management System M ILO-OSH-2001 Guidelines on Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems The elements of this system are as follows: Organising. PL E Policy. Planning and Implementation. Evaluation. M Action for Improvement. R R C SA Continual Improvement. 18 © RRC International M AT E R IA L Unit IA Revision Guide PL E Model Health and Safety Management System (ILO-OSH-2001) Copyright © International Labour Organisation 2001 The basic elements are very similar to OHSAS 18001. It is intended that the safety management system should be compatible with, or integrated into, other management systems within the organisation. M OHSAS 18001:2007 - Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems - Requirements SA OHSAS 18001 requires an organisation to determine its existing health and safety activities, and to develop programmes and systems that focus on the elimination of risk to staff and other parties. These processes are then developed into a management system that primarily aims to ensure that health and safety performance is continuously monitored and improved. C The elements of the system are: R Occupational Health and Safety Policy. Planning. R Implementation and Operation. Checking and Corrective Action. Management Review. Continual Improvement. © RRC International 19
