University of Western Sydney
In Conjunction with
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Development of
an Occupational Health and Safety Management
System Framework for
an Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Services Organisation
By
K.C. Lo
A report submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for
Master of Applied Science (Safety Management)
December, 2001
Development of OHS Management System Framework
for an E&M Engineering Services Organisation
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DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
The following work has been completed by the author as coursework research project
report in the Master of Applied Science (Safety Management) at the University of
Western Sydney in conjunction with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University under the
supervision of Mr. Patrick S.K. Poon.
I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my
knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another
person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any
other degree or diploma of a University or other institute of higher learning, except
where due acknowledgement has been made in the text.
K.C. Lo
December, 2001
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Declaration of Originality
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ABSTRACT
The Organisation under study has to develop an occupational health and safety (OHS)
management system to comply with the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety
Management) Regulation. Review of published literatures indicated that the standards
based OHS management systems were inflexible, lacking psychosocial consideration
and lacking implementation guidelines whereas key elements from “OHS best
practices” were found to be associated with good OHS performance. Literatures also
showed that to be effective, an OHS management system should fit the organisation’s
specific situations such as culture, size and type of hazards. In addition, safety
professionals found that perception surveys were useful in tracking employees’ views
about OHS and reviewing effectiveness of OHS management practices.
As a case study, a questionnaire perception survey was conducted for samples of the
Organisation’s employees to review the Organisation’s performance in respect of the 6
key elements identified from the “OHS best practices”. These included management
commitment, employee participation, preventive approach, integration of OHS with line
management function, OHS training and continuous improvement. The survey also
checked for any OHS perception differences among employees at different ranks, i.e.
front line staff, supervisory staff and line management personnel.
The research concluded that the Organisation’s OHS performance against the 6 key
elements were satisfactory but with rooms for improvement. Line management
personnel had more involvement in OHS activities and rated the Organisation’s OHS
performance better than the other two ranks. The OHS values and attitudes of the
employees as revealed from the perception survey were not fully consistent with the key
elements for effective OHS management. The Organisation was recommended to
enhance its communication for OHS messages and activities to close perception gap,
provide more OHS training for safety awareness and competence, and review channels
and opportunities for promoting employee participation in OHS. An OHS management
system framework, encompassing the key OHS elements and the various interrelated
dimensions of an organisation, was also suggested to the Organisation for accident
prevention, continuous improvement in OHS, and cultivation of positive OHS culture.
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Abstract
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I owe a lot to the invaluable support from Mr. Patrick S.K. Poon, my project supervisor,
who has rendered me professional advice and guidance during the course of my
research project. I would also thank Dr. Sue Reed, the Course Coordinator, and Dr. Zina
O’Leary of the University of Western Sydney for their advice given during the project
seminars, which has enabled me to critically review the design and contents of my
research. The timely coordination and assistance by staff of the Industrial Centre and
School of Professional Education and Executive Development (SPEED) of the Hong
Kong Polytechnic University have also facilitated me to meet the administrative
deadlines of the research project.
I would also take the opportunity to thank all those who have participated in the
questionnaire survey and interviews. Without the information collected from them, the
research study would not have been completed.
Last but not the least, I wish to express my hearty thanks to Fanny, my wife, for her
forbearance and continued support during the past months when I was deeply involved
in the research project.
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Acknowledgement
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration of Originality
Abstract
Acknowledgement
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Appendices
Page
i
ii
iii
iv - vi
vii
viii
ix
Chapter 1
1-19
Introduction
1
1.1
Research Topic
1.2
The Background and Context
1-2
1.2.1
Background of the Organisation
1-2
1.2.2
Legal Requirement for Safety Management System
2
1.2.3
Problems of the Existing OHS Management
2
Practices
1.3
Literature Review
2-17
1.3.1
3-4
Characteristics of Organisations and Management
Systems
1.3.2
Benefits of Management Systems Approach to OHS
4-5
1.3.3
Limitations of Standards Based OHS Management
5-6
System
1.3.4
Key Elements from Best Practices for Effective
6-12
OHS Management
1.3.5
Essence of Safety Culture for Effective OHS
12-13
Management
1.3.6
Methods for Review of OHS Management Practices 13-15
1.3.7
Summary of Findings and Insights from the
15-17
Literature Review
1.4
Objectives of the Study
17
1.5
Definition of Terms
18
1.6
Scope of the Study
18-19
1.7
Significance of the Study
19
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Page
Chapter 2
20-24
Research Methodology
2.1
Research Approach Adopted in the Study
20
2.2
Checklist for Interview with Line Management
20
2.3
Questionnaire Design for Perception Survey
2.4
Sampling and Data Collection for Perception Survey
24
2.5
Data Analysis and Validation of Results
24
Chapter 3
20-23
25-46
Results
3.1
Returns from the OHS Perception Survey
3.2
Demographics of the Respondents
25-26
3.3
Respondents’ Understanding of the Organisation’s OHS
27-28
25
Policy
3.4
Employees’ Participation in OHS Activities
28-32
28-29
3.4.1
Participation in Different Types of OHS Activities
3.4.2
Usefulness of OHS Taskforces and Schemes
30
3.4.3
Perception Differences in Usefulness of OHS
30-32
Taskforces and Schemes
3.5
3.6
Responsibility and Accountability for OHS
3.5.1
OHS Responsibilities
3.5.2
Accountability for OHS Performance
Awareness of Hazards and Adequacy of Control Measures
33-35
33-35
35
3.6.1
Awareness of Hazards at Work
35-39
35-37
3.6.2
Adequacy of Control Measures at Work
38-39
3.7
Perception of Performance Related to Key OHS Elements
40-42
3.8
Important Ways for Accident Prevention at Work
42-44
3.9
Constraints to Promotion of OHS within the Organisation
45-46
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Page
Chapter 4
Discussion
47-57
4.1
General
4.2
Management commitment and Employee Participation
47
4.2.1
Management Commitment
47-51
47-49
4.2.2
Employee Participation
49-51
4.3
Preventive Approach for OHS
51-52
4.4
Integration of OHS with Line Management Function
52-53
4.5
OHS Training
53-54
4.6
Continuous Improvement to OHS
54
4.7
Employees’ Views and Attitudes about OHS
55
4.8
OHS Management System Framework for the
55-56
Organisation
4.9
Chapter 5
Limitations of the Research Study
56-57
Conclusions and Recommendations
58-64
5.1
Conclusions
5.2
Recommendations to the Organisation for OHS
58
59-63
Improvement
5.2.1
Recommendations Related to the Key OHS
59-61
Elements
5.2.2
Recommended OHS Management System
61-63
Framework for the Organisation
5.3
Suggestions for Future Research Study
64
References
65-70
Appendices
71-92
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LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Fig. 1
Composition of Respondents in the Perception Survey
26
Fig. 2
Respondents’ Participation in Different Types of OHS
29
Activities
Fig. 3
Perception Rating of Respondents at Different Ranks about
31
Usefulness of OHS Committee, Taskforce and Incentive
Scheme
Fig. 4
Respondents’ Awareness about OHS Responsibilities
34
Fig. 5
Respondents’ Preference for OHS Performance to Become Part
36
of the Staff’s Performance Appraisal Report
Fig. 6
Respondents’ Perception of Different Types of Hazards at
37
Work
Fig. 7
Perception about Adequacy of Control Measures at Work
39
Fig. 8
Respondents’ Perception of Organisation’s Performance
41
Related to Key OHS Elements
Fig. 9
Ways Perceived to be Important for Prevention of Accident
44
Fig. 10
Constraints to Promotion of OHS within the Organisation
46
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List of Figures
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LIST OF TABLES
Page
Exh. 1
Questionnaire Returns from the Self-administered Survey on
25
OHS Perception
Exh. 2
Respondents’ Understanding of the Organisation’s OHS Policy
27
Exh. 3
Respondents’ Perception on Usefulness of OHS Committees,
30
Works Improvement Teams and OHS Incentive Schemes
Exh. 4
Perception by Respondents at Different Ranks on Usefulness of
32
OHS Committees, Works Improvement Teams and OHS
Incentive Schemes
Exh. 5
T-test on Difference in Perception between Respondents at
32
Different Ranks about Usefulness of OHS Committees, Works
Improvement Teams and OHS Incentive Schemes
Exh. 6
Respondents that Correctly Indicated the Parties Responsible
33
for OHS under the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance
Exh. 7
Respondents’ Awareness about Hazards at Work
35
Exh. 8
Respondents’ Perception Rating on Performance Related to Key
40
OHS Elements
Exh. 9
T-test for Perception Difference about OHS Performance
42
Aspects between Respondents at Different Ranks
Exh. 10
Recommended Conceptual OHS Management System
63
Framework for the Organisation
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List of Tables
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LIST OF APPENDICES
Page
Appendix I
Process Elements under the Factories and Industrial
71
Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulation
Appendix II
The Plan-Do-Check-Act Management Cycle Incorporated
72
into OHSAS 18001 (1999) and AS/NZS 4804 (1997)
Appendix III
Comparison between OHS Management System
73-77
Frameworks and Models Promulgated by Different
Standards Development Institutions and OHS Professional
Associations
Appendix IV
Checklist on Interview Questions for Line Management of
78-80
the Organisation
Appendix V
Information Collected from Interview with Line
81-84
Management
Appendix VI
Questionnaire for Self-administered Survey on OHS
85-88
Perception of Employees
Appendix VII Questionnaire for Self-administered Survey on OHS
89-92
Perception of Employees (Chinese Version of Appendix VI)
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CHAPTER 1
1.1
INTRODUCTION
Research Topic
The thesis presents the research findings and conclusions on “development of an
occupational health and safety management system framework for an electrical
and mechanical engineering services organisation”. To maintain confidentiality,
the identity of the target organisation has not been disclosed in this report but is
named as “the Organisation”. The research has reviewed the existing OHS
management practices and OHS performance of the target Organisation as a case
study and made recommendations for improvement to OHS performance and for
setting up an OHS management system framework for the Organisation.
The research began with a review of the background of the Organisation and the
literatures related to OHS management systems, key elements crucial for effective
OHS management, and methods for assessing overall performance of OHS
management practices. The research objectives, scope of study and research
methodology were then defined for the conduct of the actual field work.
1.2
The Problems and Context
1.2.1 Background of the Organisation
The Organisation under study provides operation and maintenance (O&M)
services on electrical and mechanical plants and equipment for its clients. Based
on the clients and specific services offered, the Organisation is sectored into
Divisions as functional units. The Organisation’s employees (approx. 4000 nos.)
either work within the Organisation’s workshops or station at the clients’ various
venues to undertake the O&M works. Each Division has already obtained ISO
9002 and ISO 14001 certification for its respective quality management system
and environmental management system.
According to the job responsibilities and posts/ranks in the hierarchy, the
employees of a typical Division could be classified generally into four categories.
These categories or sub-groups include front line staff (i.e. artisans and workmen),
supervisory staff (i.e. works supervisors), line management staff (i.e. inspectors,
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section managers and engineers), and clerical support staff (i.e. clerks). In
addition, a full-time safety officer supports each Division whereas some works
supervisors and inspectorate staff have been nominated to undertake the role as
part-time safety supervisors.
1.2.2 Legal Requirement for Safety Management System
The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulation
(F&IU (SM) Reg.) was enacted in end 1999 and would be effective by around
early 2002. It requires proprietors of specified hazardous industrial undertakings
and contractors of construction sites to set up and implement safety management
systems with key process elements (Appendix I). As operation and maintenance
services are considered as construction works whereas workshops are classified
as factories under the F&IU Ordinance, the Organisation needs to set up its own
OHS management system.
1.2.3 Problems of the Existing OHS Management Practices
Hitherto, OHS matters within the Organisation have been dealt with using a
piecemeal approach. Whilst the Organisation does have some OHS set ups and
procedures in place, such as an OHS committee, accident reporting procedures,
safety guidelines for work activities, and safety inspection programmes, it was
found that many employees at Divisions were not familiar with or aware of the
OHS procedures at work. It is expected that the OHS management system, with a
holistic approach, could help the Organisation addressing OHS issues
systematically and effectively.
1.3
Literature Review
Two fundamental questions in the development of OHS management system
frameworks were to identify and understand the elements for effective OHS
management, and to identify methods for reviewing OHS management practices.
Hence, published literatures about characteristics, benefits and limitations of
management systems, elements for effective OHS management in “OHS best
practices”, and OHS system models and frameworks by various OHS professional
and standards associations, and review methods for OHS performance have been
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reviewed in Sections 1.3.1 to 1.3.6 below. The findings from the literature review
were synthesized and summarised in Section 1.3.7.
1.3.1 Characteristics of Organisations and Management Systems
The role of management systems within an organisation has been reviewed by
analysing an organisation as an open system.
(a)
Organisation as a System
According to the systems approach, a generic system comprises interdependent
sub-systems that interact to accomplish goals (Adams 1995, p.169) and is
characterised by inputs, outputs, processes, feedback, a boundary, and an
environment (IOHA 1999). An organisation could be interpreted as an open
system that interacts with and adapts to the wider environment
(Burnes 2000,
p.14; Yolles 1999, p.11). Kast & Rosenweiez (1985, pp.16-17) describe an
organisation as a system that interacts with the macro environment system. The
organisation system comprises the following interrelated sub-systems: (1) goals
and values, (2) psychosocial, (3) technical, (4) structural, and (5) managerial.
Bolman & Deal (cited in Hale & Hovden 1998, p.144) also recognised the
complex nature of an organisation and derived four different frames or
dimensions for analysis of an organisation, i.e. structural, human resources,
political and symbolic.
(b)
Role of Management System
According to Kast & Rosenweiez (1985), managerial functions and practices are
vital to the coordination and integration of activities in all the other sub-systems.
Maund (1999, p.273) and Stranks (1994, p.1) hold similar views in that
management is responsible for directing and coordinating the activities of the
other sub-systems in achieving the organisational goals.
Fayol’s classical management theory (cited in Burnes 2000, p.43) defines
management functions in terms of planning, organising, command, coordination
and control. Adams (1995, p.3) suggests a similar definition, i.e. management
functions consist of planning, organising, implementing and controlling. On the
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other hand, Deming’s model (cited in Noble 2000, p.17) promotes the notion of
continual improvement through a plan-do-check-act management cycle. OHSAS
18001 (1999) and AS/NZS 4804 (1997) (Appendix II) are two examples of OHS
management system standards that encompass such management principles for
eliminating/ controlling OHS risks associated with the business activities of an
organisation.
1.3.2 Benefits of Management Systems Approach to OHS
The benefits of management systems approach to OHS could be broadly
classified into two aspects, i.e. effective management and system integration.
(a)
Effective Management of OHS
Safety practitioners in general agree that management theories and practices
could be applied for effective management of OHS as for the other aspects of an
organisation’s activities (Bamber 1999, p.204; Krafcisin 1997; Petersen 1996,
p.44).
IOHA (1999) recommends that systems models be applied to OHS management
and Stranks (1994, p.80) suggests that effective systems for prevention of
accidents and incidents should be established and maintained for successful
management of OHS issues. Feyer & Williamson (1998, p.118) further advocate
that good accident prevention strategies require a consideration of all aspects of
the system, including how individual workers interact with it.
ISO (2000) also promotes that the systems approach, which manages interrelated
processes as a system, could contribute to the organisation’s effectiveness and
efficiency in achieving its goals.
(b)
Management Synergy through Systems Integration
A central concept underlying the management systems approach to OHS is the
consideration and integration of OHS within the context of the total
organisational system (Richardson 2000, p.5; Moodie 1997, p.7). Industry
Commission (1995, p.189) suggests that OHS systems are more effective when
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integrated with the broader management systems due to management synergies.
Indeed, prominent OHS management system standards such as OHSAS 18001
(1999, p.2), AS/NZS 4804 (1997, p.7) and BS 8800 (1996, p.3) and ILO’s
guidelines on OHS management systems (2001) also consider an OHS
management system as part of the organisation’s overall management system.
1.3.3 Limitations of Standards Based OHS Management System
Standards based OHS management system frameworks were often criticized from
three broad perspectives, i.e. lack of psychosocial consideration, inflexibility, lack
of implementation guidelines.
(a)
Lack of Psychosocial Consideration
Kuhn (cited in Frick 1999, p.92) noted that OHS management systems did not
take into account psychosocial factors. In fact, OHS management system
standards focus mainly on the structure and technical dimensions rather than the
other non-structural dimensions of the organisation. For example, OHSAS 18001
(1999, p.2) defines OHS management system to include “organisational structure,
planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources
for developing, implementing, achieving, reviewing and maintaining the
organisation’s OHS policy”. Hence, based on the concepts of the 4-frame model
for organisation analysis by Bolman & Deal and the inter-related sub-systems
approach by Kast & Rosenweiez (Section 1.3.1(a) above), the OHS management
system standards do not explicitly touch on the political and symbolic dimensions
or the psychosocial and values sub-systems.
(b)
Inflexibility
Wren (cited in Frick 1999, p.80) contended that OHS management system did not
necessarily fit the needs of small and medium size companies as it could demand
huge resources to comply with the published OHS management system standards.
OSHA (cited in Weinstein 1997, p.111) also queried the effectiveness of applying
the OHS management system that requires comprehensive documentation and
record keeping and advocated that OHS management systems should fit the size
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and work complexity of the organisation. It suggested that relatively simple,
unwritten policies, practices and procedures would be adequate to address the
hazards in many smaller or less hazardous establishments whereas the more
formal and complex programs may be needed for the more complex and
hazardous operations. The argument that complexity of the OHS management
systems should depend on size of the organisation, industry infrastructure, and
types of hazards and degree of risks is also in line with ILO’s guidelines for OHS
management system (2001, p.4).
To prevent the pitfalls of creating bureaucracy or paper biased OHS management
system (Blewett & Shaw 1996, p.485), documentation should be kept to the
minimal level required and proactive OHS performance indicators should be
established to measure and monitor the organisation’s OHS performance.
(c)
Lack of Implementation Guidelines
Emmett & Hickling (1995, p.623) noted that the ISO standards for management
systems are “standards for systems” and are not themselves management systems.
Channing (1999, p.322) also commented that standards based OHS management
systems are high level models that only set standards and make use of audits to
assess system effectiveness but offer little guidance as to how the standards could
be implemented. Hence, such OHS management systems need to be supported by
more detailed OHS programmes at work.
1.3.4 Key Elements from Best Practices for Effective OHS Management
Key elements for effective OHS management as identified and promulgated by
various OHS professionals and standards associations were reviewed and
summarised as follows:
(a)
Key OHS Elements from Industry Commission
“OHS best practices” provide benchmarks of organisational practices for superior
OHS performance (Industry Commission 1995, p.183). Emmett & Hickling (1995,
p.620) identified the following seven core characteristics of “OHS best practice”
companies that could be applied for effective OHS management:
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(i)
Recognition of OHS as part of the business operation;
(ii)
Senior management’s commitment to OHS;
(iii) Participation of the whole workforce in improving OHS;
(iv)
Measurement and monitoring of OHS performance;
(v)
Adoption of the concept of continuous improvement;
(vi)
Training for provision of knowledge and skills;
(vii) Safe and healthy design for workplaces;
(b)
Key OHS Elements from NOHSC
Similarly, Bottomley (1999, pp.12-13) highlighted six operational principles for
best practices in his report for the National Occupational Health and Safety
Commission (NOHSC), which include:
(i)
Management commitment: involvement, financial resources and power
sharing;
(ii)
Participation: teams, union and workforce;
(iii) Skills development: percentage of workforce trained, effectiveness and
quality of training, financial commitment;
(iv)
Designing the work environment: work procedure, risk identification,
assessment and control, ongoing process of change;
(v)
Integration of OHS with organisational structures and processes;
(vi)
Continuous improvement: performance assessment, use of measures to
drive change, evaluation;
(c)
Key OHS Elements from Worksafe Australia and OSHA
Worksafe Australia and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
of USA (cited in Krafcisin 1997) have identified similar and compatible
characteristics from the best practice companies and the Voluntary Protection
Program (VPP) respectively. The 5 characteristics from Worksafe Australia (1992,
p.468) included:
(i)
Committed leadership from the top management;
(ii)
Preventive approach with the process and systems in place to support OHS;
(iii) Empowered employees;
(iv)
Provision of OHS skills training to employees;
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(v)
Integration of the OHS management system as part of the overall
management system;
Whereas the 4 key components from OSHA’s VPP (cited in Krafcisin 1997),
which are also recommended by US Department of Energy (cited in Weinstein
1997, p.111) included:
(i)
Management commitment and employee involvement;
(ii)
Work site analysis;
(iii) Hazard prevention and control;
(iv)
Safety and health training;
(d)
Quality Management Principles from ISO
The key characteristics identified from the “OHS best practices” were found
consistent with the quality management principles for improving performance,
promulgated by ISO (2000), which include:
(i)
Customer focus, i.e. the employees and workers in the case of OHS
management;
(ii)
Leadership;
(iii) Involvement of people at all levels, i.e. employee participation;
(iv)
Process approach, i.e. activities and resources are managed as a process;
(v)
System approach to management;
(vi)
Continual improvement;
(vii) Factual approach to decision making;
(viii) Mutually beneficial supplier relationship;
(e)
Analysis of Key OHS Elements from Best Practices
To summarise, apart from the systems approach, the following elements from
“OHS best practices” were considered by safety practitioners and standards
institutions as crucial for effective management of OHS:
(i)
Management commitment
Top management should undertake management and leadership roles in
OHS. They need to determine the organisation’s vision and plans for OHS
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and allocate adequate resources for achieving the OHS objectives and plans
(AS/NZS 4804). According to the management principles of ISO (2000),
top management also acts as a change agent and aligns the people and
activities in a unified way. OSHA (cited in Weinstein 1997, p.114) noted
that management involvement must be apparent to all employees, including
establishment of clear lines of communication with employees, and setting
personal examples of safe and healthy behaviour, ensuring a safe and
healthy workplace etc.. According to Bolman & Deal (cited in Hale &
Hovden 1998, pp.151-152), management commitment and visibility are
considered “symbolic” issues within an organisation.
It is generally agreed that a written OHS policy is an effective means to
demonstrate management commitment towards OHS and to communicate
management’s values in OHS to all employees (AS 4801, 2000; OHSAS
18001, 1999; Weinstein 1997, p.112; Noble 2000, p.48).
(ii)
Employee participation
As the most direct beneficiaries of OHS outcomes/ conditions, employees
should have a major say and hence employee participation should be an
integral part of OHS management (Frick 1999, p.79).
Weinstein (1997, p.115) suggests that employee involvement provides the
means through which workers could develop and express their own
commitment to safety and health protection both for themselves and their
co-workers. Sutherland, Makin & Cox 2000 (p.15) suggested that
empowerment of workers at all levels in the organisation leads to
ownership of the safety process- shop floor driven. A similar view was held
by ISO (2000) that full involvement of people at all levels could lead to
ownership and accountability. Indeed, safety practitioners found that
inaction or unsafe actions of people are more important in causing injuries
than unsafe conditions and hence participation by employees is critical for
better OHS (Pierce 1995, pp.101-102).
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Safety practitioners and academics in general agreed that employee should
be involved in such activities as job hazard analysis for works, OHS
committees, safety inspection, OHS training, OHS programs, accident
investigation and development of safety working procedures (Noble 2000,
p.64; Weinstein 1997, p.116).
(iii) Preventive approach
Proactive strategies for prevention of accidents and ill-health incidents
(Strank 1994, p.4), with focus on underlying causes such as management
and systems factors, should be adopted for effective management of OHS.
Krafcisin (1997) advocated that with a preventive approach, hazards could
be identified and eliminated/ controlled in a timely manner, and safe work
practices could be better understood and adhered to at work.
Pierce (1995) poses that with a proactive approach, line management will
have ownership and authority to rectify OHS problems at the workplaces.
In addition, proper planning could be a useful tool in identifying and
controlling hazards at work.
Safety professionals and academics in general agree that hierarchy of
controls, i.e. elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative
procedures, and use of personal protection equipment, should be adopted
when working out hazard control measures (BSI 1996, p.26; Hopkins 1995,
pp.9-10).
(iv)
Integration of OHS with line management function
As discussed in Section 1.3.2 above, integration of OHS with the
organisation’s overall management systems results in synergies and
effectiveness. Emmett & Hickling (1995, p.621) suggested that integration
of OHS into overall management systems would result in each activity
being planned, implemented and reviewed with regard to its potential to
cause injury or ill-health. ILO (2001, p.3) and Weinstein (1997, p.3) also
agreed that to succeed, OHS should be viewed as a line management
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function with line managers at all levels responsible and accountable for
performance. Some OHS management system standards, such as OHSAS
18001 (1999, p.ii) and AS/NZS 4804 (1997, p.4), have been configured in a
way to facilitate integration of OHS, environment and quality management
systems.
(v)
OHS training
Safety training could increase safety awareness and improve the workers’
safety know-how (McCutcheon 1995). In particular, the workers could be
trained to know and understand the hazards at work as well as the control
measures for preventing the harms (Krafcisin 1997; Litske 1999, p.161).
Safety practitioners also agree that training, especially the competence
based training, could change the workers’ behaviours to make them work
safely (Evans 1995). Apart from workers, OHS training should also be
provided to managers and supervisors so that they could understand their
OHS responsibilities (Krafcisin 1997; McCutcheon 1995).
(vi)
Continuous improvement
As highlighted in Section 1.3.1, continual improvement is an important
concept within Deming’s plan-do-check-act management cycle. It is
process oriented (Pierce 1995, p.198), i.e. fine tuning the process, a little at
a time to make it work better. ISO (2000) defines continual improvement as
a recurring activity to increase the ability to fulfill requirements. It also
recommends that continual improvement in the organisation’s overall
performance should be a persistent objective of the organisation.
These 6 key OHS elements are also components of the OHS management system
models and frameworks developed by standards development organisations and
OHS professional associations. The system elements of AS/NZS 4804 (1997),
ILO (2001), IOHA (1999), OHSAS 18001 (1999), OSHA Voluntary Protection
Program (VPP) (1997) and OSHA Process Safety Management Guidelines
(PSMG) (1997) have been analysed and compared (Appendix III) to illustrate
such relationship. The aspects encompassed in these OHS management system
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models and frameworks which are also related to the 6 key OHS elements, as
identified from the “OHS best practices”, are highlighted below:
Key OHS
Element
IOHA
ILO
Management Management OSH policy;
Commitment commitment &
resources;
OHSAS
18001
OHS policy;
AS/NZS 4804 OSHA VPP
OSHA
PSMG
Leadership and Management
commitment; commitment
and
OHS policy;
involvement;
OHS policy;
Safety policy;
Responsibility; Responsibility; Employee
Employee
participation; involvement
Consultation;
Responsibility Responsibility;
Supervisor and
& authority;
manager
readiness;
Employee
Employee
Participation participation;
Worker
participation;
Assigned
responsibility
Preventive
OHS goals & OSH
OHS
OHS objectives Objectives;
Approach
objectives;
objectives;
objectives;
& targets;
Safety
System
System
OHS
OHS
management
planning &
planning &
management
management
programs;
development; development; programmes; plans;
Work site
Baseline
Prevention & Planning for
Identification hazard
evaluation & control
hazard
of hazards,
analysis;
risk
measures;
identification, assessment and
assessment;
risk assessment control of risks; Hazard
Management of and controls;
prevention and
Hazard control change
Administrative control;
system;
Operational
control;
Preventive
controls;
Site
Preventive
action;
Preventive
inspections;
action system;
Preventive
action;
action;
Inspection;
Integration of Accountability; Accountability; Compatible
Accountability; Accountability;
OHS with
framework
line functions Integration
with quality & Integration;
environment
management
systems;
OHS training Training
Competence & Training,
Training and
Safety and
system;
training;
awareness and competency;
health training;
competence;
Technical
Safety and
expertise &
health training
personnel
content;
qualification;
Continuous Continual
Continual
Continual
Continual
Program
improvement improvement; improvement; improvement; improvement; review;
Management
review;
Management
review;
Management
review;
Process
hazard
analysis;
Mechanical
integrity
Managing
change;
Operating
procedures
and
practices;
Employee
training;
Review of
OHSMS;
1.3.5 Essence of Safety Culture for Effective OHS Management
“Safety culture” is often defined as the shared thinking, values, beliefs and
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attitudes relevant to safety and its management (Boyle 1996, p.39; IEE 1997;
Trimpop 2000, p.190). On the other hand, Hale & Hovden (1998, p.155) used
“safety climate”, a dimension that could be measured using a rating scale, to
assess “safety culture”. Zohar (cited in Dejoy, Gershon & Murphy 1998, p.111)
and Shaw (1994, p.18) defined “safety climate” in a similar manner, i.e. shared
perceptions about the quality and actualisation of safety related activities and
practices within an organisation.
Hopkins (1995, p.187) and Moodie (1997, p.7) both considered that development
of safety culture is important for good OHS performance of an organisation and
Shaw & Blewett (1996, p.189) noted that OHS management systems should be
consistent with the organisation’s OHS culture, i.e. its OHS values, beliefs and
norms. They suggested that OHS culture guides OHS activities and behaviours
and hence affects OHS performance. Based on findings from empirical studies,
Petersen (1989, p.234) advocated that when determining effectiveness of safety
programs, the procedural-engineered factors may not be as good as the other
factors which affect worker and supervisor behaviours. Experience of local
utilities and construction companies also affirmed that safety culture is positively
associated with good safety performance (OSHC 1999).
Dedobbeleer & Beland (1998, p.75) used 9 variables representing safety concerns
in the construction industry and derived a 2-factor safety climate model from
empirical perception surveys. They identified that management commitment and
workers’ involvement were the two key factors which discriminated high accident
companies from the low accident companies.
1.3.6 Methods for Review of OHS Management Practices
Two contemporary approaches for reviewing OHS management systems and
practices have been appraised, i.e. system auditing and perception survey.
(a)
System Auditing
AS/NZS 4804 (1997, pp.9-10) suggests that OHS review could be conducted by
comparing the existing management practices and procedures of an organisation
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with the intent of the elements in the OHS management system standards. The
review tools could include questionnaires, interviews, checklists, inspection,
review of records, and comparisons with similar organisations. Such approach has
been adopted by OHS system auditing.
OHS institutions and safety practitioners have established and applied OHS
auditing systems and frameworks as tools for evaluating the effectiveness of the
OHS management systems and measuring the OHS performance of organisations
(Shaw 1994, p.18). AS4801 (2000, p.1) is an example of a standard-based
framework that sets out auditable criteria against which OHS management
systems could be reviewed. Other examples of proprietary OHS auditing systems
and protocols in the market include WorkSafe Plan of the Worksafe Western
Australia (1999), DOE’s Management System Verification protocol (2000), and
International Safety Rating System (cited in Shaw 1994, p.18).
Subject to proper administration, the system auditing approach could be a
proactive tool for monitoring the implementation effectiveness of OHS
management practices in an organisation. The OHS audit process should abide by
the audit protocol to ensure certain degree of consistency and objectivity of the
audit results, and the auditors should be appropriately trained and competent for
conducting the audit (Noble 2000, p.152 & p.217). To maintain impartiality, the
auditors should also be independent of the activities and practices to be audited
(ILO 2001, p.18). Besides, system auditing mainly concerns the structural
dimension rather than the other 3 frames of the Bolman and Deal 4-frame model
(Hale & Hovden 1998, p.155).
On the other hand, system auditing based on packaged audit protocols does have
shortcomings. These include lack of correlation between good OHS performance
and the yardstick elements incorporated in the audit protocol, obstacles to
creativity, subjectivity of the auditors when going through the audit questions
(Petersen 1989, p.224 & p.238), and generic sets of audit questions for all types
of organisations (Shaw 1994, p.19).
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(b)
Perception Survey
Perception surveys provide information about employees’ attitudes, values and
beliefs towards OHS and could assess the effectiveness of OHS management
system within the organisation (Shaw 1994, p.18; Shaw & Blewett 1996, p.189)
and promote safety culture among employees (Trimpop 2000, pp.192-193).
Through questionnaires or interviews, employees as the key stakeholders in OHS
could actually be involved in evaluating the OHS performance of the
Organisation.
Apart from identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the OHS programs and
initiatives, employees’ perception surveys could also uncover the perception gaps
between front line employees and the management (Petersen 2000, p.17). By
repeating the surveys periodically, perception surveys could be used as a tool to
monitor the progress and effectiveness of new OHS initiatives implemented in an
organisation and promote employee participation in OHS (Trimpop 2000, p.193).
Empirical studies also suggested that perception surveys based on statistically
validated questionnaires were better when compared with the other indicators in
predicting the future safety performance of an organisation (Petersen 2000, p.17).
On the other hand, Shaw & Blewett (1996, p.189) noted that questionnaire based
survey could not collect information about the stories, myths and rituals, which
are also part of the organisation culture. Some safety practitioners and academics
also advocated that results of the perception surveys would be affected by the
questions set in the questionnaire, demographic factors and the statistical methods
adopted for analysis (Dedobbeleer & Beland 1998, pp.78-79; Saari 1998, p.187).
Hale & Hovden (1998, p.155) suggest that external validation of the rating scale
could help improve the reliability and consistency of such survey tool.
1.3.7 Summary of Findings and Insights from the Literature Review
This Section summarises the key findings and insights from the series of literature
review on OHS management system and methods for reviewing OHS
management practices in Section 1.3.1 to 1.3.6 above:
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(a)
An organisation is an open system comprising interrelated sub-systems and
different dimensions (Section 1.3.1). Hence, an OHS management system
developed solely in accordance with the OHS management system
standards (Section 1.3.3), which focus mainly on structure and technical
aspects, may be inflexible and not be effective for accident prevention and
achievement of good OHS performance. Instead, the complex nature of an
organisation should be recognised and issues related to its various facets,
sub-systems and dimensions should be addressed in the development of the
OHS management system.
(b)
To capitalise the merits of OHS management systems (Section 1.3.2), the
OHS management system should fit the specific situations of the
organisation, including culture and non-structural dimensions such as
human resources, political and symbolic issues within the organisation.
OHS management systems should also match the size of the organisation as
well as the type of hazards and the degree of risks encountered (Section
1.3.3).
(c)
The generic management cycle consisting of plan-do-check-act stages and
an aspiration for continuous improvement has been adopted in various
management system frameworks (Section 1.3.1). In addition, the OHS
management system could act as a means to link up the key OHS elements
in a systematic and coordinated manner (Section 1.3.2).
(d)
Apart from the systems approach, the other 6 key OHS elements identified
from “OHS best practices” (Section 1.3.4) include management
commitment, employee participation, preventive approach, integration of
OHS with line management functions, OHS training, and continuous
improvement. These OHS elements were found encompassed in the various
OHS management system models and frameworks promulgated by OHS
professionals and associations. There were also empirical evidences that
good OHS performance organisations have taken these key elements into
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consideration in their OHS management practices.
(e)
Safety culture was found to be associated with good OHS performance and
empirical studies based on safety climate, a measurable concept for safety
culture, have identified a 2-factor safety climate model comprising
management commitment and worker involvement (Section 1.3.5).
(f)
Two approaches for review of overall OHS performance were identified, i.e.
system auditing and perception survey (Section 1.3.6). The latter approach
promotes employees’ participation in OHS activities and feedback on OHS
performance within an organisation. There were also empirical studies
supporting the use of perception survey, in preference to other indicators,
for tracking the OHS performance of an organisation.
1.4
Objectives of the Study
According to the problems stipulated in Section 1.2 and review of published
literatures related to OHS management systems in Section 1.3, it is evident that
the Organisation should design and tailor an OHS management system that
encompasses key OHS elements from best practices and fits its specific situations
and culture. The process for development of an OHS management system would
thus involve an analysis and understanding of the various dimensions of the
Organisation. Whilst the key OHS elements for effective OHS management have
been identified in Section 1.3, the objectives of the research study were thus
defined as follows:
(a)
To review the Organisation’s performance against the key elements for
effective OHS management;
(b)
To identify the employees’ views and attitudes about OHS within the
Organisation;
(c)
To suggest recommendations for improvement to OHS management
practices and an OHS management system framework for the Organisation;
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1.5
Definition of Terms
Conceptual framework: A form of theory that has not been highly developed or
rigorously tested. It shows a set of interrelated concepts and elements to present a
systematic view about situations and events. (NIOH & NCI 1990)
Hazard: Source or situation with a potential for harm (OHSAS 18001).
Occupational health and safety (OHS): Conditions and factors that affect the
well-being of employees and other persons in the workplace (OHSAS 18001).
OHS best practices: Organisational practices for superior OHS performance
(Industry Commission 1995).
Safety culture: Shared values, beliefs and attitudes relevant to safety and its
management (IEE 1997; Trimpop 2000).
Safety climate: Shared perceptions about the quality and actualisation of safety
related activities and practices within an organisation, as measured in a rating
scale (Shaw 1994).
1.6
Scope of the Study
Despite that a comprehensive review should look at all aspects of the
Organisation’s management practices, the OHS review in the research was
confined to only the 6 key OHS elements identified from “OHS best practices”
due to time and resource constraints. Such focus was considered justifiable in that
the key OHS elements would indicate the effectiveness and performance of the
OHS management practices as exhibited by “OHS best practices”. The research
examined the Organisation’s overall OHS performance rather than going into
details of its individual OHS programs and plans. The recommendations for the
Organisation as derived from the research study were on broad strategic terms. It
is envisaged that the Organisation could base on the recommendations to draw up
its detailed action plans for implementation.
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In identifying the employees’ views and attitudes about OHS, only four categories
of employees were targeted, i.e. line management, supervisory staff, front line
staff, and clerical support staff. Such categorisation could provide insights for
understanding the views and attitudes representative of employees in the line
function. The senior management’s views and attitudes about OHS could be
reserved for further study.
1.7
Significance of the Study
It is expected that the research would have the following contributions to the
Organisation in particular and the industry in general:
(a)
Recommendations for improvement to OHS management practices and
setting up of an OHS management system will help the Organisation to
comply with the requirements under the Factories & Industrial
Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulation.
(b)
The OHS management system framework specifically developed for the
Organisation could assist the Organisation in handling and promoting OHS
matters in a more systematic and effective manner, and working out
detailed OHS management plans and programmes.
(c)
The research approach adopted and OHS management system framework
so developed could also be referenced to by other similar organisations in
the electrical and mechanical engineering services field. As highlighted in
Sections 1.3.3 and 1.3.5 above, some safety professionals and associations
suggested that OHS culture, size and nature of hazards at work would affect
the type of OHS management system to be set up for the organisations.
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CHAPTER 2
2.1
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Approach Adopted in the Study
The research project was a case study on the OHS management practices within
the Organisation. Based on the findings from the literature review, the study was
conducted in two parts. In the first part, line management representatives of the
Organisation were interviewed to collect background information about the
Organisation’s priorities and practices on OHS management. In the second part, a
self-administered questionnaire survey was carried out to collect the employees’
views and perception about the OHS management practices and performance of
the Organisation.
Perception survey has been adopted in the research in lieu of system auditing
(Sections 1.3.6 & 1.3.7) so as to uncover and understand the employees’ views
and attitudes about OHS. This would provide information for analysis of the
structural and non-structural dimensions of the Organisation which would in turn
facilitate the development of an OHS management system framework that would
be suitable for the Organisation. Such a research approach would also promote
employee participation in OHS within the Organisation.
2.2
Checklist for Interview with Line Management
A checklist, with questions on aspects related to the 6 key OHS elements, was
compiled to facilitate the conduct of a semi-structured interview with the line
management representatives (Appendix IV). The information collected from the
interview was summarised in Appendix V, which were referenced to in other
parts of the research report.
2.3
Questionnaire Design for Perception Survey
The information collected in the interview (i.e. first part of the research)
(Appendix V) provided inputs for formulation of the survey questionnaire (i.e.
second part of the research). The questions in the questionnaire focussed on the 6
key OHS elements and views about OHS. As recommended by research
practitioners for structured questionnaire surveys, the questionnaire for the study
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(Appendix VI) has been designed to include four parts, i.e. introduction,
demographic questions, warm up questions, and study questions (Burns 1997,
p.475).
(a)
Introduction
To solicit active response to the questionnaire survey, a covering letter was
incorporated at the beginning of the questionnaire to outline the
background of the proposed survey, explain the importance of the
respondents in providing responses in the survey, and indicate the return
date and address for the completed questionnaire.
(b)
Demographic and Warm-up Questions
Questions Q.1 to Q.3 aimed to collect profile information of the
respondents, including the post/rank (i.e. Q.1) and safety roles (i.e. safety
supervisor role in Q.2, and OHS committee or taskforce role in Q.3) within
the Organisation.
Based on the job responsibilities and posts/ranks within the hierarchy of the
Organisation (i.e. Q.1), the employees were classified into four sub-groups.
These included front line staff (including artisans and workmen),
supervisory staff (i.e. works supervisors), line management staff (including
inspectors, section managers and engineers), and clerical support staff (i.e.
clerks). Questions Q.2 and Q.3 served both as warm-up questions and filter
questions to distinguish the safety personnel, OHS committee or taskforce
members from the other respondents. The categorisation enabled analysis
of the responses from the different sub-groups, i.e. according to ranks and
safety roles within the Organisation.
(c)
Study Questions
The other questions in the Questionnaire aimed to collect the respondents’
views and perception about the Organisation’s OHS performance in the 6
key OHS elements as well as OHS concerns.
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Question Q.4 checked the respondents’ understanding of the Organisation’s
existing OHS policy, which demonstrates the commitment of the
Organisation’s management towards OHS. As advised by the line
management representatives at the interview, the Organisation accorded
equal priority to safety and other production function (Appendix V).
However, the statement “safety is of higher priority than productivity” was
deliberately incorporated into Q.4 together with other contents of the
Organisation’s OHS policy to track the views of the respondents on the
subject.
Question Q.5 surveyed the respondents’ degree of participation in the
various OHS activities within the Organisation, notably job hazard analysis
for works, safety inspection, safety training, OHS programs, accident
investigation and development of safety work procedures or guidelines.
These were the key activities that should involve employees for promoting
OHS (Section 1.3.4(e)(ii)).
Question Q.6 checked the respondents’ views about the usefulness of OHS
committee, taskforce and incentive schemes in helping the Organisation to
improve OHS in the workplace. The OHS set-up and initiatives were often
quoted as useful in promoting OHS within organisations (Section
1.3.4(e)(ii)). A 6-point rating scale, from “not useful” at one end to “very
useful” at the other, together with the option of “no idea” was included.
Questions Q.7 and Q.8 probed the awareness of the respondents about their
OHS responsibilities defined by the Organisation and under the law.
As accountability was a central issue for integrating OHS with other line
operations (Section 1.3.4(e)(iv)), Question Q.9 tracked the respondents’
views about making OHS performance part of the performance appraisal to
make the employees accountable for OHS performance and hence promote
ownership for OHS.
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Questions Q.10 and Q.11 respectively checked the respondents’ awareness
about hazards at work and their views about the adequacy of the measures
for controlling the hazards. Those hazards were highlighted by the line
management representatives at the interview and referenced to in the
accident statistics records maintained by the Organisation (Appendix V).
Question Q.12 aimed to identify the respondents’ views and perception
about the Organisation’s OHS performance in connection with management
commitment, employee participation, hazard prevention and control,
integration of OHS with other line functions, provision of OHS training,
and continuous improvement in OHS. The aspects surveyed were related to
the 6 key elements characteristic of the “OHS best practices”. A 5-point
rating scale, ranging from “poor” at one end to “outstanding” at the other,
was adopted together with the option of “no idea”.
Questions Q.13 and Q.14 respectively checked the respondents’ views
about ways important for accident prevention at work and perceived
constraints to promotion of OHS within the Organisation. The key aspects
for “OHS best practices” were included to probe the respondents’ views.
Question Q.15 was an open-ended question to enable the respondents to
express their other views and suggestions, if any, on promoting OHS
practices within the Organisation.
The draft questionnaire has been reviewed by the Project Supervisor before it is
finalised. To ensure that the contents of the questionnaire were comprehensible
and easy to understand by the target respondents, the questionnaire was translated
into Chinese (Appendix VII), the native language of the target respondents.
Prior to the launch of the self-administered survey, 2 outsiders have been
requested to attempt the questionnaire as a pilot test and their feedback about
meaning of some terms were incorporated into the final questionnaire for the
survey.
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2.4
Sampling and Data Collection for Perception Survey
The target population for the self-administered questionnaire survey included the
Organisation’s employees who were at different ranks except senior management.
Senior management was excluded from the survey due to resource and time
constraints of the research project. It is envisaged that the views of the senior
management could be collected as a separate study.
Owing to the large number of employees within the Organisation which made a
full population survey impracticable within the limited resource and time frame of
the research project, convenience sampling was adopted instead. The
questionnaires were distributed to the target employees when the author met them
during site visits to the resident operation and maintenance venues. The
arrangement did have the following advantages:
(a) Safety inspections were conducted regularly to the O&M venues according to
a planned inspection schedule which would cover all O&M venues within the
Organisation.
(b) The author could meet the target employees and explain the importance of the
questionnaire survey to them and answer their queries, if any. This could in
turn promote higher response rate.
2.5
Data Analysis and Validation of Results
The responses in the returns from the questionnaire survey were analysed using
descriptive statistics and where applicable, t-statistics parametric tests were
applied to test statistical significance of the results. A 10% significance level was
set for the parametric tests.
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CHAPTER 3
3.1
RESULTS
Returns from the OHS Perception Survey
The self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in October 2001. A
total of 124 questionnaires were distributed out to the target respondents (i.e.
front line staff, supervisory staff, line management personnel and clerical support
staff) when the author visited 23 nos. operation and maintenance workplaces with
resident site staff in October 2001. The following exhibit (Exh. 1) summarises the
questionnaire returns from the convenience sampling survey, which could
demonstrate representativeness of the survey results:
(a)
No. of questionnaires distributed out:
124
(b)
No. of questionnaires returned:
92
(c)
Response rate of the questionnaire survey:
(d)
No. of questionnaire discarded due to incomplete or
74%
2
inconsistent answers:
(e)
No. of questionnaire used for analysis:
90
(f)
% resident O&M venues visited for distribution of
9%
questionnaires (out of approx. 250 nos.):
(g)
% employees surveyed (out of approx. 4000 nos.):
3%
“Microsoft Excel” was adopted to analyse the data collected in the returns using
descriptive statistics and t-statistics parametric tests, and the results were
highlighted in the following Sections.
3.2
Demographics of the Respondents
According to the posts/ranks in the Organisation (Q.1), the respondents were
classified into four sub-groups as illustrated in Fig. 1 to facilitate analysis, i.e.
front line staff (artisan and workman), line supervisory staff, line management
personnel (inspector, section manager and engineer), and clerical support staff.
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Fig. 1 Composition of the Respondents in the Perception Survey
(B) Composition in Terms of
Safety Roles
(A) Composition in Terms of
Post/Rank of Respondents
8%
26%
(7)
44%
100%
11%
(40)
(C) Composition in Terms of
OHS Taskforces
100%
11%
20%
80%
80%
(23)
60%
60%
89%
40%
89%
80%
40%
20%
20%
22%
0%
(20)
Front Line Staff
Line Supervisory Staff
Line Management Personnel
Clerical Support Staff
0%
Sectional Safety Supervisor
Staff in general
OHS
committee
Non-member
Works
improvement
team
Member
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It is noted that whilst clerical support staff was also included in the sub-group
analysis using descriptive statistics for the sake of completeness, comparison and
interpretation of the results were mainly focussed on the other three sub-groups.
This reason was that the number of respondents in the sub-group of clerical
support staff was too small to make the results statistically significant.
The following characteristics of the respondents were also noted from Fig. 1:
(a)
11% of the respondents were part-time safety supervisors (Q.2).
(b)
11% of the respondents were members of OHS committees (Q.3).
(c)
18% of the respondents were members of works improvement teams (Q.3).
As most of the respondents were employees who did not take up special OHS
roles such as part-time safety supervisors, OHS committee or task force members,
the OHS perception survey results should be representative of the employees in
general within the Organisation.
3.3
Respondents’ Understanding of the Organisation’s OHS Policy
The following exhibit (Exh. 2) summarises the respondents’ understanding of the
Organisation’s OHS policy, as measured in Q.4:
Aspects of OHS Policy
Percentage
(i)
Achieve high standard of safety and health
96%
(ii)
Comply safety legislation and COPs at work
94%
(iii) Management to provide necessary safety training,
93%
supervision and instruction
(iv)
Management to provide safe plant and equipment and safe
96%
work environment
(v)
Note:
Safety is of higher priority than productivity
86%
The figure under “Percentage” column refers to the respondents (in %) who indicated
that the surveyed aspect was part of the Organisation’s OHS Policy
Except for “safety is of higher priority than productivity”, the first four aspects
were in fact incorporated in the Organisation’s OHS policy. It is noted that the
respondents’ understanding and awareness of the Organisation’s OHS policy were
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
high, with 88% respondents correctly indicating that all the first four aspects were
part of the Organisation’s OHS policy.
3.4
Employees’ Participation in OHS Activities
3.4.1 Participation in Different Types of OHS Activities
Fig. 2 shows the percentage of respondents in each of the sub-groups that have
participated in the different OHS activities (Q.5). In particular, the followings
were noted:
(a)
Overall the participation rate in the different types of OHS activities ranged
from 36% in “assistance in accident investigation” to 58% in both “safety
inspection” and “development & implementation of programs for
improving OHS”.
(b)
With participation rates ranging from 74% to 91%, the involvement of the
line management personnel in OHS activities was substantially higher than
that of the other sub-groups. On the other hand, the line supervisory staff’s
participation rates in OHS activities appeared lower than that of the front
line staff in 4 types of OHS activities, i.e. job hazard analysis, safety
inspection, attending to safety training, and development & implementation
of OHS programs.
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_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________
Fig. 2 Respondents' Participation in Different Types of OHS Activities
100%
91%
83%
90%
91%
78%
80%
74%
74%
70%
60%
53%
58%
53%
58%
58%
56%
58%
55%
53%
45%
50%
45%
45%
50%
43%
40%
45%
43%
36%
40%
25%
29%
25%
30%
20%
10%
0%
0%
0%
0%
Job hazard analysis
Safety inspection
Front line staff
Attend safety training for new
or revised safety work
procedures
Supervisory staff
Development and
implementation of programs
for improving OHS
Line management
Assist safety personnel in
accident investigation
Clerical staff
Contribute to working out
safety work procedures or
guidelines
Overall
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3.4.2 Usefulness of OHS Taskforces and Schemes
Exh. 3 below cross-tabulates the respondents’ perception about usefulness of
OHS committees, works improvement teams and OHS incentive schemes in
helping to improve OHS at workplace, as measured in Q.6 using a 6-point scale.
The 6-point “usefulness” scale comprises “not useful”, “least useful”, “not so
useful”, “quite useful”, “useful”, “very useful” as represented by “1” to “6”
respectively.
Taskforce/ Scheme
(i)
OHS committee
Member
Non-member
Overall
P (t-test)
Mean
4.40
4.56
4.54
67%
Std. Dev.
1.07
1.24
1.22
--
10
75
85
--
Mean
4.67
4.54
4.57
64%
Std. Dev.
0.91
1.24
1.17
--
No.
18
70
88
--
Mean
--
--
4.51
--
Std. Dev.
--
--
1.33
--
No.
--
--
84
--
No.
(ii) Works improvement
team
(iii) OHS incentive
scheme
Note:
P (t-test) is the probability that the observed score difference between the sub-groups was
by chance based on t-test for small and different sized samples. “Mean” refers to the
average rating from the responses.
Exh. 3: Respondents’ Perception on Usefulness of OHS Committees, Works
Improvement Teams and OHS Incentive Schemes
It is noted from Exh. 3 that OHS committees, works improvement teams, and
OHS incentive schemes were rated by the respondents somewhere between “quite
useful” and “useful” (i.e. between “4” and “5” in the rating scale). Besides, the
ratings given by the respondents who have actually been members of OHS
committees or works improvement teams were not statistically different (at 10%
significance level) from that given by the non-members.
3.4.3 Perception Difference in Usefulness of OHS Taskforces and Schemes
The difference in perception ratings by the different sub-groups were
cross-tabulated in the exhibit below (Exh. 4) and plotted in Fig. 3.
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____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fig. 3 Perception Rating of Respondents at Different Rank/Post about Usefulness of
OHS Committee, Taskforce & Incentive Scheme
6.00
5.29
5.29
5.00
5.09
4.54
4.24
5.14
4.51
4.57
4.34
4.10
4.05
5.09
4.10
4.20
4.20
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
OHS committee
Front line staff
Works improvement team
Supervisory staff
Line management
OHS incentive scheme
Clerical staff
Overall
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Taskforce/ Scheme
(i)
Front line Supervisory
Line
Clerical Overall
staff
staff
management
staff
OHS
Mean
4.24
4.05
5.29
5.29
4.54
committee
Std. Dev.
1.20
1.51
0.56
0.49
1.22
38
19
21
7
85
4.34
4.10
5.09
4.10
4.57
1.21
0.29
0.29
0.53
1.17
38
20
23
7
88
Mean
4.20
4.20
5.09
5.14
4.51
incentive
Std. Dev.
1.39
1.64
0.75
0.69
1.33
scheme
No.
35
20
22
7
84
No.
(ii) Works
Mean
improvement Std. Dev.
team
(iii) OHS
No.
Exh. 4: Perception by respondents at different ranks on usefulness of OHS committees,
works improvement teams and OHS incentive schemes
The observed differences in perception ratings between the sub-groups were
analysed by conducting the t-test at 10% significance level (Exh. 5):
Taskforce/
Scheme
(i)
OHS committee
(ii) Works
Line management Line management v.s.
v.s.
Supervisory staff
Front line staff
< 0.1%
< 0.1%
Supervisory staff
v.s.
Front line staff
65%
0.1%
1%
42%
0.15%
3%
100%
improvement
team
(iii) OHS incentive
scheme
Note:
The tabulation indicates P(t-test), i.e. the probability that the observed score difference
between the sub-groups was by chance based on 2-tail t-test for small and different sized
samples. % figure in bold refers to significant result at 10% significance level.
Exh. 5: T-test on Difference in Perception between Respondents at Different Ranks
about Usefulness of OHS Taskforces/Incentive Schemes
It is noted from Exh. 5 that line management personnel were found to have rated
the usefulness of OHS committees, works improvement teams, and OHS
incentive schemes higher than the other 2 sub-groups in the line function, and
such results were statistically significant at 10% significance level.
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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3.5
Responsibility and Accountability for OHS
3.5.1 OHS Responsibilities
Fig. 4 depicts the percentage of respondents in each sub-group who claimed to
know the rank/post specific OHS responsibilities defined by the Organisation and
the general duties under the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance, as
measured in Q.7. Overall, 80% of the respondents were aware of the rank/post
specific OHS responsibilities whereas 81% were aware of the general OHS
responsibilities under the law.
The reliability of responses in Q.7 was checked and affirmed by the respondents’
respective responses for Q.8 as tabulated below (Exh. 6):
(a)
Respondents claimed to know general duties under OS&H
72
Ordinance (Q.7(ii)):
(b)
Respondents claimed to know general duties under OS&H
Ordinance (Q.7(ii)) and correctly indicated that both
64
(i.e. 89%)
employer and employees are responsible for OHS:
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____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fig. 4 Respondents' Awareness about OHS Responsibilities
100%
90%
95%
91%
86%
83%
81%
80%
73%
70%
80%
71%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Rank/post specific OHS responsibilities
Front line staff
Supervisory staff
General duties under OS&H Ordinance
Line management
Clerical staff
Overall
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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3.5.2 Accountability for OHS Performance
According to Fig. 5, which plots the respondents’ preference for OHS
performance to become part of the staff’s performance appraisal report (Q.9), the
followings were noted:
(a)
It appeared that overall more employees preferred to include OHS
performance as part of the performance appraisal.
(b)
Line management personnel and supervisory staff have shown higher
preference than the front line staff in making OHS performance part of the
performance appraisal.
3.6
Awareness of Hazards and Adequacy of Control Measures
3.6.1 Awareness of Hazards at Work
As stipulated in Exh. 7 below, 88% of the respondents were aware of hazards at
their work (Q.10):
Respondent
Aware of Hazards (Percentage)
(a)
Front line staff
90%
(b)
Line supervisory staff
95%
(c)
Line management personnel
91%
(d)
Clerical support staff
43%
(e)
Overall (i.e. all sub-groups)
88%
According to Fig. 6 on the hazards perceived by the respondents at work, the
followings could be noted:
(a)
Overall, “injured due to manual handling”, “falling from height”, “falling
objects”, “electric shock”, and “struck against objects” were the 5 most
frequently perceived hazards at work.
(b)
There appeared not much difference in the type of hazards perceived by
respondents at different ranks of the line function.
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Chapter 3
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fig. 5 Respondents' Preference for OHS Performance to
Become Part of the Staff's Performance Appraisal Report
100%
80%
74%
57%
60%
53%
50%
43%
38%
40%
30%
20%
20%
17%
20%
29%
30%
17%
14%
9%
0%
"Preferred"
"Not preferred"
"No idea"
Preference
Front line staff
Supervisory staff
Line management
Clerical staff
Overall
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fig. 6 Respondents' Perception of Different Types of Hazards at Work
29%
29%
30%
25%
20%
14%
14%
14%
13%
13%
12%
13%
15%
13%
12% 12%
12%
11% 12%
12%
12%
11%
9%
11%
10%
10% 9%
10%
14%
14%
10%
11% 10%11% 8%
8%
9% 10%
12%
9%
13%
14%
13%
10%
10%
8%
5%
0%
0%
0%
0%
1%1%
0%
0%
1%
0%
Falling from
height
Falling objects Electric shock Struck against Hit / injured by Contack with
objects
moving parts
chemicals
Front line staff
Supervisory staff
Burns
Line management
Injured due to Hazards due to
manual
plant &
handling
machinery
Clerical staff
Others
Overall
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
3.6.2 Adequacy of Control Measures at Work
Fig. 7 plots the respondents’ perception as to whether the control measures were
adequate to reduce hazards at work, and the followings were noted:
(a)
Overall, 62% of the respondents were satisfied with the control measures. A
higher percentage of the line management personnel (78%) considered that
the control measures were adequate when compared with the other 2
sub-groups in the line function (i.e. 65% in line supervisory staff and 48%
in front line staff).
(b)
The respondents considered that no immediate improvement was needed.
On the other hand, 30% respondents indicated that further improvements
were recommended. Whilst not all respondents have indicated the areas that
needed improvement in their responses, some aspects mentioned were
inadequate ventilation at workplace, work at height at plant room, and
inclusion of maintenance requirement at design stage.
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fig. 7 Perception about Adequacy of Control Measures at Work
100%
86%
78%
80%
65%
62%
60%
48%
40%
40%
30%
30%
17%
20%
14%
12%
8%
5%
0%
0%
0%
0%
5%
0%
0%
0%
Adequate
Front line staff
Further improvement recommended
Supervisory staff
Immediate improvement needed
Line management
Clerical staff
No idea
Overall
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
3.7
Perception of Performance Related to Key OHS Elements
Exh. 8 below tabulates the respondents’ perception rating about the
Organisation’s performance with respect to the key OHS elements:
Front line Supervisory
OHS Aspect
(i)
staff
3.83
3.86
3.58
following through
Std. Dev.
0.97
0.51
0.58
0.38
0.77
38
20
23
7
88
Provide resources
Mean
3.39
3.68
3.74
3.86
3.59
for OHS
Std. Dev.
0.84
0.45
0.57
0.38
0.80
38
19
23
7
87
3.46
3.60
3.78
4.14
3.63
0.77
0.82
0.90
1.07
0.85
37
20
23
7
87
Promote employee
Mean
Identify hazards at
Mean
3.42
3.44
3.78
3.71
3.55
work
Std. Dev.
0.79
0.62
0.67
0.76
0.73
38
18
23
7
86
No.
(vi)
management
3.55
No.
(v)
staff
3.39
participation in OHS Std. Dev.
(iv)
staff
Mean
No.
(iii)
Clerical Overall
Management
commitment in OHS No.
(ii)
Line
Implementation of
Mean
3.37
3.47
3.61
3.86
3.49
risk control
Std. Dev.
0.75
0.70
0.72
0.38
0.71
measures
No.
38
19
23
7
87
Integration of safety Mean
3.37
3.26
3.48
3.57
3.39
requirements into
0.82
0.73
0.59
0.53
0.72
38
19
23
7
87
Mean
3.26
3.37
3.91
4.00
3.52
Std. Dev.
0.92
0.50
0.79
0.58
0.83
38
19
23
7
87
Mean
3.34
3.44
3.78
3.86
3.52
OHS plans for
Std. Dev.
0.88
0.62
0.67
0.38
0.76
continuous
No.
38
19
23
7
87
Std. Dev.
line work processes No.
(vii) Provision of OHS
training
No.
(viii) Implementation of
improvement
Note:
The rating is based on 5-point scale, i.e. from “1” to “5” for “poor”, “inadequate”,
“satisfactory”, “good” and “outstanding” respectively. “Mean” and “Std. Dev.” refer to
the average rating by the respondents and the standard deviation respectively.
The average perception ratings of the sub-groups for each of the OHS aspects
were plotted on Fig. 8, and the followings were noted:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
40
Development of OHS Management System Framework
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____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fig. 8 Respondents' Perception of Organisation's
Performance Related to Key OHS Elements
4.50
4.14
4.00
4.00
3.91
3.83
3.86
3.86
3.86
3.78
3.74
3.60
3.59
3.58
3.78
3.71
3.68
3.55
3.86
3.78
3.63
3.61
3.44
3.46
3.50
3.57
3.55
3.47
3.49
3.42
3.39
3.37
3.39
3.52
3.48
3.39
3.37
3.26
3.37
3.44
3.52
3.34
3.26
3.00
Management
following throught
its commitment in
OHS
Provide resources
for OHS
Promote employee
participation in
OHS
Front line staff
Identify hazards at
work
Supervisory staff
Implementation of Integration of safety Provision of OHS
risk control
requirements into
training
measures
line work processes
Line management
Clerical staff
Implementation of
OHS plans for
continuous
improvement
Overall
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
(a)
Overall the performance of the OHS aspects were somewhere between
“satisfactory” and “good”, i.e. between “3” and “4” on the 5-point rating
scale.
(b)
In general, it appeared that the line management personnel have rated the
Organisation’s performance better than the other 2 sub-groups in the line
function. The perception difference were confirmed using t-test at 10%
significance level below (Exh. 9) in respect of management commitment,
provision of OHS training, and implementation of OHS plan for continuous
improvement:
OHS Aspect
Line Management Line Management Supervisory Staff
v.s.
v.s.
v.s.
Front Line Staff Supervisory Staff Front Line Staff
(i)
Management following
10%
43%
3%
through commitment in
OHS
(ii)
Provide resources for
12%
80%
18%
OHS
(iii) Promote employee
16%
56%
53%
participation in OHS
(iv)
Identify hazards at
6%
10%
90%
work
(v)
Implementation of risk
22%
54%
60%
control measures
(vi)
Integration of safety
55%
31%
63%
requirements into line
work processes
(vii) Provision of OHS
1%
1%
58%
training
(viii) Implementation of OHS
3%
10%
62%
plans for continuous
improvement
Note:
The tabulation indicates P(t-test), i.e. the probability that the observed score difference
between the sub-groups was by chance based on 2-tail t-test for small and different
sized samples. % figure in bold refers to significant result at 10% significance level.
Exh. 9: T-test for Perception Difference about OHS Performance Aspects between
Respondents at Different Ranks
3.8
Important Ways for Accident Prevention at Work
Fig. 9 plots the different ways that were perceived to be important for prevention
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
of accidents at work (Q.13), and the followings were noted:
(a)
Overall the three ways most frequently perceived as important for accident
prevention were enhancement of employees’ safety awareness, provision of
training on work safety control measures, and availability of adequate
safety tools and equipment. On the other hand, staff’s participation in
solving safety problems at work (19%) and maintaining control measures
against hazards at work (24%) were less frequently perceived as important
when compared with the other options.
(b)
It appeared that respondents in the line management personnel sub-group
perceived that maintaining control measures against hazards at work and
following safety work procedures were more important than provision of
training on work safety control measures and availability of safety tools and
equipment. The other 2 sub-groups in the line function have perceived
these two latter aspects more important in their responses.
(c)
It appeared that the line supervisory staff focussed particularly on the
importance of providing adequate supervision at work when compared with
the front line staff and the line management personnel.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________
Fig. 9 Ways Perceived to be Important for Prevention of Accident
90%
80%
75%
78%
72%
70%
60%
65%
57%
60%
58%
57%
51%
50%
50%
50%
45%
49%
43% 43%
43%
39%
40%
35%
35%
28%
30%
20%20%
17%
20%
28%
27%
26%
28%
24%
20%
20%
19%
18%
14%
10%
0%
0%
0%
Provide training
Enhance
employees' safety on work safety
control measures
awareness
Front Line Staff
Adequate safety
tools and
equipment
Supervisory staff
Follow safety
Provide adequate
work procedures
supervision of
work
Line management
Clerical staff
Maintain control
measures against
hazards at work
Staff's
participation in
solving safety
problems at work
Overall
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
3.9
Constraints to Promotion of OHS within the Organisation
Fig. 10 depicts the aspects that were perceived as constraints to promoting OHS
within the Organisation, and the followings were noted:
(a)
Overall, “staff’s habitual practices and not following safety rules”,
“inadequate safety awareness”, “lack of OHS training”, and “resources for
OHS implementation” were mostly perceived to be constraints to
promoting OHS within the Organisation. On the other hand, “management
support for OHS”, “supervision at work” and “arrangement and set up for
OHS” were less frequently perceived as constraints to OHS promotion.
(b)
There appeared some differences in the concerns of the respondents from
the different sub-groups in the line function. The line management
personnel were concerned more about “staff’s habitual practices and not
following safety rules” and “resources for OHS implementation”. In
addition to “staff’s habitual practices and not following safety rules”, the
line supervisory staff were also concerned about “lack of OHS training”
whereas the front line staff were concerned about “inadequate safety
awareness”.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
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Development of OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________
Fig. 10 Constraints to Promotion of OHS within the Organisation
35%
29%
30%
27% 27%
24%
25%
21%
20%
20%
18%
17%
16%
16%
15%
14%
15%
14%
14%
14%
14%
13%
11%
10%
10%
8%
7%
6%
5%
10% 10%
9%
10%
8%
8%
10%
8%
7%
6%
6%
6%
6%
6%
5%
6%
5%
5%
5%
4%
3%
0%
0%
0%
Resources for
OHS
implementation
Insufficient
management
support for OHS
Front Line Staff
Lack of OHS
training
Inadequate
supervision at
work
Supervisory staff
Staff's habitual Inadequate OHS
Inadequate
Accountability of
OHS not
practices and not
awareness
arrangements and
OHS not
integrated with
following safety
set up for OHS reflected as part
work process
rules
of performance
appraisal
Line management
Clerical staff
Overall
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
46
Development of OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 4
4.1
DISCUSSION
General
This Chapter discusses the implications of the findings from the perception survey,
as detailed in Chapter 3, with a view to drawing up recommendations for
improvement of OHS management for the Organisation. The following Sections
will focus on each of the 6 key OHS elements under study, the employees’
concerns about OHS within the Organisation and some reflections on limitations
of the research study.
4.2
Management Commitment and Employee Participation
According to the 4-frame model for organisation analysis by Bolman & Deal
(cited in Hale & Hovden 1998), management commitment is “symbolic” in nature
whereas employee participation is both a “human resources” and “political” issue.
The two dimensions, i.e. management commitment and employee participation,
would exhibit the safety climate of the organisation (Dedobbeleer & Beland
1998).
4.2.1 Management Commitment
The employees’ perception of management commitment was gauged in the
perception survey in three aspects, i.e. understanding about the Organisation’s
OHS policy, management’s following through their commitment in OHS, and
provision of resources for OHS.
(a)
Understanding about the Organisation’s OHS policy
As identified in the survey results in Section 3.3 of Chapter 3, the employees’
understanding about the Organisation’s OHS policy was high. Whilst the OHS
policy statement itself is a “structural” element, the OHS values and messages
conveyed in the statement are “symbolic”. It is noted that 86% of the respondents
have perceived that “safety is of higher priority than productivity” being part of
the Organisation’s OHS policy though it was not explicitly stated therein.
However, according to the line management representative’s advice during the
interview, the Organisation would accord equal priority to safety and other
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considerations such as cost, productivity and quality (Appendix V). The
following interpretations and implications were derived from the observed results:
(i)
There might have been communication problems such that management
could not clearly communicate the full contents and messages of the OHS
policy to its employees. Apart from communication channels, the
Organisation’s core value of “caring” might have conveyed a confused
message to the employees about the Organisation’s level of commitment
towards OHS.
(ii)
The employees’ responses that “safety is of higher priority than
productivity” may have reflected the employees’ norms and values about
OHS. The Organisation should take the employees’ concern into
consideration when reviewing its OHS policy and operations; for example,
the Organisation may consider to incorporate such employees’ preference
and value into the OHS policy.
(b)
Following Through and Resources for OHS Commitment
As analysed in Sections 3.7 and 3.9 of Chapter 3, the employees’ average
perception of management’s commitment in respect of actions and resources for
OHS commitments was somewhere between “satisfactory” and “good” (i.e.
between 3 to 4) in the 5-point rating scale (Fig. 8). The line management
personnel rated the two aspects better than the other sub-groups in the line
function. The following implications from the observed results were noted:
(i)
Based on the 5-point rating scale, with a maximum of “5” for “outstanding”,
there were rooms for the Organisation to improve. The Organisation’s
management could review whether their actions are consistent with their
OHS commitment and declaration. The Organisation could also collect
feedback from its various Divisions on whether resources deployed for
OHS were adequate. In fact, according to the results in Section 3.9 (Fig.
10), “resources for OHS implementation” was one of the key concerns of
the line management personnel. Whilst the Organisation has already
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created a dedicated account for OHS expenditures (Appendix V), it may
use the account to track the yearly expenditures on OHS such as provision
of OHS training, procurement of tools and equipment, and OHS promotion,
and allocate additional funding where necessary.
(ii)
The perception difference between line management personnel and
employees at the other ranks in the line function also warrants management
attention. It may have implied that employees at different ranks/posts could
perceive things differently due to their different backgrounds and positions.
Nevertheless, the Organisation should review its existing communication
channels for OHS and enhance the quality of both vertical and horizontal
communications for OHS throughout the Organisation with a view to
closing the perception gap.
4.2.2 Employee Participation
The employees’ participation in OHS activities and taskforces as well as the
Organisation’s performance in promoting employee participation were measured
in the perception survey. The following analysis on implications from the
observed results (Sections 3.4 and 3.7 to 3.9) were noted:
(i)
As analysed in Section 3.4 and Fig. 2, the overall participation rates of the
employees in OHS activities were quite low, i.e. ranging from 36% in
“assistance in accident investigation” to 58% in both “safety inspection”
and “development & implementation of programs for improving OHS”. As
the number of accidents each year in the Organisation was quite low, it is
not unusual that only low percentage of employees were ever involved in
assisting the safety personnel for accident investigation.
(ii)
On the other hand, the reasons for low employee participation, especially
the front line staff and the line supervisory staff, in the other OHS activities
should be explored. The survey showed that the employees did not accord
much value to participation in OHS activities (Fig. 9 and Section 3.8).
They have rated “staff’s participation in solving safety problems at work”
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relatively low in terms of importance when compared with the other ways
for preventing accidents. The Organisation should promote employees’
awareness about OHS and communicate the need and importance for
employees’ participation in OHS activities. This could in turn foster
ownership and accountability for OHS among the employees.
(iii) Whilst safety practitioners suggest that employees at all levels should be
involved for effective management of OHS (Section 1.3.4(e)(ii)), the
participation rates in OHS activities among the front line staff and
supervisory staff were much lower than that of the line management
personnel (Fig. 2). The Organisation should review whether the existing
means and opportunities for OHS participation of the front line employees
are adequate, e.g. OHS committees, works improvement teams and
incentive schemes.
(iv) The low participation rate of the line supervisory staff when compared with
the front line staff (Fig. 2) also warrants management attention. Line
supervisory staff, who are the immediate supervisors of the front line staff
at work, should be responsible for their subordinates and the work being
performed. They serve as a communication linkage between line
management and the front line staff and hence should be conversant with
the Organisation’s OHS priorities and work practices, and their active
participation in OHS activities would set a good example to the front line
staff.
(v)
It is noted that the line management personnel have rated the
Organisation’s OHS performance against the key OHS elements better than
the other sub-groups (Section 3.7 and Fig. 8). One factor that could have
led to the perception difference might be the degree of participation in OHS
activities. In fact, the line management personnel’s participation in OHS
activities were higher (Fig. 2) and hence they could have got a better idea
of how the Organisation was performing in the OHS areas. If such an
assumption is valid, the implication will be that promoting the front line
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employees’ participation in OHS could help reducing the perception gap
about OHS performance amongst different sub-groups.
4.3
Preventive Approach for OHS
According to safety professionals (Section 1.3.4(e)(iii)), the essence of preventive
approach lies in identifying and controlling the hazards before occurrence of
accidents. Job hazard analysis, control measures at work, and employees’ safety
awareness as surveyed in the perception survey provided some insights in the
respective OHS performance of the Organisation. Work activities and control
measures are part of the technical sub-system of the Kast & Rosenweiez
sub-system approach. On the other hand, based on the Bolman and Deal 4-frame
model, job hazard analysis belongs to the structural frame whereas employees’
safety awareness belongs to the human resources frame. The followings were
noted from the survey findings in Chapter 3:
(i)
The hazards most frequently perceived by the employees (Fig. 6) were
quite in line with the types of accidents occurred in the past 2 years
(Appendix V), including manual handling, fall of persons and struck
against objects. The Organisation should thus focus on the underlying
causes for accident prevention and address the employees’ concern about
adequacy of control measures at the workplaces. In fact, employees’
perception of the Organisation’s performance in identifying hazards at
work and implementation of risk control measures were somewhere
between “satisfactory” and “good” (i.e. between 3 and 4 in the 5-point
rating scale) (Fig. 8) and there were rooms for improvement.
(ii)
It seems that the Organisation has relied very much on the line management
personnel to conduct job hazard analysis (Fig. 2), with quite low
participation by the front line staff and supervisory staff. Similar situation
holds for “development and implementation of programs for improving
OHS” and “working out safety work procedures or guidelines”. For
effectiveness, it is prudent for the Organisation to involve more front line
staff and supervisory staff in the job hazard analysis and development of
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safety work procedures as they were actually involved in the work and
should be more familiar with the hazards encountered and the site
constraints. This could ensure that the safety work procedures and control
measures developed be practicable and matching the specific site
situations.
(iii) It is noted from Fig. 9 that maintaining control measures against hazards at
work, and following safety work procedures have been accorded low
importance by the employees when compared with other aspects such as
safety awareness, OHS training, and safety tools and equipment in accident
prevention. The result seems to align with some safety professionals’ views
that procedure-based factors were less important when compared with the
psychosocial factors (Section 1.3.5).
4.4
Integration of OHS with Line Management Function
Literature review showed that integration of management systems would result in
synergies and effectiveness and employees at all levels should be made
responsible and accountable for OHS performance (Section 1.3.4(e)(iv)). In this
connection, the followings could be derived from the findings in Chapter 3:
(i)
The Organisation’s performance in integration of safety requirements into
line work processes was perceived somewhere between “satisfactory” and
“good” (i.e. between 3 and 4 on the 5-point rating scale) (Fig. 8). There
was some degree of concern that OHS not being integrated with the line
activities would be a constraint to OHS promotion within the Organisation
(Fig. 10). The Organisation should thus review its existing work practices
with a view to integrating the safety requirements into them. Whilst the
Organisation’s existing ISO standard based quality and environment
management systems could form a “structural” framework for the
integration, the pitfalls of developing a bureaucratic or paper biased
integrated management system should be cautioned against (Section 1.3.3).
(ii)
The survey result showed that the percentage of employees who preferred
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OHS performance to be accountable was much higher than those who
opposed (Fig. 5). Such findings, together with some employees’ concern
that “accountability of OHS not reflected as part of performance appraisal”
(Fig. 10), may well support the Organisation to make OHS performance
part of the performance appraisal. All this would promote ownership of
OHS and raise line management’s attention towards better OHS
performance.
4.5
OHS Training
OHS training concerns competence and safety awareness of employees (Section
1.3.4(e)(v)) and belongs to either “structural” or “human resources” dimensions
in the 4-frame model of Bolman & Deal (cited in Hale & Hovden 1998)
depending on the level of analysis. Whilst an OHS training programme itself is a
“structural” element, OHS training as a means for enhancing competence and
promoting behaviour change will be a “human resources” element. The
followings were the implications derived from the observed results in Chapter 3:
(i)
The importance of OHS training for accident prevention was ascertained in
Fig. 9. In fact, enhancement of safety awareness and training on work
safety control measures were the two ways that employees perceived as
most important for accident prevention. On the other hand, inadequate OHS
awareness and lack of OHS training were still the key concerns of the
employees as constraints to OHS promotion within the Organisation (Fig.
10). This might help explaining why the employees’ perception of the
Organisation’s performance on provision of OHS training was just
somewhere between “satisfactory” and “good” (i.e. between 3 and 4 on the
5-point rating scale).
(ii)
As for the other aspects, line management personnel’s participation in OHS
training (Fig. 2) was higher and perception about the Organisation’s
performance on OHS training was better when compared with the other two
sub-groups in the line function. Two implications are noted. Firstly, this
might suggest that degree of participation in an aspect may have some
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association with the rating given on the aspect surveyed. Secondly, the
Organisation should review whether the front line staff and supervisory
staff are provided with adequate opportunities for receiving OHS training
when compared with the line management personnel. If resource allocation
is involved for providing OHS training to employees at different
ranks/posts, “political” issues will come into the scene and should be
appropriately addressed to avoid conflicts between the different sub-groups.
(iii) The major constraint to OHS promotion identified from the survey was
“staff’s habitual practices and not following safety rules” (Fig. 10). By
providing appropriate types of training, in particular the competence based
training as noted in Section 1.3.4(e)(v), the Organisation could change the
employees’ work behaviours to make them more safety conscious at work.
4.6
Continuos Improvement to OHS
Using Bolman & Deal 4-frame model (cited in Hale & Hovden 1998), the
concept of continuous improvement could be considered “symbolic”. The survey
findings have shown gaps in various aspects that the Organisation should attend
with a view for continuous improvement in OHS. The employees’ perception
rating of the Organisation’s performance in respect of implementation of OHS
plans for continuous improvement (Fig. 8), i.e. between “satisfactory” and
“good” in the 5-point rating scale, indicated that there were rooms for
improvement.
The Organisation could incorporate continuous improvement in OHS as part of its
OHS policy so as to demonstrate and communicate its OHS commitment to the
employees. To put words into action, the Organisation should follow up the
aspects at workplaces where employees have indicated that further improvements
were recommended (Fig. 7). For effectiveness, the hierarchy of control (Section
1.3.4(e)(iii)) should be adopted in working out and implementing hazard control
measures. This could in turn promote employees’ participation in OHS and
bringing up OHS concerns for management attention, which is important in
fostering a positive OHS culture within the Organisation.
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4.7
Employees’ Views and Attitudes about OHS
Employees’ views and attitudes about OHS are part of the OHS culture and
“symbolic” in nature based on Bolman & Deal 4-frame model (cited in Hale &
Hovden 1998). Safety practitioners in general agree that positive OHS culture
contributes to good OHS performance within organisations (Section 1.3.5).
According to the findings of the perception survey, the employees’ attitudes
towards certain OHS aspects were positive and should be reinforced. They valued
that “safety is of higher priority than productivity” (Section 4.2.1), considered
OHS training important (Section 4.5), and were willing to become accountable
for OHS performance (Section 4.4).
On the other hand, the employees’ relatively negative views and attitudes towards
employee participation in OHS (Section 4.2.2) and usefulness of control measures
for accident prevention (Section 4.3) should be changed. Besides, the general
level of safety awareness was still a prime concern among the employees (Fig. 9
& Fig. 10). In this connection, OHS training programme (Section 4.5) and
management’s real and visible commitment in OHS (Section 4.6) could help to
change and strengthen the employees’ attitudes to the desired state.
4.8
OHS Management System Framework for the Organisation
As analysed in the above Sections 4.2 to 4.7 above, the key OHS elements for
effective OHS management and employees’ views and attitudes towards OHS did
belong to and intertwine with the different dimensions or sub-systems of the
Organisation, i.e. structural, human resources, political, technical and symbolic.
Hence OHS management should recognise the complex nature of an organisation
and take into account the different dimensions or sub-systems of the organisation
as revealed from the literature review (Section 1.3.7).
To help linking up the key OHS elements and plans in perspective and in a
systematic
manner,
an
OHS
management
system
framework
with
plan-do-check-act management cycle could be adopted. Apart from being part of
the OHS management system framework, the 6 key OHS elements, i.e.
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management
commitment,
employee
participation,
preventive
approach,
integration of OHS with line management function, provision of OHS training
and continuous improvement, could serve as guiding principles in planning and
implementation of OHS programmes and plans. For sustainable improvement in
OHS performance, the OHS management system should include cultivation of
positive OHS culture and continuous improvement in OHS as long term goals in
addition to the short term goal of eliminating/controlling hazards for accident
prevention.
Apart from the various dimensions or sub-systems within the Organisation,
interface with external environment should also be taken into consideration as
discussed in Section 1.3.1. The requirements of the F&IU (Safety Management)
Regulation should be incorporated into the OHS management system. As the
Organisation has already been operating with the ISO standards quality
management system and environment management system, it could reference to
the OHSAS 18001 (1999) or the AS/NZS 4804 (1997) for incorporation of other
important OHS elements. Such OHS elements could include OHS documentation
and record management, performance measurement and monitoring, preventive
and corrective action, emergency preparedness, and management review. This
could facilitate integration of management systems by virtue of compatibility
among the system standards. However, as discussed in Section 4.4, the OHS
management system should be kept flexible and not be paper biased.
4.9
Limitations of the Research Study
Whilst the above analysis and discussions were made based on careful
interpretation of findings from the research study, it is recognised that owing to
resources and time constraints, the research process itself did have limitations in
terms of research design and scope of study. The following remarks, which could
be referenced to in future studies on similar research topics, were noted:
(i)
The employees’ views and perception about the Organisation’s OHS
performance were measured in the questionnaire survey by using a rating
scale against the specific OHS aspects or elements. Comprehension and
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interpretation of the questions and rating scale among the respondents were
tested by having the questionnaire tried out by 2 outsiders before the
official launch of the survey. As noted in the literature review (Section
1.3.6(b)), reliability of the questionnaire and rating scale could be further
improved through external validation by larger scale of pilot testing.
(ii)
In the study, sub-group analysis involving line management, supervisory
staff and front line staff have been conducted to assess perception
differences due to difference in ranks/posts within the hierarchy of the
Organisation. On the other hand, sample size of the sub-groups from the
survey result was quite different, which in turn could affect validity of the
parametric tests adopted for testing statistical significance of the survey
findings. The sample size of the clerical support staff from the survey was
even too small for conducting statistical significance test. It is suggested
that to ensure compatible number of returns from the different sub-groups
are available, the sampling could be planned more strategically. For
example, the number of questionnaires for issue to the target respondents in
each sub-group could be pre-determined before the survey and the sample
size for each sub-group could be increased to reduce sampling error.
(iii) The research study seems to show signs of association between degree of
participation in OHS activities and perception rating for OHS performance.
The subject area may be worthwhile for verification in future studies. If the
relationship is proved positive, it will mean that the Organisation could
raise the employees’ perception rating in OHS aspects by promoting their
participation in the OHS activities.
(iv) The study measured the employees’ perception at one particular point in
time only. As perception may change over time due to changes in OHS
situations and environment, it is desirable that similar perception surveys
be conducted periodically to keep tracking the current OHS perception.
Apart from the sub-groups in the present study, senior management could
also be included in the perception survey to collect and monitor their views
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and perception about OHS as well. In this way, the OHS perception across
the Organisation’s hierarchy would be more comprehensive.
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CHAPTER 5
5.1
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusions
Based on the findings from the perception survey in Chapter 3 and the analysis
and discussions in Chapter 4, the following conclusions could be drawn from the
case study on the target Organisation:
(a)
The perception survey was found useful in providing valuable information
for reviewing the Organisation’s performance against the key OHS
elements and insights for understanding the views and attitudes of the
Organisation’s employees in OHS. This together with models for
organisation analysis, i.e. Bolman & Deal 4-frame model and Kast &
Rosenweiez interacting sub-systems approach, has enabled a thorough
analysis of the interrelated facets of the Organsation and the key elements
for effective OHS management.
(b)
Overall, the employees perceived the Organisation’s performance in respect
of the key OHS elements under study somewhere between “satisfactory”
and “good”, i.e. between 3 and 4 on the 5-point scale, signifying that there
were much room for improvement in each of the key OHS elements.
Recommendations for improvement will be highlighted in the next Section.
(c)
The OHS values and attitudes of the employees as revealed from the
perception survey were not wholly consistent with the key elements for
effective OHS management. Whilst the employees’ values towards OHS
training, safety awareness, and integration and accountability for OHS were
consistent with the key OHS elements, the value of control measures for
hazard elimination/ reduction and employee participation in promoting
OHS within the Organisation were not yet fully recognised by the
employees. This warrants the attention of the Organisation’s management
for closing the mis-match with a view for developing a positive OHS
culture within the Organisation.
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5.2
Recommendations to the Organisation for OHS Improvement
This Section summarises the recommendations derived from the research study. It
is noted that the recommendations were described in broad terms and aimed to
provide guidelines for the Organisation to develop detailed action plans for
improvement to its OHS performance. The first part lists out the
recommendations that are related to the key OHS elements whereas the second
part puts forward a conceptual OHS management system framework to assist the
Organisation in handling OHS matters systematically.
5.2.1 Recommendations Related to the Key OHS Elements
The followings are the recommendations related to the specific OHS aspects:
(a)
The Organisation’s OHS policy should be reviewed with a view to
incorporating the employees’ concerns of “safety is of higher priority than
productivity” into the policy. This could show the management’s
commitment towards OHS and the core value of “caring”.
(b)
The Organisation should establish arrangements to periodically review the
needs for and adequacy of resources deployed for OHS. Dedicated account
for OHS expenditures and periodical feedback from the Divisions could
serve as a monitoring tool.
(c)
Communication for OHS throughout the Organisation should be reviewed
and enhanced. Apart from communication channels, the quality of
communication should be focussed at to ensure that communication of
OHS messages is effective. This could help closing the OHS perception
gaps between the Organisation’s management and employees.
(d)
The Organisation should review adequacy of existing channels and
opportunities for employees’ participation, and should encourage
employees, in particular the front line staff and the supervisory staff, to
participate actively in OHS activities so as to foster ownership for OHS and
a positive OHS culture. In addition, the existing employee participation
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channels through OHS committees, works improvement teams and OHS
incentive schemes should be promoted.
(e)
Apart from the line management personnel, the front line staff and line
supervisory staff should also be encouraged to actively participate in the
processes for job hazard analysis and development of safety working
procedures. This would ensure that the outputs be more realistic and fit the
work site situations. The participation would also promote ownership for
OHS.
(f)
Accountability for OHS should be made part of the staff performance
appraisal together with other line functions to promote ownership and
positive OHS culture.
(g)
OHS training arrangements should be reviewed to ensure that OHS training
needs of employees at different ranks/posts would be catered for and
appropriate OHS training programmes provided. The OHS training would
in turn help enhancing competence and OHS awareness for promoting
positive OHS culture. Competence based training could be applied to
change the undesirable work behaviours of the employees.
(h)
Continuous improvement should be incorporated as part of the OHS policy
to demonstrate commitment towards OHS by the Organisation’s
management. It is suggested that the Organisation should make its
commitment visible and concrete by putting its words into action. To this
end, OHS action plans for improvement could be drawn up to address OHS
concerns of the employees as collected from the perception survey.
(i)
The Organisation should initiate OHS culture change programme by
focussing on the key elements for effective OHS management that have
been valued less positively, e.g. employee participation and control
measures for hazard elimination/ reduction, so as to cultivate positive OHS
culture. The perception survey could be conducted periodically to keep
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tracking the progress and effectiveness of the OHS culture change
programme.
5.2.2 Recommended OHS Management System Framework for the Organisation
To coordinate and link up the various OHS aspects effectively and systematically,
the Organisation should establish and implement an OHS management system. In
this connection, the conceptual OHS management system framework depicted in
Exh. 10 is recommended to the Organisation to guide its planning and
implementation of OHS activities and programmes for improving OHS
performance. The recommended conceptual framework was based on the key
OHS elements, the Bolman & Deal 4-frame model and Kast & Rosenweiez
sub-systems
approach
for
organisation
analysis,
and
the
Deming’s
plan-do-check-act management cycle, with highlights as follows:
(a)
To facilitate integration of OHS into line functions, OHS management
should be considered within the context of the total organisation, with
interrelated sub-systems or dimensions, i.e. goals & values, human
resources (psychosocial), technical, structural and management. In addition,
external factors such as legal requirements (i.e. Factories and Industrial
Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulations) and OHS best practices in
the industry should also be taken into consideration. All these dimensions
and factors have a bearing on the planning, implementation and control of
the OHS action plans and programmes and should be appropriately
addressed for effective management of OHS.
(b)
Goals for OHS management should include elimination/controlling hazards
for accident prevention, continuous improvement in OHS, and cultivation
of positive OHS culture within the Organisation. OHS values to be cultured
among stakeholders within the Organisation (i.e. management and
employees) should encompass full commitment to OHS at work, preventive
approach to accident prevention, and involvement of all stakeholders for
OHS improvement.
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(c)
The human resources (psychosocial) dimension should take into account
the issues of people within the Organisation for promotion of employee
empowerment and participation in OHS activities. Key issues should
include provision of OHS training for promoting safety awareness, work
competence, and safe work behaviours, and political consideration in
resource allocation, and communication effectiveness.
(d)
The technical dimension refers to the work activities and the associated
plants and equipment. Control measures for hazards should take into
account the key OHS element of preventive approach for OHS by applying
the higher end measures at the hierarchy of control, i.e. elimination,
substitution and engineering controls.
(e)
The structural dimension should take into account OHS structures, rules
and procedures as well as OHS programmes. As the ISO standards based
management systems for quality and environment are in place within the
Organisation, the procedure elements in OHSAS 18001 (1999) or AS/NZS
4804 (1997), which is compatible with the ISO standards, could be
referenced to for facilitating integration of OHS with the line management
functions.
(f)
The core of the OHS management system framework would be the
management dimension, which links up the other dimensions in a
coordinated manner. Management of the OHS elements, programmes and
activities should be based on a plan-do-check-act management cycle for
continuous improvement in OHS.
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Management
Commitment
-
OHS policy
Action in OHS
Resources
allocation
Goals & Values
-
Human Resources
(Psychosocial)
OHS Management
-
-
Employee
participation
OHS training
Communication
Development of positive
OHS culture and values
Continuous
improvement to OHS
Elimination/control of
hazards for accident
prevention
-
Plan-Do-Check-Act
Management Cycle
Integration with line
functions
Technical
-
Work activities,
plants & equipment
Preventive
approach to OHS
Structural
-
External Factors
-
OHS structure,
procedures and rules
OHS programmes
Relevant procedure
elements in standards
based OHS management
systems
Organisation as an open system
Legal requirements
OHS best practices in
industry
Exh. 10: Recommended Conceptual OHS Management System Framework for the
Organisation
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5.3
Suggestions for Future Research Study
The followings related to the present study are suggested for future research
studies:
(a)
The relationship between employees’ participation in OHS activities and
OHS perception rating, if any, is worthwhile to be explored. If such
relationship could be established, it may imply that OHS perception rating
could be modified through promotion of participation in OHS activities.
(b)
The present study has referred to 6 key OHS elements identified from OHS
best practices. It makes sense if relative importance between the key OHS
elements, if any, could be traced. In this way, limited resources for OHS
could be deployed to the more important key OHS elements for efficient
utilisation of resources.
(c)
In addition to the line management, line supervisory staff and clerical
support staff under the present study, the senior management could also be
included in the perception survey so that OHS perception of stakeholders at
all levels of the hierarchy within an organisation could be tracked and
compared.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 5
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for an E&M Engineering Services Organisation
_____________________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
References
71
Development of an OHS Management System Framework
for an E&M Engineering Service Organisation
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix I: Process Elements under the Factories & Industrial Undertakings
(Safety Management) Regulation
The Regulation requires the proprietors of specified hazardous industrial undertakings
to set up and implement safety management systems with either 8 or 14 safety elements
depending on the number of workers involved and the size of the construction contracts
as stipulated in Schedule 3 of the Regulation. The 14 safety elements prescribed in the
Regulation include:
1.
Safety policy
2.
Safety organisation
3.
Safety training
4.
In-house safety rules and regulations
5.
Programme for inspection of hazardous conditions
6.
Personal protection programme
7.
Accident/incident investigation
8.
Emergency preparedness
9.
Evaluation, selection and control of sub-contractor
10. Safety committee
11. Job hazard analysis
12. Safety promotion
13. Process control programme
14. Health assurance programme
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix I
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Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix II: The Plan-Do-Check-Act Management Cycle Incorporated into
OHSAS 18001 (1999) and AS/NZS 4804 (1997)
The illustration below shows the application of plan-do-check-act management cycle in
OHSAS 18001 and AS/NZS 4804:
Deming’s model
OHSAS 18001
AS/NZS 4804
Plan
OHS Policy
Planning
Commitment and policy
Planning
Do
Implementation and
operation
Implementation
Check
Checking and corrective
action
Measurement and
evaluation
Act
Management review
Review and improvement
Repeat the plan-do-check-act Continual improvement
cycle for continual
improvement
Continual improvement
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix II
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Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________
Appendix III: Comparison between OHS Management System Frameworks and Models Promulgated by Different Standards
Development Institutions and OHS Professional Associations
Note:
The OHS elements highlighted in bold characters in the following tabulation for OHS management system frameworks and models
are related to the 6 key elements identified from the “OHS best practices”.
IOHA’s Universal
Model
ILO OSHMS
OHSAS 18001
 Management
commitment and
resources
 Regulatory
compliance and
system
conformance
 Accountability,  Responsibility
responsibility and
and
authority
accountability
 Legal and other
requirements
 Employee
participation
 Worker
participation
 Consultation
 OHS policy
 OSH policy
 OHS policy
 Structure and
responsibility
AS/NZS 4804
OSHA Voluntary
Protection Program
OSHA Process Safety
Management Guideline
 Leadership and  Management
commitment
commitment and
 Resources- human,
involvement
physical, and
financial
 Legal and other
requirements
 Accountability
 Supervisor and
and responsibility
manager
readiness
 Assigned
responsibilities
and
accountabilities
 Consultation,
 Employee
motivation and
participation
awareness
 OHS policy
 Safety policy
 Employee
involvement
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix IV
74
Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________
(Cont’d Appendix III)
IOHA’s Universal
Model
 OHS goals and
objectives
ILO OSHMS
 Initial review
 OSH objectives
OHSAS 18001
 Objectives
 Performance
measures
 System planning  System planning,  OHS
development and
and development
management
implementation
programmes
 Baseline
 Planning for
evaluation and
hazard
hazard/risk
identification,
assessment
risk assessment
and risk control
 OHSMS manual  OSH management  Documentation
and procedures
system
documentation
 Training system
 Technical
 Competence and  Training,
expertise and
training
awareness and
personnel
competence
qualification
AS/NZS 4804
OSHA Voluntary
Protection Program
OSHA Process Safety
Management Guideline
 Initial OHS
review
 Objectives and
targets
 Performance
indicators
 OHS
management
plans
 Planning
identification of
hazards,
assessment and
control of risks
 Documentation
 Objectives
 Training and
competency
 Safety and health  Employee
training
training
 Safety and health
training content
 Safety
management
program
 Work site hazard  Process hazard
analysis
analysis
 Baseline surveys
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix IV
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Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________
(Cont’d Appendix III)
IOHA’s Universal
Model
ILO OSHMS
OHSAS 18001
 Hazard control
system
 Prevention and  Operational
control measures
control
 Process design
 Management of
change
 Emergency
preparedness and
response system
 Emergency
prevention,
preparedness and
response
 Hazardous agent
management
system
 Emergency
preparedness and
response
AS/NZS 4804
 Hazard
identification,
risk assessment
and control of
risks
 Hazard
identification
 Risk assessment
 Contingency
preparedness and
response
 Emergency or
disaster plans
 Incidents involving
employees
 Critical incident
recovery plan
 Risk control
 Design,
fabrication,
installation and
commissioning

OSHA Voluntary
Protection Program
OSHA Process Safety
Management Guideline
 Hazard
prevention and
control
 Operating
procedures and
practices
 Pre-startup safety
 Procedures and
protective
equipment
 Facility and
equipment
maintenance
 Emergency
planning
 Process safety
information
 Mechanical
integrity
 Managing change
 Emergency
preparedness
 Non-routine work
authorisation
Administrative
control
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix IV
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Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________
(Cont’d Appendix III)
IOHA’s Universal
Model
 Preventive and
corrective action
system
 Procurement and
contracting
 Communication
system
ILO OSHMS
OHSAS 18001
AS/NZS 4804
 Preventive and
corrective action
 Review and back
to organising
 Procurement
 Contracting
 Corrective and
 Corrective and
preventive action
preventive action
 Communication
 Communication
 Document and
record
management
system
 Evaluation system  Performance
monitoring and
measurement
 Auditing and
 Audit
self-inspection
 Incident
 Investigation of
investigation and
work-related
root cause analysis
injury, ill-health,
disease & incident
OSHA Voluntary
Protection Program
 Supplying goods  Contract workers
and services
 Purchasing goods
and services
 Communication
 Hazard and
 Reporting
program
communications
 Document control
 Records and
information
management
 Document and
data control
 Records and
records
management
 Performance
 Measurement and  Site inspections
measurement and
evaluation
monitoring
 Inspection, testing
and monitoring
 Audit
 Audits of the
OHSMS
 Accidents,
 Incident
 Accident and
incidents,
investigation
injury analysis
non-conformances
OSHA Process Safety
Management Guideline
 Contractors
 Compliance audits
 Investigation of
incidents
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________
(Cont’d Appendix III)
IOHA’s Universal
Model
 Health/ medical
program and
surveillance
 Continual
improvement
 Integration
 Management
review
ILO OSHMS
OHSAS 18001
AS/NZS 4804
OSHA Voluntary
Protection Program
OSHA Process Safety
Management Guideline
 Medical program
 Continual
improvement
 Continual
improvement
 Management
review
 Management
review
 Continual
improvement
 Integration
 Review of the
OHSMS
 Program review
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix IV
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Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix IV: Checklist on Interview Questions for Line Management of the
Organisation
Part 1: Management Commitment
Q.1
Has the Organisation formulated and promulgated an OHS policy?
(check also a copy of the OHS policy)
□1
Q.2
Has the OHS policy been kept under review by management to ensure
that it is relevant to the Organisation’s business operation and up to date?
If so, how?
□2
Q.3
Has the OHS policy been communicated to the employees and other
interested parties? If so, how and through which means?
□3
Q.4
How does the Organisation determine if the resources for
implementation of the OHS policy and activities are adequate?
□4
Q.5
Do management personally involved in the various types of OHS
management activities? Please give examples, say OHS committee
meetings, OHS promotion activities, OHS performance assessment etc.
□5
Q.6
Have safety responsibilities been defined for persons at all levels within
the Organisation? If so, please elaborate and provide a copy of the
defined responsibilities for reference?
□6
Part 2: Employee Involvement
Q.7
Q.8
Are line function staff involved in each of the following activities?
Yes
No
(i) Job hazard analysis for work
1
2
(ii) Safety inspection
1
2
(iii) Safety training provision for newly
1
2
revised safety work procedures
(iv) Development and implementation of
1
2
plans for improving OHS
Have any consultation or feedback mechanisms been established to
consult and collect views of employees in respect OHS issues? If yes,
what are they? How about the staff representations in those
mechanisms/forum? Is OHS consultation planned in a systematic
manner?
□7
□8
□9
□10
□11
Part 3: Preventive Approach
Q.9
Has the Organisation conducted any risk assessment for hazards at work
to ascertain the risk level and the necessary control measures? If so, what
are the assessment procedures/processes? Is the approach systematic?
Please show record.
□12
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix IV
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Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
Q.10 Have hazards at work been identified? If yes, please list out the hazards
that are encountered by persons at the workplaces due to:
(i) the Organisation’s work activities
(ii) equipment, tools and facilities used
(iii) work environment
□13
□14
□15
Q.11 Have the Organisation established any safety work procedures to deal
with OHS hazards in both routine and non-routine activities, including
emergency situations? If so, what are they? Is the approach systematic?
How about the implementation of the risk control measures?
□16
Q.13 Is there any safety inspection programme in place for the Organisation’s
work activities and workplaces? If yes, how? Are the abnormalities
spotted from the safety inspections followed up?
□17
Part 4: Integration with Overall Management Systems
Q.14 Are the OHS requirements built into the Organisation’s work process
operating procedures? If yes, how?
□18
Q.15 Are OHS requirements accorded with similar priority as other
management considerations when setting the Organisation’s strategies
and plans? If yes, give examples.
□19
Q.16 Have the Organisation included OHS performance as part of the
employee performance management process? If yes, how? What are the
performance indicators adopted?
□20
Q.17 Are there arrangements for reporting and recording of work related
accidents/incidents? If so, how are the accident investigation findings
referred to as input in the hazard identification process?
□21
Part 5: OHS Training
Q.17 Is there any arrangement to identify the safety training needs of staff at
different ranks against the competency requirement, legal requirements
and hazards of the work activities?
Q.18 Are the following types of safety training provided to staff at different
ranks:
Yes
No
(i) General safety induction training
1
2
(ii) Site/ work specific training for staff
1
2
concerned
(iii) Tool box talks/ OHS briefings on
1
2
specific topic
(iv) Safety briefing/ drills on emergency
1
2
procedures
□22
□23
□24
□25
□26
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix IV
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Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
Q.19 Is the progress of the OHS training programme monitored and
effectiveness evaluated? If yes, how e.g. training record system?
□27
Q.20 Is refresher training provided to employees? If so, how is the refresher
training programme monitored?
□28
Part 6: Continuos Improvement
Q.25 Has the Organisation committed itself to continuous improvement of
OHS performance? If yes, how?
□29
Q.26 Has the Organisation conducted periodic review and revision, where
necessary, of its OHS arrangements, policy and objectives to match the
changing environment?
□30
- The End -
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix IV
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Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix V: Information Collected from Interview with Line Management
Based on the interview question checklist in Appendix IV, an interview with the line
management representative was conducted during which relevant OHS documents and
records were checked. The following summarises the information collected from the
interviewee with reference to the 6 key OHS elements:
1.0
Management Commitment
1.1
The Organisation has established and promulgated a written corporate OHS
policy in early 2001. The OHS policy has been signed by the director of the
Organisation and includes the commitment to achieving and maintaining a high
standard safety and health at work. The policies include: (i) provision of safe
work systems and working environment, (ii) observance to statutory and
contractual requirements for safety and health, (iii) provision of adequate
resources for implementing OHS plans and training, (iv) constant review and
update to the OHS policy.
1.2
The OHS policy has been uploaded to the Organisation’s intranet, published on
its monthly newsletter, and outlined to the new recruits as part of the induction
training course which is held once every 3 to 4 months.
1.3
The Organisation has been deploying resources to provide safety training to its
employees and to procure up-to-date safety tools and equipment for use at work.
Whilst annual budget for OHS expenditure has not been set, a dedicated account
has been created to track and monitor the expenditure incurred in OHS matters
each year.
1.4
The Organisation has an OHS committee, chaired by a senior manager and with
members derived from the part-time safety supervisors of Divisions and
representatives of the staff consultative committees. Senior management would
attend OHS promotion functions.
1.5
OHS responsibilities for employees at different ranks are defined in the
Organisation’s Safety Manual.
2.0
Employee Involvement
2.1
Regarding involvement in OHS activities, the line management representative
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix V
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Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
confirmed that the Organisation’s line function staff are involved in:
(a)
job hazard analysis for work activities;
(b)
safety inspection;
(c)
attendance to safety training for newly developed or revised work
procedures;
(d)
2.2
OHS improvement projects from works improvement teams
Apart from the organisation wide OHS committee (para. 1.4 above), Divisions
have begun to set up Division OHS committee as well. In addition, employees
could also form works improvement teams voluntarily to initiate improvement
projects of various nature, e.g. for improvement of productivity, service quality
and OHS.
2.3
The OHS committee monitors the OHS performance of the Organisation,
coordinates OHS promotion functions, and serves as a forum for consultation and
discussion of OHS issues. Its members could bring up organisation wide OHS
issues for discussion in the committee.
3.0
Preventive Approach
3.1
The Organisation has carried out risk assessment for its work activities and
records for some of its risk assessments, accounting for both severity and
likelihood in a risk matrix, were available for inspection.
3.2
The Organisation’s employees in general work in two types of environment, i.e.
office work and site work:
(a)
The front line staff responsible for operation and maintenance work
activities would be exposed to such hazards as electricity, hazards from
running plant and equipment, slips or falls, chemicals, hot environment,
noise, fall of persons, and manual handling/lifting.
(b)
The supervisory staff and line management personnel are involved in
inspection of works and hence would be exposed to the hazards prevailing
at work sites such as slips and falls, falling objects/tools, contact with
electricity, and running plant and machinery. Besides, the line management
personnel also work in the offices and would face similar office work
hazards as the clerical support staff.
(c)
The clerical support staff are involved in office work and use of office
equipment such as computer and photocopier, movement of files and
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix V
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Development of an OHS Management System Framework
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_____________________________________________________________________________________
documents, and stay inside enclosed air-conditioned area. All this lead to
hazards such as ergonomics, manual handling/lifting, falling objects,
tripping/slippage and inadequate ventilation.
3.3
According to the accident statistics in the past 2 years, the three most common
types of accidents were fall of persons, striking against/struck by moving objects,
and manual handling.
3.4
The Organisation has compiled and promulgated safety guidelines for some
common work activities such as electrical work, work at height, handling of
chemicals, manual handling, lifting operations, use of hand tools, and use of
machinery. The individual Divisions would develop other work specific
guidelines where necessary.
3.5
The full-time safety officers and the part-time safety supervisors would plan and
conduct safety inspections to the works venues within the Division, and bring up
abnormalities, if any, to the line management for follow up action.
4.0
Integration of OHS into line management function
4.1
Despite that the Organisation has established safety guidelines for various work
activities, it has maintained separate sets of work process procedures under the
purview of the Organisation’s ISO 9001 quality management system. Not all the
requirements under the safety guidelines were incorporated as part of the work
process procedures.
4.2
The line management representative advised that the Organisation would accord
equal priority to OHS and other considerations such as cost, productivity and
quality. In fact, in the Organisation’s vision-mission-value statement, “caring” is
one of the core values together with customer focus, integrity, service excellence,
and commitment.
4.3
The Organisation has not explicitly included OHS performance as part of the
employees’ performance appraisal process. However, management would review
the annual safety performance of the Divisions based on such parameters as
number of accidents, accident rates, productivity loss and severity.
4.4
The Organisation has promulgated an instruction on procedures for accident
reporting. The instruction requires that all accidents be investigated by the safety
supervisors or safety officers and recommendations for prevention of recurrence
and improvements be referred to the responsible line management for follow up
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix V
84
Development of an OHS Management System Framework
for an E&M Engineering Service Organisation
_____________________________________________________________________________________
action. The Safety Unit maintains the accident statistics based on returns from
Divisions and compiles the annual safety report for the Organisation.
5.0
OHS Training
5.1
The Organisation’s Safety Unit has conducted safety training needs analysis for
employees at various ranks and compiled a safety training programme which
stipulates the general safety training requirements for each rank. The Divisions
would assess the hazards and the competence requirements for specific works
and arrange for other special training for their employees.
5.2
The following types of safety training have been provided to staff at different
ranks:
(a)
General safety induction training: the Labour Department recognised green
card training for all front line staff and safety induction briefing as part of
the induction training course to new recruits;
(b)
Site/work specific training for employees concerned;
(c)
Tool box talks and OHS briefings on specific topics;
(d)
Safety briefing and drills on emergency procedures such as fire and
chemical spillage at workplace;
5.3
Apart from the safety training records kept by Divisions, the Organisation’s
Training Unit would also update and maintain the training records based on the
quarterly returns of the Divisions.
5.4
Refresher training would be provided where necessary. For example, safety
briefing sessions with similar topics would be arranged regularly by the
Divisions’ safety officers and the Safety Unit.
6.0
Continuous Improvement
6.1
The Safety Unit would review the Organisation’s OHS arrangements and policy
and propose necessary changes for management’s consideration and employee
consultation.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix V
85
Development of an OHS Management System Framework
for an E&M Engineering Service Organisation
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix VI: Questionnaire for Self-administered Survey on OHS Perception of
Employees
Dear Respondents,
I am undertaking on a personal basis a research project about OHS management
practices in organisations, which will form part of the requirements for the Master of
Applied Science (Safety Management) degree course, jointly organised by the Hong
Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury. The
questionnaire survey is aiming to collect the views of the respondents about the OHS
management practices of the Organisation. The survey findings will provide valuable
information for understanding the current status of the Organisation in respect of OHS
and for working out measures to further enhance the OHS within the Organisation.
When you answer the questions on the attached survey form, please circle the
appropriate number/letter to indicate your answer or preference. Please return the
completed survey form to: “Return address for completed questionnaire (attn: Mr. K.C.
Lo)” on or before 31/10/2001. Information and data collected in the survey will be used
for conducting analysis on aggregate basis for the purpose of the survey and will be kept
confidential. The questionnaire survey forms returned will be destroyed upon
completion of the study.
Thanks for your participation in the questionnaire survey.
K.C. Lo
October 2001
_____________________________________________________________________
Internal
use
Q.1
What is your post/rank in the Organisation?
□1
a. Artisan
b. Workman
c. Works Supervisor
d. Inspector
e. Section Manager
f. Engineer
g. Clerical Staff
h. Others： (Please specify __________________________)
Q.2
Are you a part-time Safety Supervisor?
a. Yes
b. No
Q.3
Are you a member of the following committee or taskforce?
Yes
No
(a) OHS committee
1
2
(b) Works improvement team
1
2
□2
□3
□4
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix VI
86
Development of an OHS Management System Framework
for an E&M Engineering Service Organisation
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Q.4
Q.5
Q.6
Do the followings reflect your understanding of the Organisation’s
Occupational Health & Safety Policy?
Yes No No idea
(i) Achieve high standard of safety and health
1
2
3
(ii) Comply safety legislation and COPs at work 1
2
3
(iii) Management to provide necessary safety
1
2
3
training, supervision and instruction
(iv) Management to provide safe plant and
1
2
3
equipment and safe work environment
(v) Safety is of higher priority than productivity 1
2
3
Have you participated in any of the following activities?
Yes
(i) Job hazard analysis for work
2
(ii) Safety inspection
2
(iii) Attend safety training for new or revised
2
safety work procedures
(iv) Development and implementation of
2
programs for improving OHS
(v) Assist safety personnel in accident
2
investigation
(vi) Contribute to working out safety work
2
procedures or guidelines
□5
□6
□7
□8
□9
No
1
1
1
□10
□11
□12
1
□13
1
□14
1
□15
How do you rate the followings in terms of helping the Organisation to
improve OHS in your workplace?
Not
Least Not so Quite Useful Very No
useful useful useful useful
useful idea
(i)
(ii)
OHS Committee
Works Improvement
Teams
(iii) OHS incentive scheme
Q.7
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
6
7
7
□16
□17
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
□18
Do you know your responsibilities for OHS?
(i)
(ii)
Rank/post specific OHS responsibilities
defined by the Organisation
General duties under OS&H Ordinance
Yes
1
No
2
□19
1
2
□20
Q.8
Which party is responsible for OHS under the OS&H Ordinance?
(a)
Employer
(b)
Employee
(c)
Both employer and employee
(d)
No idea
□21
Q.9
Do you think that OHS performance should become part of the staff’s
performance appraisal?
(a)
Yes
(b)
No
(c) No idea
□22
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix VI
87
Development of an OHS Management System Framework
for an E&M Engineering Service Organisation
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Q.10
□23
Are you aware of any hazards at your work?
(a) No, there is no hazard
(b) Yes
If “Yes”, please indicate below: (may circle one or more choice(s))
(i)
Falling from height
(ii) Falling objects
(iii) Electric shock
(iv) Struck against objects
(v) Hit/ injured by moving parts
(vi) Contact with chemicals
(vii) Burns
(viii) Injured due to manual handling
(ix) Hazards due to plant and machinery
(x) Others: _________________
□24
□25
□26
□27
□28
□29
□30
□31
□32
□33
Q.11
Do you find the control measures in place are adequate to reduce
hazards that may be encountered at work?
(a) Adequate
(b) Further improvements are recommended
(Please specify: _____________________________________)
(c) Immediate improvements are needed.
(Please specify: _____________________________________)
(d) No idea
Q.12
What do you think about the Organisation’s performance in
connection with each of the followings? (Please circle)
□34
Poor Not
Satisfactory Good Outstanding No
adequate
idea
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
Management following
through its
commitment in OHS
Provide resources for
OHS
Promote employee
participation in OHS
Identify hazards at
work
Implementation of risk
control measures
Integration of safety
requirements into line
work processes
Provision of OHS
training
1
2
3
4
5
6
□35
1
2
3
4
5
6
□36
1
2
3
4
5
6
□37
1
2
3
4
5
6
□38
1
2
3
4
5
6
□39
1
2
3
4
5
6
□40
1
2
3
4
5
6
□41
Implementation of OHS
plans for continuous
improvement
1
2
3
4
5
6
□42
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix VI
88
Development of an OHS Management System Framework
for an E&M Engineering Service Organisation
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Q.13
Q.14
Q.15
What do you think are the 3 most important ways to prevent accidents
at work? (please rank your three choices from “1” to “3” in
descending order of importance, i.e. “1” for most important, “2” for
second most important, and “3” for third most important)
(i)
Enhance employees’ safety awareness _________
(ii) Follow safety work procedures
_________
(iii) Provide training on work safety control
measures
_________
(iv) Provide adequate supervision of work _________
(v) Adequate safety tools and equipment
_________
(vi) Maintain control measures against
hazards at work
_________
(vii) Staff’s participation in solving safety
problems at work
_________
(viii) Others: (Please specify: ___________) _________
(ix) No idea
_________
What do you think are the constraints in promoting OHS in the
Organisation? (may circle one or more choice(s))
(i)
Resources for OHS implementation
(ii) Insufficient management support for OHS
(iii) Lack of OHS training
(iv) Inadequate supervision at work
(v) Staff’s habitual practices and not following safety rules
(vi) Inadequate OHS awareness
(vii) Inadequate arrangements and set up for OHS
(viii) Accountability for OHS not reflected as part of performance
appraisal
(ix) OHS not integrated with work process
(x) Others: (Please specify: ________________)
(xi) No idea
Do you have any other comments and suggestions on promoting OHS
practices within the organisation? If yes, please list out:
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
□43
□44
□45
□46
□47
□48
□49
□50
□51
□52
□53
□54
□55
□56
□57
□58
□59
□60
□61
□62
□63
This is the end of the Questionnaire. Thank You!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix VI
89
Development of an OHS Management System Framework
for an E&M Engineering Service Organisation
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix VII: Questionnaire for Self-administered Survey on OHS Perception of
Employees (Chinese Version of Appendix VI)
問卷調查：機構的職安健管理與實踐
你好：
本人現正以個人身份進行一項有關在機構內之職安健管理與實踐的研究，以符合
香港理工大學與University of Western Sydney 聯合舉辦之安全管理碩士課程的部
份要求。本問卷旨在收集閣下對你的機構之職安健管理與實踐的意見。問卷所收
集到的資料對瞭解機構內的職安健狀況和作出進一步改善職安健的建議計劃將有
很大的幫助。
在閣下回答問卷的時候，請在每一問題中圈出你所揀選的答案。並請將完成作答
的問卷在 2001 年 10 月 31 日或之前交回或寄回「香港 xxx（盧錦祥先生 收啟）」。
所有在問卷中收集到的資料只會以整體型式來應用於本研究項目中，並會絕對保
密。在完成本研究項目之後，所有問卷將會全部被消毀。
對閣下之參與本問卷調查，謹此致意。
盧錦祥
2001年10月
______________________________________________________________________
供內部用
Q.1
你在機構內的職級／職位是：
a. 技工 (Artisan)
b. 一般工人 (Workman)
c. 監工 (Works Supervisor)
d. 督察 (Inspector)
e. 分組/區經理 (Section Manager)
f. 工程師 (Engineer)
g. 文員 (Clerical Staff)
h. 其他： (請註明 _________________________________)
□1
Q.2
你有沒有兼任機構內的組別安全督導員？
a. 有
b. 沒有
□2
Q.3
你是否以下各組織的成員？
(a) 職安健委員會
(b) 工作改善小組
是
1
1
否
2
2
□3
□4
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix VII
90
Development of an OHS Management System Framework
for an E&M Engineering Service Organisation
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Q.4
以你的理解，以下各項是否包括在你的機構之職業安全及健康政
策宣言當中？
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Q.5
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
不知道
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3
□3
□4
□5
1
2
3
□6
1
2
3
□7
有
沒有
2
2
2
1
1
1
□8
□9
□10
2
2
1
1
□11
□12
2
1
□13
工作危害分析活動
安全巡查
參加為改動過或新增的工作程序
而設的安全訓練
訂立及落實改善職安健的計劃
協助安全人員進行意外事故的調
查
提供意見或建議以便制訂工作安
全程序或指引
你覺得以下各組織／措施對改善你的工作地點之職安健是否有效
用？
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Q.7
否
你有沒有參與過以下各項活動？
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Q.6
維持高水平的工作安全及健康
遵守有關職安健的法例和實務守則
管理層會提供足夠訓練、督導及資訊
指示以落實政策宣言
管理層會提供安全的工作環境及安全
的器材和工具
安全的優先次序高於生產力
是
職安健委員會
工作改善小組
職安健獎勵計劃
無用
很少
效用
不太
有用
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3
尚算 有用 非常 不知道
有用
有用
4
4
4
5
5
5
6
6
6
7
7
7
□16
□17
□18
你是否知道你所需要承擔的職安健責任？
是
否
1
2
□19
1
2
□20
Q.8
跟據“職業安全及健康條例”，那些人需要為職安健負責？
(a) 僱主
(b) 僱員
(c) 僱主及僱員
(d) 不知道
□21
Q.9
你認為職安健的表現應否成為員工工作表現評核的其中一部份？
(a) 應該
(b) 不應該
(c)
無意見
□22
(i)
(ii)
部門為你所屬職級/職位所界定的職
安健責任
在“職業安全及健康條例”所訂定
的一般性責任
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix VII
91
Development of an OHS Management System Framework
for an E&M Engineering Service Organisation
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Q.10
□23
你覺得你日常的工作有沒有危害？
(a) 沒有危害
(b) 有
如果“有”，請圈出以下適用的危害：(可圈出一個或以上項目)
(i)
人體從高處墮下
(ii) 物件下墮
(iii) 電擊或接觸電流
(iv) 被物件碰撞
(v) 被移動的物件擊中或所傷
(vi) 與化學品接觸
(vii) 燒傷或燙傷
(viii) 因人力提舉而受傷
(ix) 機械及機器所引致的危害
(x) 其他： (請註明) _________________________________
Q.11
你覺得在你工作地點的控制措施是否足夠以減低工作上可能遇到
的危害？
(a) 足夠
(b) 尚算足夠，但可以進一步改善
(請註明﹕ _____________________________________)
(c) 不足夠，需要即時改善
(請註明﹕_____________________________________)
(d) 不知道
Q.12
你認為你的機構在以下各項目的表現如何？
管理層在落實和貫徹
有關職安健的承諾
(ii) 管理層在職安健事務
上所提供的資源
(iii) 促進員工參與職安健
(iv) 找出工作上的危害
(v) 控制危害措施的實踐
和執行
(vi) 將安全要求融匯於日
常工作程序中
(vii) 職安健訓練的提供與
安排
(viii) 訂定及落實計劃以持
續改善職安健
(i)
□24
□25
□26
□27
□28
□29
□30
□31
□32
□33
□34
差劣
不足
滿意
良好
極好
不知道
1
2
3
4
5
6
□35
1
2
3
4
5
6
□36
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5
6
6
6
□37
□38
□39
1
2
3
4
5
6
□40
1
2
3
4
5
6
□41
1
2
3
4
5
6
□42
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix VII
92
Development of an OHS Management System Framework
for an E&M Engineering Service Organisation
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Q.13
Q.14
Q.15
你認為以下項目中那三項為最重要的措施以預防意外發生？(請
以“1”至“3”標示出你所選出項目的重要性：“1”為最重要、
“2”為次重要、“3”為第三重要)
(i)
_________
加強員工的安全意識
(ii) 員工遵照安全指引工作
_________
(iii) 提供有關安全工作的訓練
_________
(iv) 在工作過程中提供適當的督導和指導 _________
(v) 有足夠的安全設備和器材
_________
(vi) 維持適當的控制措施以消除或減低工
_________
作上的危害
(vii) 員工參與解決工作上有關安全的問題 _________
(viii) 其他: (請註明: _________________) _________
(ix) 不知道
_________
你覺得以下那些項目會對你的機構推行職安健構成障礙？(可選
擇一個或多個項目)
(i)
實踐職安健的資源不足夠
(ii) 管理層對職安健的支持不足夠
(iii) 職安健的訓練不足夠
(iv) 工作上的督導和指導不足夠
(vi) 員工在工作上的慣性及不依照安全指引工作
(vi) 安全意識不足夠
(vii) 沒有適當的職安健機制與安排
(viii) 職安健的問責並未成為員工工作表現評核的其中一部份
(ix) 職安健並未融匯於日常工作程序當中
(x) 其他﹕ (請註明: ________________)
(xi) 不知道
你對在機構內推廣職安健有沒有其他意見或建議？如果有的話，
請在以下列出：
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
□43
□44
□45
□46
□47
□48
□49
□50
□51
□52
□53
□54
□55
□56
□57
□58
□59
□60
□61
□62
□63
問卷到此為止。謝謝！
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix VII
93