Policy – THE KEY FEATURES AND APPROPRIATE CONTENT OF AN EFFECTIVE HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY

HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY COMMUNICATION

Outline the various methods for communicating the contents of a health and safety policy to a workforce. 

The policy statement of intent should be
• Posted on prominent notice boards throughout the workplace and 
• Brought to the attention of all employees at induction and refresher training sessions. 

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It can also be communicated to the workforce: 
• During team briefing sessions, 
• At „toolbox‟ talks which are conducted at the workplace or 
• Directly by email, intranet, 
• Newsletters or 
• Booklets. 
• It should be a permanent item on the agenda for health and safety committee meetings where it should be reviewed at each meeting. 

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STATEMENT OF INTENT – CONTENT

(a) Identify the typical content of the ‘statement of intent’ section of an organisation’s health and safety policy document. 
(b) Outline the factors that may indicate that health and safety standards within an organisation do not reflect the objectives within the ‘statement of intent’. 

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Part a)

The following points should be included or considered when a health and safety policy statement is being drafted: 

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• The aims should cover health and safety, welfare and relevant environmental issues 
• The position of the senior person in the organization or company who is responsible for health and safety (normally the chief executive) 
• The names of the health and safety adviser and any safety representatives 

•  A commitment to the basic requirements of the relevant health and safety legislation (access, egress, risk assessments, safe plant and systems of work, use, handling, transport and handling of articles and substances, information, training and supervision) 
• A commitment to the additional requirements of the good management of health and safety in the workplace (risk assessment, emergency procedures, health surveillance and employment of competent persons) 
• Duties towards the wider general public and others (contractors, customers, students, etc.) 
• The principal hazards in the organization 
• Specific policies of the organization (e.g. Smoking policy, violence to staff, etc.) 
• A commitment to employee consultation possibly using a safety committee or plant council 
• Specific performance targets for the immediate and long term future. 

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Part b) 
The factors that may indicate that health and safety standards within an organisation do not reflect the objectives within the ‘statement of intent’ are numerous and may include: 

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• Absence and accident rates deteriorating or not achieving their target 
• Enforcement actions following non-compliance to legislative standards 
• Non-conformances being raised at times such as audits and inspections 
• Increase of complaints by workers regarding conditions 
• Risk assessments not being reviewed in a timely manner 
• Trainings that are health and safety related are not taking place or are not refreshed if and when required. 
• Persons not conforming to safe systems of work indicating a slipping / negative safety culture 

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HEALTH AND SAFETY TARGET SETTING

a) Explain why it is important for an organisation to set targets in terms of its health and safety performance 

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Here an alternative question may be – Explain how accident data can be used to improve health and safety performance within an organisation. 

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b) Outline SIX types of target that an organisation might typically set in relation to health and safety. 

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Part a) 

Health and safety performance targets are an important part of the statement of intent because: 

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• They indicate that there is management commitment to improve health and safety performance 
• They motivate the workforce with tangible goals resulting, perhaps, in individual or collective rewards 
• They offer evidence during the monitoring, review and audit phases of the management system. 

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Part b) 

The following list, which is not exhaustive, shows common health and safety performance targets: 

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• A specific reduction in the number of accidents, incidents and cases of work-related ill-health (perhaps to zero) 

• A reduction in the level of sickness absence 
• A specific increase in the number of employees trained in health and safety 
• An increase in the reporting of minor accidents and „near miss‟ incidents 
• A reduction in the number of civil claims 
• No enforcement notices from the local authority 
• A specific improvement in health and safety audit scores 
• The achievement of a nationally recognised health and safety management standard, such as OHSAS18001. 

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HEALTH AND SAFETY TARGETS – REASONS TO ESTABLISH

Outline the reasons why an organisation should establish health and safety targets 

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There are several reasons for an organisation to set health and safety targets: 

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• Evidence of management commitment 
• To prioritize and focus on important health and safety issues 
• To motivate staff by giving them something tangible to aim for and to encourage their ownership 
• To enable performance with standards to be measured and to identify improvements that have been made 
• To enable trends to be identified 
• To meet the standards of the health and safety management systems 
• To highlight the important part that targets can play in facilitating the measurement and review of performance 

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SAFETY TARGETS RELATED TO THE  “STATEMENT OF INTENT‟

Identify a range of health and safety targets that may be included in the ‘statement of intent’ section of a health and safety policy. 

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Targets that might be included in the statement of intent section of a health and safety policy could include such targets as 

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• Compliance by the organisation with the requirements of relevant legislation; 
• A reduction in the number of accidents and cases of ill-health; 
• The completion of an assessment of all risks in the workplace and its review within a defined time scale; 
• The provision to all workers of the necessary information, instruction and training to ensure their competence; 
• The maintenance of exposure levels below defined limits; 
• Full consultation with the workforce on health and safety issues; 
• The provision of sufficient resources to secure the above targets; 
• Increasing the number of trainings delivered related to health and safety. 

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ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY RE DIRECTORS, SUPERVISORS, WORKERS AND PERSONS WITH PRIMARY HEALTH AND SAFETY FUNCTIONS

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Outline the health and safety roles and responsibilities of: 
(a) Directors and senior managers; 
(b) Supervisors; 
(c) Workers;
(d) Person(s) with primary health and safety functions, e.g. Health and safety officer. 

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Part (a) 
The main health and safety responsibilities of directors and senior managers are to 

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• Prepare and sign a health and safety policy 
• Set goals and objectives for the organisation; 
• Lead by example and 
• Demonstrate commitment; 
• Allocate responsibilities for health and safety throughout the organisation and 
• Set aside sufficient resources such as for example for training those who have been allocated special roles; 
• Secure competent health and safety advice such as by appointing a health and safety advisor; and 
• Receive monitoring reports and instigate action to rectify any deficiencies that have been found. 

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Part (b) 
Responsibilities of supervisors – they should: 

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• Control work in their area of responsibility and set a good example. 
• Take part in carrying out risk assessments, 
• Take part in the development of safe systems of work and ensure that members of their teams are fully briefed on the systems once they have been introduced. 

• Carry out inspections of their working areas and deal with any unsafe conditions or actions, reporting to managers if in any situation they personally do not have the power to take the necessary action. 
• They have an important role to play in training, coaching and mentoring members of their team. 

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Part (c) 
The roles and responsibilities of workers include: 

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• Taking reasonable care of themselves and their fellow workers, 
• Refraining from misusing equipment provided for their health and safety, 
• Co-operating with their employer by following safe systems of work; 
• Reporting accidents and unsafe situations to their supervisor or other nominated member of management. 

• They also have an important role to play in taking an active part in any consultation exercise set up by the employer. 

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Part (d) 
A person with primary health and safety functions such as a health and safety officer would be expected to 

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• Provide expert advice on matters of health and safety; 
• Assist in the development of the health and safety policy and procedures and their periodic reviews; 
• Intervene when he/she comes across any unsafe conditions or acts; 
• Keep health and safety records such as for accidents and any apparent trends; and 
• Liaise with representatives of external agencies. 

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ISSUES ON WHICH EMPLOYERS CONSULT WORKERS

Outline EIGHT health and safety issues on which employers should consult their workers. 

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There are a range of issues that employers should consult their workers, these include, but are not limited to: 

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1. The provision and use of PPE 
2. Safe systems of work 
3. Health and safety risk assessments 
4. Training issues 
5. The introduction of processes, etc. that may affect workers health and or safety 
6. Changes of materials being used 
7. Organisational structure changes 
8. The arrangements for appointing and/or nominating competent persons to assist in complying with health and safety obligations/requirements 
9. Emergency arrangements and procedures 
10. Welfare issues 
11. Incentive schemes 
12. Introduction of policies e.g. no smoking, drug/substance abuse and use, alcohol use and abuse. 

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COMMUNICATION – BARRIERS

Give reasons why a verbal instruction may not be clearly understood by a site operative. 

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Reasons should include: 

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• Noise and distractions may mean that persons are unable to clearly hear what is being said 

• Use of technical jargon may mean that people mis-understand the information being communicated 
• Complexity of information sometimes meets with the information receivers turning their minds off and not listening as they do not understand what is trying to be communicated 
• Communication is ambiguous 
• Language / dialect barriers is a big problem in some regions, both from the communicator or the receiver, sometimes the same words have different meanings or implications 
• Sensory impairment for example a receiver having a hearing deficiency or the communicator having a serious stammer 
• Mental difficulty may mean the receiver is not capable of absorbing information to any extent 
• Lack of attention by persons clearly not interested in the topic 
• Inexperience of persons not used to having to receive information at work i.e. young workers 
• Lengthy communication chains may be a problem if translations are required covering several languages –sometimes a problem in the Middle East for example.

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EFFECTIVENESS OF CONSULTATION

Explain how arrangements for consultation with workers may be made more effective. 

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Arrangements for consultation with workers might be made more effective by: 

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• The establishment of safety committees; 
• Consultation with elected representatives of employee safety; 
• Planned direct consultation at departmental meetings, 
• Team meetings, tool box talks and staff appraisals; 
• Consultation as part of an accident or incident investigation or as part of a risk assessment; 
• Day to day informal consultation by supervisors with their team; 
• Questionnaires and suggestion schemes. 
If formal meetings are to be held, it is important to ensure that: 
• There is a correct balance between management and worker representation; 
• That an agenda is set and the meeting well managed by the chair; 
• That the business of the meeting is not side tracked by discussion of non health and safety issues; 
• That minutes of and report back from the meeting are made available to the workforce as a whole and 
• That actions agreed receive attention without undue delay. 

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HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY – POLICY REVISION CIRCUMSTANCES

Outline the circumstances that may give rise to a need for a health and safety policy to be revised 

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A health and safety policy is not a static document and should be reviewed at regular intervals, those intervals can be determined by certain factors and they include: 

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• Passage of time – at least annually is there have not been organisational changes. 
• Technological changes (research development) and advancements have led to a better understanding of work practices and as a consequence has indicated a need for change in working practices 

• Introduction of new technology – when new technology has been introduced into the workplace that may pose further hazards, 
• Organisational changes where there has been a shift in accountabilities and/or responsibilities 
• Legal changes – that may impose fresh requirements on an organisation within the work processes that it undertakes. 
• Accident patterns – if a pattern of accidents, accidents in a certain area have been highlighted, a single significant accident – accidents tend to indicate a management system failure. 

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INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL INFLUENCES THAT MAY INFLUENCE A POLICY REVIEW

Outline FOUR external AND FOUR internal influences that might initiate a health and safety policy review. 

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External Influences: 

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1. Changes in legislation and guidance; 
2. Action by the enforcement authority; 
3. A civil claim and/or advice from an insurance company; 
4. Information from manufacturers; 
5. Client considerations or complaints; 
6. Suggestions from professional bodies or trade unions 
7. As a result of an audit by an external body. 

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Internal influences: 

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1. Significant changes in the structure of the organisation; 
2. Alterations to working arrangements; 
3. After the introduction of new or changed processes or work methods; 
4. Following changes in key personnel; 
5. Where risk assessments, monitoring exercises or accident investigations show that the policy is no longer effective or relevant; 
6. Following consultation with employees and after a sufficient period of time has elapsed since the previous review to suggest that another one is due. 

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HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY – ARRANGEMENTS

Outline the typical issued included in the arrangement section of the Health and safety policy 

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The arrangements section of the health and safety policy document should state how the organisation, through the  responsibilities of the people identified in the organisation section, will carry out the general intentions given in the statement. 

This is the most company-specific part of the policy and should have details of procedures for controlling risks identified by the risk assessments. 

Arrangements and procedures will control the significant risks identified in the risk assessments, which can involve any combination of: 

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1. Inspection Regimes 
2. Maintenance Arrangements 
3. Operating Procedures 
4. Training, supervision or monitoring procedures which are needed to control an identified risk. 
5. Risk Assessments 
6. Safe System Of Work 
7. Emergency Arrangements – Fire / First Aid – Accident / Spillages 
8. Training – Analysis, Programs, Tool Box Talks
9. Permits To Work 
10. Statistic Gathering 
11. Accident / Incident Investigation 
12. Accident Reporting 
13. Safety Committee Protocols – Structure, Constitution 
14. Controlling Exposure to Workplace Hazards 
15. Health Monitoring

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TECHNIQUES USED TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS – INSPECTIONS, EXTERNAL AUDITS AND ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENT STATISTICS

Outline how the following techniques may be used to improve health and safety performance within an organisation. 

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(a) Safety inspections

(b) Externally led health and safety audits. 
(c) Analysis of accident statistics. 

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Part (a) 
Safety inspections may be used to improve health and safety performance within an organisation in a number of ways including: 

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• Identifying hazards and the appropriate remedial action before accidents have occurred; 
• Showing management‟s commitment to health and safety and improving the morale of the workforce; 
• Enabling the involvement of employees in the management of health and safety and if carried out on a regular basis, identifying trends and weaknesses in existing procedures. 

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Part (b), 
The findings of a health and safety audit may be used for improving health and safety performance by: 

• Providing an objective and expert assessment of actual performance against set standards, 
• Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the existing system 
• Enabling targets and objectives to be set and reviewed thus helping to ensure continuous improvement. 

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Part (c) 
An analysis of accident statistics may be used: 

• To identify trends and problem areas in order that resources can be allocated, appropriate remedial actions taken and targets set; 
• To enable comparisons to be made with other like organisations; 
• To provide information to employees in order to focus and stimulate discussion at joint consultation meetings; 
• To show the costs to the organisation of the accidents that occurred.