NEBOSH IGC; THE MORAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC REASONS FOR MAINTAINING AND PROMOTING GOOD STANDARDS OF HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE

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REASONS FOR MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY

Outline the three main reasons why manage health and safety and explain which is the most important of those reasons.

• The Moral, Legal and Financial are three main reasons for promoting good standards of health and safety within an organization.

• The most important reason is MORAL because, we all have moral obligation not to cause harm to others. Employers have a moral obligation toward, their employees and others.

• Moral is increasingly important at a time when employers go to great lengths to encourage their workforce to give commitment

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CONSEQUENCES (COSTS) OF NOT ACHIEVING A GOOD STANDARD OF HEALTH AND SAFETY

Outline possible consequences of not achieving good standards of health and safety.

Recognition of the financial and legal implications of poor health and safety performance should be outlined, and include the following considerations:

• Costs of accidents and ill-health in terms of lost production

• Loss of key personnel due to accidents and or ill health or even leaving the company for safer environments (next point)

• Replacement staff costs to cater for those off work due to ill health or injury or those leaving the business to go elsewhere for fear of their health and safety

• Investigation costs relating to accidents and incidents are a lot higher than management and others realise

• Higher insurance premiums will result if the claims history or risk rating of the company is adverse

• Equipment/plant damage and replacement costs

• Legal defence costs that need to be paid in order for a defence to be made by the organisation

• Fines for breaches of health and safety compliance

• Possible imprisonment of persons at various levels for not adhering to the required level of legislative compliance i.e. duty of care.

• Product quality could be affected, as persons who feel that they are not being suitably protected will not have the same degree of care as those that feel their health and safety is being considered

• Resource allocation – if adequate resources are not allocated to health and safety then there is every likelihood deficiencies will arise which may include non compliance with recognised legislative and best practice standards

• Public and employee relations

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COST OF ACCIDENTS

Replacement or repair of damaged equipment is a cost that an organisation may incur following an accident at work. List EIGHT other possible costs to the organisation following a workplace accident.

Direct costs

These are costs which are directly related to the accident and may be insured or uninsured. Insured direct costs normally include:

• Claims on employers and public liability insurance

• Damage to buildings, equipment or vehicles

• Any attributable production and/or general business loss.

Uninsured direct costs include:

• Fines resulting from prosecution by the enforcement authority

• Sick pay

• Some damage to product, equipment, vehicles or process not directly attributable to the accident (e.g. Caused by replacement staff)

• Increases in insurance premiums resulting from the accident

• Any compensation not covered by the insurance policy due to an excess agreed between the employer and the insurance company

• Legal representation following any compensation claim.

Indirect costs

These are costs which may not be directly attributable to the accident but may result from a series of accidents. Again these may be insured or uninsured. Insured indirect costs can include:

• A cumulative business loss

• Product or process liability claims

• Recruitment of certain replacement staff.

Uninsured indirect costs include:

• Loss of goodwill and a poor corporate image

• Accident investigation time and any subsequent remedial action required

• Production delays

• Extra overtime payments

• Lost time for other employees, such as a first aider, who attend to the needs of the injured person

• The recruitment and training of most replacement staff

• Additional administration time incurred

• Lower employee morale possibly leading to reduced productivity

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ILL-HEALTH ABSENCE COST

List EIGHT possible costs to an organisation when employees are absent due to work-related ill-health.

There are a range of costs that have to be considered has having an impact on the organisation, including, but not limited to:

1. Replacement of staff

2. Retraining those who will be replacing those absent

3. Project delays

4. Medical costs

5. Payments while the person is off work

6. Compensation costs (civil)

7. Defence costs of a criminal and/or civil action

8. Adverse publicity

9. Loss of staff motivation which will impact productivity

10. Revision of work processes

11. Investigation costs

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ORGANISATIONAL COSTS RELATED TO INADEQUATE STANDARDS OF WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

Identify the possible costs that an organisation may incur as a result of inadequate standards of workplace health and safety.

The results of providing inadequate standards of workplace health and safety are generally:

An increase in accidents and ill-health of the workers. Consequently an organisation suffers direct costs such as those arising from:

• Lost production and time dealing with the subsequent investigations;

• Those arising from plant damage and replacement and cleanup activities;

• Paying those involved during absences as a result of accident or ill-health;

• Having to recruit and train replacement labour;

• Costs arising from the possibility of action by the enforcement authorities or

• By a civil claim from the injured parties and

• The inevitable rise in insurance premiums.

There are also indirect costs related to:

• Poor staff morale which could lead to industrial unrest and high staff turnover and

• The damage done to the organisation‟s reputation which could lead to a loss of orders and a subsequent decrease in its profitability.

The better answers structured their responses under the general headings of direct and indirect costs.

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BENEFITS TO AN ORGANISATION IN IMPLEMENTING A SUCCESSFUL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Outline the economic benefits that an organisation may obtain by implementing a successful health and safety management system.

• Reduces risk to an organisation – risk assessments allow the identification and onwards management of risk

• Reduced risk allows/attracts reduced insurance liability coverage

• Ensures legal compliance and as a consequence helps the organisation to avoid costly legal as well as civil actions

• Having less accidents/incidents means that time is more productive and as such would improve overall financial performance (could even have quality improvement connotations).

• There will be cost savings to employers (as stated earlier), individuals – as they will not have earnings affected due to accident/ill-health absence, the economy would benefit by having additional availability of cash and of course society would not be faced with the financial burden of caring for persons who are ill/recovering/disabled due to poor and /or unsafe working practices.

• It would allow target setting and as such economic benefit would be obtained by the company being aware of their performance and effectively managing it accordingly.

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MAINTAINING AND PROMOTING HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS

a) Explain reasons for maintaining and promoting good standards of health and safety in the workplace.

(b) Identify sources of information that an organisation may use to help maintain and promote good standards of health and safety in the workplace.

(c) Outline possible reasons why good standards of health and safety in the workplace may not be achieved.

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Part (a),

Answers had structured responses around the moral, legal, social and economic arguments for maintaining good standards of health and safety within an organisation.

The moral argument centres on the need to provide a reasonable standard of care and to reduce the injuries, pain and suffering caused to workers by accidents and ill health

The legal reasons centred on compliance with the law and ILO and other international standards to avoid criminal penalties and to comply with the employer‟s common law duty to take reasonable care of workers.

Social reasons being concerned with the need to provide a safe place of work, safe plant and equipment, safe systems of work, competent workers and a high standard of training and supervision.

The economic benefits would include:

• A more highly motivated workforce resulting in an improvement in the rate of production and product quality;

• The avoidance of costs associated with accident investigations;

• The avoidance of costs associated with accidents such as the hiring or training of replacement staff and

• The possible repair of plant and equipment;

• Securing more favourable terms for insurance and maintaining the image and reputation of the organisation with its various stakeholders..

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Part (b),

Sources of information that an organisation may use to help maintain and promote good standards of health and safety include:

• Legislation including directives and regulations;

• ILO codes of practice, conventions, guidelines and recommendations together with those produced nationally;

• Information produced by the world health organisation (who) and the european agency for safety and health at work;

• International standards such as those from ISO and BSI;

• Guidance produced by the various enforcement agencies;

• Manufacturers‟ data;

• Information produced by trade associations, trade unions and professional bodies;

• Accident and ill-health data and

• Information emanating from completed risk assessments, inspections and audits.

Part (c)

Reasons why good standards of health and safety may not be achieved in the workplace include:

• A lack of management commitment;

• Poor morale among the workforce and a lack of motivation;

• Frequent changes in the organisation;

• A lack of resources possibly due to a harsh economic climate;

• Conflicting demands with priority being given to production targets and meeting deadlines;

• Poor communication and consultation with the workforce;

• A failure to provide adequate training leading to a lack of awareness amongst workers;

• A failure to complete risk assessments and to produce safe systems of work and method statements;

• Generally poor standards of health and safety in the industry leading to a lack of peer pressure.

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COST OF ACCIDENTS

Identify possible costs to an organisation following an accident in the workplace

Possible costs such as those associated with:

• Lost production,

• Staff replacement

• Staff training / retraining

• Staff absence,

• Sick pay,

• Temporary replacement with the need for additional training,

• Repair of damaged plant and equipment,

• Damage to products,

• Investigation and remedial action,

• Additional administration incurred,

• An increase in insurance premiums,

• Fines and compensation awarded,

• Court and other legal representation.

• Costs arising from a loss of business image and

• The detrimental effect on worker morale resulting in reduced productivity.

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CONSEQUENCES TO A WORKER INJURED IN A WORKS ACCIDENT

Identify possible consequences to workers injured in an accident at work.

Possible consequences to a worker injured in a workplace accident include:

• Pain and suffering and even disability or death with its resultant impact on family life; loss of earnings and future earning capacity following time off work and even loss of current employment;

• Medical expenses and loss of confidence and motivation giving rise to social and psychological problems.

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COSTS INCURRED FOLLOWING AN ACCIDENT

Replacement and retraining of staff is a cost that an organisation may face following a workplace accident. Identify EIGHT other possible costs to an organisation when a serious accident has occurred at work.

Possible costs include:

• Those associated with lost production;

• Staff absence and sick pay;

• Repair of damaged plant and equipment;

• Damage to products;

• Investigation and remedial action;

• Additional administration incurred;

• An increase in insurance premiums;

• Fines and damages awarded;

• Court and other legal representation.

• A loss of business image and

• The detrimental effect on employee morale resulting in reduced productivity.

You need to read the question – this one looks very similar to a previous one – but here there is clear mention that replacement and retraining of staff have already been considered.

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TRAINING – LATER STAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

Outline reasons why an employee might require additional health and safety training at a later stage of employment within an organisation.

When a work has been employed by an organisation for some time there may be a need for additional safety training. These needs can vary, and may include:

• A general refresher – as over a period of time a persons focus may shift and thus they may not be as safety focused as they should be – this may be an issue if a person has not had an accident and therefore may become complacent.

• To ensure that there is a consistent approach to safe systems of work which may have changed over time and therefore the worker may be somewhat out-dated in their knowledge.

• The workplace and work practices may have changed without the worker being consciously aware of them.

• The worker may have moved locations within the same premises and is not aware of some of the potential hazards in the present location.

• It may identify further training needs of the individual – this may be an issue with technological advancement.

• Ensuring that the worker remains positive in their heath and safety attitude and helps to foster a better and more positive health and safety culture

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TRAINING – LEVELS OF SUPERVISION REQUIRED

Outline the factors that may determine the level of supervision an employee should receive during their initial period within a company.

The level of supervision required during their initial period with a company will be dependant on a host of factors and may include some, or all of the following:

• Complexity of the work to be undertaken

• Age of the individual

• The attitude of the individual

• Any special needs

• Previous experience

• Previous situation reports (past accident situations)

• The peer group attitude

• Type of PPE that may be required and the need for correct use (i.e. harness – can fall into incorrect use – over a time period)

• Level of supervision available

• Type of work being undertaken

• Substances used and likely effects

• Legal requirements.

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TRAINING PROGRAMME – FACTORS

Identify the factors to be considered while developing a health and safety training programme for an organization

• The objectives of the training – what do you hope to achieve by giving the training and what the participants will obtain from it

• The trainer – whether in-house or external – will have a major impact on the effective presentation of the training and thus the information retention of the participants

• The venue in which the training is held can have a significant effect on the training in general if it is in poor condition or poorly resourced, the training will be less successful than if it is at least in a good condition and comfortable

• The number of people involved in the training will affect the quality of the training – in some cases larger numbers allow for greater group interaction, which can help, whilst in other cases smaller numbers allow for more teacher – participant interaction which can also help

• The means of delivering the teaching will significantly affect most of the other factors here, although it does not necessarily have to be the deciding factor

• The company culture and the support from the management team is also a significant factor in the planning of training delivery

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TRAINING – MEASURING ITS EFFECTIVENESS

Identify the various measures that might be used to assess the effectiveness of the training

There are a range of measures that may be used to assess the effectiveness of training, including:

• Participation of attendees

• Level of response

• Ability to correctly respond to questions

• Being able to demonstrate understanding

• On the job follow-up for compliance

• Reduction of accidents / incidents in aspects of the training delivered

• Formal feedback from attendees

• Personal feedback

• Others asking for similar training

• Attentiveness throughout

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TRAINING RECORDS

Outline the reasons why it is important for an employee to keep the training records of his employees

• May be legal requirements

• May assist in developing training plans / identifying gaps

• May be required for evidence following an incident / accident

• May reduce penalties in a court of law

• Insurance premium reviews

• Completing risk assessments

• CPD for the worker

• To save duplication of training

• Management system compliance.