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Category Archives: Health and Safety

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Reviewing your health and safety management system

The top management of any organisation should take ultimate responsibility for occupational health and safety (OHS). As part of this, there should be a process in place that enable management to review health and safety performance.

Purpose of management reviews

Reviewing health and safety performance closes the loop in the process and will inform the organisation whether it is effectively controlling risks and if the management system remains fit for purpose.

Focusing on the key words, the various standards available note the review should check that the system is:

  • suitable, in terms of whether the system is appropriate to the organisation, its operations, culture and risk profile
  • adequate, in terms of addressing the organisation’s policy and objectives and is therefore appropriate and sufficient
  • effective, in terms of whether the system is achieving the desired outcomes or results.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) takes a slightly more simplified approach and suggests that the purpose of the review is to establish whether the principles of strong and active leadership, worker involvement, and assessment and review have been embedded in the organisation.

Whatever the purpose, a management review, like other functions, will require thought and planning to achieve the necessary outcomes of the review process.

Undertaking management reviews

As the phrase suggests, management reviews must be led by top management and as such, the executive holding responsibility for health and safety should have the authority and remit to undertake the management review.

Key to the success of the management review process is ensuring the right inputs in terms of information and data. According to ISO 45001, this will be based around the elements of the management system and will include:

  • the status of actions from previous management reviews
  • changes in external and internal issues including stakeholder expectations, legal requirements and risks
  • the extent to which policy and objectives have been met
  • performance data on incidents, non-conformities, audits, compliance and worker participation
  • resource adequacy to maintain the system (financial, personnel and material)
  • communication with stakeholders
  • opportunities for continual improvement and risk management.

In addition, the HSE publication INDG417 suggests that a management review should examine whether:

  • the health and safety policy reflects the organisation’s current priorities, plans and targets
  • risk management and other systems have been effectively reported to the board.

Similarly, BS 18004 makes recommendations as to inputs into the management review process including any organisation-specific leading and lagging performance indicators. It also suggests the following be considered.

  • The state of preparedness for emergencies (including reports on actual incidents and exercises).
  • The performance of contractors and/or supplied goods and services.
  • The suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of current hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control processes.

Outcomes and actions

There will be outcomes from any management review process. Both ISO 45001 and BS 45002 state that the management review should draw a conclusion as to the continuing suitability and effectiveness of the occupational health and safety management system.

Outcomes should include decisions related to:

  • need for changes to the management system
  • continual improvement opportunities
  • resource needs
  • implications for the strategic direction of the organisation.

Changes required will clearly be organisation-specific and can address any element of the management system including changes to the H&S policy, revised objectives, increased need for competency, etc.

One of the key purposes of a cyclical management system is to take opportunities for continual improvement. This can be influenced not just by identified shortfalls in performance against benchmarked best practice, but also by identifying where new technologies, for example, can reduce risks that do not exceed excessive costs. Other improvements could relate to ensuring the system is fully aligned as an integral part of the business.

Any change or improvement may have resource implications and the management review should identify what these resource implications are. The process for managing change will depend on the types of outcomes from the review process.

The outcomes of the management review should be communicated and where necessary consulted on with relevant stakeholders both internal and external to the organisation.

However, it may be the case that the outcomes and recommendations may require top management review and approval prior to being released into the public domain and implemented. This will very much depend on the sensitivity of the outcomes and the organisation culture.

Adequate records also need to be kept that ensure the findings of the review process are available to relevant parties such as enforcing authorities, staff representatives, those undertaking future management reviews, insurers, etc.

BS 18004 recommends that the outputs should be “incorporated within performance reports for communication to their various stakeholders”. This could include annual reports to investors, corporate governance and social responsibility statements.

Finally, where the management review indicates areas of good performance or even performance beyond the objectives set, top management may wish to celebrate this and recognise/reward those responsible for good performance levels.

Contact Walker Health and Safety Services for further advice.

 

Published · Updated

Why health and safety training is needed

The Health and Safety at Work Act, etc 1974 states that employers should provide “such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees”. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 further require that employers provide employees with adequate health and safety training both on recruitment and when the risks to which they are exposed change, for example, where they move to a new role or when new work equipment is provided.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 go on to state that training should be repeated periodically where appropriate, be adapted to take account of any new or different risks and take place during working hours. Other sets of regulations which require training of employees include the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Organisations that have their health and safety management systems certified, for example to BS OHSAS 18001 or ISO 45001, are also required to conform to requirements concerning competence.

Unfortunately, when it comes to work-related training, there is no one-size-fits-all. Employers should consider who in their organisation needs training, what training should be provided, when, by whom, and when training should be repeated and refreshed. Consideration should also be paid to whether staff require formal qualifications for their role, such as facility managers, first aiders, or the maintenance teams responsible for legionella safety.

Ensure Employees follow Your Training: 5 Top Tips. Click here

Training – Contact Us for your training requirements or to discuss training solutions. Click here to look at our website training page.

Published · Updated

Manual Handling Workplace Injuries

Did you know that manual handling causes over a third of all workplace injuries? These include work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as pain and injuries to arms, legs and joints, and repetitive strain injuries of various sorts.

Manual handling covers a wide range of activities including: lifting, pushing, pulling, holding, restraining, throwing and carrying. It includes repetitive tasks such as packing, typing, assembling, cleaning and sorting, using hand-tools, operating machinery and equipment, and handling and restraining animals.

Manual handling injuries can have serious implications for the employer and the person who has been injured. They can occur almost anywhere in the workplace and heavy manual labour, awkward postures, repetitive movements of arms, legs and back or previous/existing injury can increase the risk.

Twisting, turning and bending of the back should be avoided. The risk of back injury increases during lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling of loads, if the load is: Too heavy There is no exact weight limit for manual handling.

When carrying out a manual handling task, keep the load close to the body for as long as possible while lifting. Keep the heaviest side of the load next to the body. If a close approach to the load is not possible, try to slide it towards the body before attempting to lift it. Avoid twisting the back or leaning sideways, especially while the back is bent.

If you have employees that carry out manual handling activities, it is good practice to ensure they are trained in carrying out the task. A manual handling course would be beneficial. It would cover the Manual Handling Operation Regulations 1992 and other relevant legislation.

In 2013 more working days were lost to musculoskeletal problems (back and neck pain) than any other cause!

To help prevent injury in the work place where possible it is best to avoid lifting BUT of course this is not always practical.  Ensuring your employees understand the risk and put measures in place prior to moving an item is the first step to reducing the risk of accident.

If you require a course, contact us for details.

This health and safety at work summary of statistics for Great Britain for 2017 is quite interesting – http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/hssh1617.pdf

Contact us if you require further information.

 

Published · Updated

Increase in the HSE FFI charge

hard hat and gloves PPEThe rate which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) charges under its Fee for

Intervention (FFI)

cost recovery scheme has increased from £129 to £154 per hour as of 6 April 2019.

The fee is payable by organisations found by the health and safety watchdog to be

in material breach of health and safety law and, in terms of the requirements, the

employer (or self-employed person) is required to pay

the HSE for the time it takes to identify what is wrong and to put things right.

A material breach of health and safety law is something which an inspector considers serious enough that

they need to formally write to the business requiring action to be taken to deal with the issue.

Essentially, if the inspector gives a notification of contravention (NoC) after the visit, a fee will be payable.

The HSE has emphasised that organisations which do not break the law will not be liable for any payment.

In other words, duty holders who comply with the law, or where there is no material breach, will not be

charged FFI for any work that HSE does with them.

Therefore, where an inspector simply gives business advice, either verbal or written, no payment is required.

The FFI cost recovery scheme was designed and introduced in October 2012 with the aim of shifting some of

the costs of regulating health and safety at work from the taxpayer to those responsible for material breaches.

See previous Blog for FFI https://walkersafety.co.uk/2013/11/ffi-a-year-on/

Contact us for further information.

 

 

Published · Updated

Workplace Safety Hazards Infographic

We have a great post detailing 7 Common Workplace Safety Hazards. Due to the popularity of this piece, we have now created an infographic to support this. If you would like to share this image please scroll down for the embed code.


Workplace safety hazard infographic

Contact us if you require further information.

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Walker Health and Safety Services Limited,
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Stafford Park 1,
Telford,
Shropshire,
TF3 3BD

Telephone: 0845 834 0400
Fax: 0845 834 0401
Email: info@walkersafety.co.uk

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