Introductiontohealthandsafetymanagement

Definitions

HAZARDSomethingwiththepotentialtocauseharm
HazardsareoftenclassifiedasPhysical,ChemicalorBiological,howevertheremaybe
moreusefulclassificationswhichcanbeappliedinvaryingsituations.
RISKLikelihoodthatahazardwillcauseharmandtheseverityofharmexpected
DANGERAunquantifiedrisk
SUITABLEANDSUFFICIENTInrelationtothemanagementofhealth&safetyatwork
regulations1999Regulation3,organisationsareexpectedtocarryoutasuitableandsufficient
riskassessment.ThistermisbestdefinedbytheApprovedcodeofpracticeforthese
regulations,andbasicallymeansthatallofthesignificanthazardsshouldbeidentified,the
likelihoodofharmbeingrealisedisdeterminedandthelikelyseverityofharmthatwouldresult
identified.
Theapprovedcodeofpracticealsoidentifiesthatwhererisksarehigher,orwhereprocessesare
complexthedepthoftheriskassessmentshouldreflectthisinitslevelofdetail.
ForsomeperceivedhighriskindustriesthereisaneedtouseQuantifiedRiskAssessmentto
providesufficientdetailoftherisks(nuclearindustry,otherindustrieswhereasmallerrorcan
havecatatrophicresults,e.g.chemicalworks,refineries,etc)QuantifiedRiskAssessmentis
studiedindetailinelementA3.

OutlineOfHealth&SafetyManagementModels
Effectivemanagementsystemsarebasedaroundavirtuouscycleofactivities,sometimesreferredtoas
theDemmingCycle.

PLAN
ACT

DO
CHECK

Therearefourstepsinthecycle,Plan,Do,Check,Act.
Thismanagementmethodhasbeenadaptedtoprovideseveralmanagementmodelswhicharespecific
tohealthandsafetymanagement.
HSG65istheHSE'sguidancedocumententitledEffectiveHealth&SafetyManagement.
BS8800isabritishstandardforhealth&safetymanagement.
OHSAS18001isaninternationallyrecognisedstandardforhealth&safetymanagement.