NEBOSH International

General Certificate
Day 3

Programme for Today

• H uman Factor s in H ealth and Safety:

– Influences on Behaviour .
– H uman Err or .
• The Safety Management System (continued) :
– P lanning and Implementing.
– M easuring Per for mance.
• Accidents, Investigation and Statistics.

HSG65 Elem ents

of Successful Policy
He alth & Safety
Ma na geme nt

Orga nising
 NEBOSH International
General Certificate

Human Factors

Influences on Behaviour

The Organisation

The
Individual The Job

Organisational Factors

• What is the culture like?

• How does peer group pressure affect
indiv iduals?
• Is there commitment from the top?
• Are there clear procedures and
standards?
• Are there effective monitoring
sy stems?
• Is there adequate supervision?
 Job Factors
• Safe systems of work - clear procedures and
instructions.

• Good ergonomics.

• Decision-making - involvement and empowerment.

• Welfare and environmental conditions, lighting,

temperature and freedom from danger.

• Work patterns, hours and shift work.

The Individual - Personal Factors

S ome general thoughts:

• Attitudes – how you think/feel about something

often translates into how you act.

• M otivation – the drive to achieve.

• P erception – how you interpret the world around

you.

• Mental or physical capabilities.

Personal Factors
Attitude
“The way a person believes they will
respond in a given situation.”
(This is not the ne cessarily the actual respon se).

“A combination of beliefs, feelings and

intentions to act.”

The culture of the organisation has a profound

effect on attitude.
Change of attitude – can be for better or worse.
 Perception

The Necker Cube

Personal Factors
Perception
“How people understand the
likelihood of themselves being
harmed by a hazard.”

Stimuli from five senses connec ted by the

brain into precepts or e xperie nces.
Alcohol, legal and illegal drugs affect our
senses and our percep tions.
Environmental fac tors can also affec t the
process.

Perception

You will be shown the following slide for 20

seconds.
You are asked to count the number of ‘F’s.
 FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT
OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY
COMBINED WITH THE
EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS.

Human Failure

HSG48 Model Slips

Skill bas ed
La pse s

Er r or s
Rule s

Mis tak es
Kno wle dg e
Hum an
Fail ur es
Rou tin e

Viola tio ns Situa ti on al

Exce pti on al

HSG65 Elem ents

of Successful Policy
He alth & Safety
Ma na geme nt

Organising

Planning and
Implementing
Planning and Implementing
• Determine priorities:
– Develop a strategic plan.
– Develop a schedule or calendar of
activities.

• Set targets or objectiv es:

– Allocate tasks.
– E nsure staff are competent or
prov ide training.
– P rov ide time and support.

Planning and Implementing

• What are aims?

Aims define the basic ideal to be
achieved - a purpose or intention.

• What are objectives?

S pecific measurable steps to
achieve the intended aim.

SMART Objectives
Specific.
Measurable.
Agreed.
Realistic.
Time-constrained.

“Introduce a departmental inspection

process w ith standardised documentation
by 31st January 2007.”
HSG65 Elem ents
of Successful Policy
He alth & Safety
Ma na geme nt

Organising

Planning and
Implementing

Measuring
Performance

Measuring Performance

Comparison of Achievements Against Targets

Active Systems Reactive Systems

• Spot and routine chec ks. • Accident investigation.
• Formal inspections.
• Statutor y te sts.
• Accident and ill-health
• Safety audits.
trend analysis.
• Pattern analysis.

NEBOSH International
General Certificate

Accident Recor ding,

Reporting and Investigat ion
 Definitions of A ccident and Incident

What is an accident?
It is an unplanned, unwanted event
which results in a loss of some kind.

What is an incident or near -miss?

It is an unplanned, unwanted event that
had the potential to cause loss.

Frank Bird A ccident Triangle

For every 1 serious injury

there are 10 minor injuries

and 30 damage only

and 600 incidents.

Accident Reporting

What are the barriers to

good accident and near-
miss reporting?

How can these barriers

be ov ercome?
 Reporting

What are reportable events?

They are:
• Occupational accidents.
• Occupational diseases.
• Dangerous occurrences.

What are Reportable Events?

• Major injury and death.

• Dangerous occurrence.

• D iseases.

• A worker absent from work for three consecutive

days, due to an accident at work.
• Immediate hospitalisation of a non-worker.

(Definitions vary a ccording to national legal practice.)

Some Examples of Reportable Events

Major Injury Dangerous Occurrence

• F ractures other • Contact w ith
than the fingers or overhead cables.
toes. • Train collision.
• Any amputation. • Collapse of scaffold.
• Dislocation of • Failure of lifting
shoulder/hip or equipment.
knee.
• Loss of sight.
 What are Diseases and Ill-Health?

They include:

• Work-related upper limb disorders

(WRU LD ).
• Dermatitis.
• Decompression sickness.
• Leptospirosis.
• Asbestosis.
• Occupational asthma.

The Exams

• Both papers are 2 hours long.

• Both start with a 20 mark question.

• The remaining 10 questions are worth 8

marks each.

• How w ill you manage your time?

Exam Quest ions

Under exam conditions - you have 8 minutes.
Ex plai n wh y the health and sa fety policy should be
signed by the mos t senior person in an organisation, such
as the Managing Director or the Chief E xecuti ve Of ficer.
(2 marks)

Ex plai n the purpose o f EA CH of the following sec tions of

a health and safe ty policy do cument:
(i) Statemen t of in tent.
(ii) Organisation.
(iii) Arrangements. (6 marks)

(Source: NEBOS H)
 Exam Technique

• Read the question.

• Highlight the key words.
• Look at the mark allocation.
• Read the question again.
• Plan your answer.
• Do it.

Accident Investigation

Why investigate accidents?

• Preventing recurrence.
(most imp orta nt!)

• Legal.
• Insurance.
• S tatistics.
• Civ il actions.

Why do Accidents Happen?

Lack of Management Control

Underlying Causes

Immediate Causes

Accident Near Miss

Loss or Injury
Accident Causation - Domino Theory

Root causes
Underlying
causes
Unsafe
act/
condition Accident
Loss/injury

Root causes are equivalent to Lac k of Managemen t Con trol.

Accident Investigation

• Make area safe.

• Select level of investigation.
• Gather and record the facts.
• Analyse the facts.
• Draw conclusions.
• Make recommendations.
• Review the process.

Accident Investigation

• Select level of investigation.

• Who should investigate?

Who should be in the team?

1. Health and Safety P ractitioner.

2. S taff Representative.
3. S upervisor or Manager.
 Accident Investigation
Gathering information:

• The Scene

• Documents

• People

Accident Investigation

• Gathering information
Use of Open Questions:

"I keep six honest serving men.

They taught me all I knew.
Their names are
What and Why and When
and How and Where and Who."
Rudyard Kipling

Gathering Information

Open questions to ask:

• What happened?
• Where did it happen?
• Who was involv ed?
• When did it happen?
• Why did it happen?
 Recording the Information

Report formats may use computer-based sy stems

Different fields used in programme:

• Type of accident.
• Part of body injured.
• Job type.
• Location.

Domino Theory of A ccide nt Ca usa tion

Root causes

Underlying
causes Unsafe
acts and
conditions Accident
Loss/injury

Analysing the Facts

Unsafe Acts and Conditions
These are the direct causes of the accident -
they can be broken down into:
• M aterials and Substances.
• Equipment.
• Environment.
• P eople.
Remember M -E-E-P!
 Analysing the Facts

It is important to understand the terminology !

Recording and analy sing results:

• Cause of Accident.
• Type of accident.
• Cause of injury .

Drawing Conclusions

Fault Tree Analysis

The ultimate aim is to

find out why the system
of management failed to
prevent each of the
underlying causes which
contributed to the
accident.

Drawing Conclusions
Cause of injury

Electrician falls from

ladder and breaks leg

Direct causes

He was in a hurry Rung broken Poor lighting

A1 A2 A3 B1 B2 B3 C1 C2 C3

Fault Tree Analysis Underlying causes

 Review ing the Process
Some questions to ask when
reviewing the process:
• What were the direct causes?
• What were the underly ing causes?
• Why did management systems fail?
• Why was the sy stem failure not
identified before the accident?
• How effective were the emergency
procedures?

Practicalities of Investigation

When should you investigate?

How to investigate (SREDIM) :

• Select the incident.

• Record all the facts.
• Examine the causes.
• Develop (or change) the system of work.
• Implement the new sy stem (of work).
• Monitor and review.

Statistics

• Trend analy sis.

• Pattern analy sis.
• Using raw data, (i.e. the
actual numbers).
• Using a rate to allow more
meaningful comparisons.
 Statistics

Accident Incident Rate (AIR)

No. of accidents
AIR = × 1,000
Av erage no. of employ ees

Statistics

With statistics y ou need to be careful that

what the data seems to be telling you, is in
fact the case:
• Careful selection of the statistical
treatment.
• Careful interpretation of results.

“There are three kin ds of lies - lies, damned

lies and statistics”. (Benjamin Disraeli)