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Element 4.1
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Introduction to Active and Reactive Monitoring
✓ Active
• Looking at control measures to see if they are correct and
being used before accidents, etc. are caused.
✗ Reactive
• Using accident, incident and
ill-health data to highlight areas of concern.
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Active Monitoring
Measure conformance/non-conformance with standards,
e.g.:
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Safety Inspections, Sampling and Tours
• Safety Inspection
‒ Examination of workplace, statutory inspection, plant and
machinery, pre-use checks.
• Safety Sampling
‒ Representative sample to judge compliance.
‒ Less time-consuming.
• Safety Tour
‒ A high-profile walk-around inspection in a workplace carried
out by a group including senior managers.
‒ The intention is to interact and be highly visible.
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Systematic Inspections
Plant • Machinery
• Vehicles
Premises • Workplace
• Environment
People • Working methods
• Behaviour
Procedures • Safe systems
• Permits to work
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Arrangements for Active Monitoring
Factors to consider when planning the introduction of
active monitoring:
• Type of monitoring required.
• Frequency.
• Allocation of responsibilities.
• Competence of the inspector.
• Use of checklists.
• Action planning for problems
found.
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Example Inspection System
Bank head office:
• Purpose – monitor H&S standards.
• Frequency – monthly.
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Group Exercise
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Arrangements for Workplace Inspections
Typical topics in a generic inspection checklist:
• Fire safety.
• Housekeeping.
• Environment issues.
• Traffic routes.
• Chemical safety.
• Machinery safety.
• Electrical safety.
• Welfare facilities.
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Reactive Monitoring
• Accidents, incidents, ill health, other unwanted events
and situations:
– Highlights areas of concern.
– Things that have already gone wrong.
– Measures failure.
• Two methods:
– Lessons from one specific event, e.g. an accident.
– Data collected over a period.
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Reactive Monitoring
Data collected about:
• Accidents.
• Dangerous occurrences.
• Near misses.
Assist in analysing:
•• Trends - events
Ill-health cases. over a period of
time.
• Worker complaints.
• Patterns - hot spots of certain
• Enforcement action.
types, e.g. injury.
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Reactive Monitoring
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Element 4.2
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Reasons for Investigations
Reasons to carry out investigations:
• Identify the immediate and root causes.
• Prevent recurrence.
• Collect and record evidence.
• Legal reasons.
• Insurance purposes.
• Staff morale.
• Disciplinary purposes.
• Data-gathering.
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Types of Incident
• Accident.
• Near miss.
• Dangerous occurrence.
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Types of Incident
Accident:
An unplanned, unwanted event which leads to injury, damage or loss.
• Injury accident – where the unplanned, unwanted event leads to some
sort of personal injury, e.g. a cut hand.
• Damage-only accident – where the unplanned, unwanted event leads
to equipment or property damage but not personal injury, e.g. a wall is
demolished.
Near Miss
An unplanned, unwanted event that had the potential to lead to injury,
damage or loss but did not, in fact, do so.
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Types of Incident
Dangerous Occurrence
• A specified event that has to be reported to the relevant authority by
statute law, e.g. a major gas leak.
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Level of Investigation
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Group Exercise
Discuss the first thing you should do when arriving at an
accident scene and then the later steps.
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Basic Investigation Procedures
• Safety of the scene:
‒ Is the area safe to approach?
‒ Is immediate action needed to eliminate danger before
casualties are approached?
• Casualty care:
‒ First-aid treatment.
‒ Hospitalisation:
‒ Also consider bystanders who may be in shock.
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Basic Investigation Procedures
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Step 1: Gathering Information
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Witness Interview Technique
• Quiet room, no distractions.
• Establish a rapport.
• Explain the purpose, not about blame.
• Use open questions, e.g. Who? What? Where? When? Why?
How?
• Keep an open mind.
• Take notes.
• Ask for a written statement.
• Thank the witness.
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Document Examination
• Company policy.
• Risk assessments.
• Training records.
• Safe systems of work.
• Permits to work.
• Maintenance records.
• Previous accident reports.
• Sickness and absence records.
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Step 2: Analysing Information
Immediate causes:
• Unsafe acts.
• Unsafe conditions.
Underlying/root causes:
• Reasons behind the immediate causes.
• Often failures in the management system:
‒ No supervision.
‒ No PPE provided.
‒ No training.
‒ No maintenance.
‒ No checking or inspections.
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Group Exercise
A worker is struck by a load being carried on a
pallet by a forklift truck.
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Forklift Truck Accident
Possible immediate causes: Possible underlying/root
• Failure to secure the pallet. causes:
• No training for the driver.
• Poor positioning of the truck
close to the pedestrian exit. • Lack of segregation of vehicles
and pedestrians.
• Aggressive braking by the
driver. • Poor driver induction.
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Step 3: Identifying Suitable Control Measures
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Step 4: Planning the Remedial Actions
• Dangerous conditions must be dealt with immediately.
• Interim actions may be possible.
• Underlying causes will require more complex actions:
‒ Will take time, effort, disruption, money.
‒ Need for prioritisation.
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Recording and Reporting Requirements
• Reporting is the process of informing people that an
incident has occurred:
‒ can be internally within the organisation, or
‒ externally to enforcing authorities or insurers.
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Group Exercise
What sort of things are likely to hinder good accident and
near-miss reporting?
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Internal Incident Reporting Systems
Barriers to reporting:
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Internal Incident Reporting
Will depend on the severity:
Internal External
• Directors. • Family of the casualty.
• Senior managers. • External authorities.
• Human resources managers. • Insurance companies.
• Health, safety and • Public relations advisers.
environmental advisers.
• Worker representatives.
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Incident Recording and the Accident Book
Minimum standard is the ‘Accident Book’:
• Name and address of casualty.
• Date and time of accident.
• Location of accident.
• Details of injury.
• Details of treatment given.
• Description of event causing injury.
• Details of any equipment or substances involved.
• Witnesses’ names and contact details.
• Details of person completing the record.
• Signatures.
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Externally-Reportable Events
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Element 4.3
Auditing
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Definition, Scope and Purpose of Auditing
Auditing is the:
• systematic,
• objective, and
• critical evaluation of an
organisation’s health and safety
management system.
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Group Exercise
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The Distinction Between Audits and Inspections
Inspection: Audit:
• Checks the workplace. • Examines documents.
• Checks records. • Examines procedures.
• Usually quick. • Interviews workers.
• Lower cost. • Verifies standards.
• May only require basic • Checks the workplace.
competence. • Can be a long process.
• Part of an audit. • Usually expensive.
• Requires a high level of
Looks at the physical reality of competence.
the workplace.
Looks at the management system
that lies behind this.
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Pre-Audit Preparations
The following should be defined:
• Timescales.
• Scope of the audit.
• Area and extent of the audit.
• Who will be required.
• What documentation will be required.
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During the Audit
Auditors use three methods to gather information:
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During the Audit
Typical records/documents examined during an audit:
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Group Exercise
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of an external
and an internal audit.
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External and Internal Audits
Advantages Disadvantages
• Independent of any • Expensive.
internal influence. • Time-consuming.
• Fresh pair of eyes. • May not understand the
External • May have wider business so make impractical
experience of different suggestions.
Audits
types of workplace. • May intimidate workers so get
• Recommendations often incomplete evidence.
carry more weight.
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External and Internal Audits
Advantages Disadvantages
• Less expensive. • Auditors may not notice
• Auditors already know the certain issues.
business so know what can • Auditors may not have good
be realistically achieved. knowledge of industry or legal
• Improves ownership of standards.
Internal issues found. • Auditors may not possess
Audits • Builds competence auditing skills so may need
internally. training.
• Auditors are not independent
so may be subject to internal
influence.
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Element 4.4
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Purpose of Regular Reviews
• Full management system review:
‒ By the board, e.g. annually.
full review.
• Departmental review:
‒ E.g. monthly, by line manager to ensure on track.
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Purpose of Regular Reviews
Reviewing performance is an essential part of any health and
safety management system:
• Are we on target?
• If not, why not?
• What do we have to change?
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Group Exercise
What active and reactive measurements of health and safety
performance would need to be reviewed annually?
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Issues to be Considered in Reviews
• Legal compliance.
• Accident and incident data.
• Inspections, surveys, tours and sampling.
• Absence and sickness data.
• Audit reports.
• Achievement of objectives.
• Enforcement action.
• Previous management reviews.
• Legal and best practice developments.
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Outputs from Reviews
Records of the reviews should be retained:
• Demonstrate compliance with MHSWR.
• Results may have to be reported to shareholders.
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Summary
In this element, we have:
• Outlined the difference between active and reactive monitoring
and active and reactive monitoring methods.
• Explained the purpose of, and procedures for, investigating
incidents and the requirement for recording and reporting.
• Considered the reasons for accident investigation.
• Described the requirements of RIDDOR and the types of
incident that have to be reported to the enforcing authorities.
• Described the purpose of, and procedures for, health and safety
auditing.
• Explained the purpose of, and procedures for, regular reviews
of health and safety performance.
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