Effective Health & Safety

Management

Kev Coghill MIOSH RSP

Senior Risk Consultant
Marsh Risk Consulting Practice
 Objectives

Introduce the UK H&S legal regime

Appreciate why H&S is important
Understand the risk assessment process
Summarise current hot topics - e.g. field
trips/stress/noise
Recognise why H&S should be managed
 So why bother with H&S?
Pain and Fines and costs
suffering Court time
Duty to fellow Civil cases
Notices
Legal
human being

Moral
Business
Premiums
Uninsured losses
Reputation
Morale
Productivity
 2003/04 Statistics
235 fatalities
159,809 RIDDOR reported injuries
An estimated 2.2 million people suffering
from an illness caused or made worse by their
current or past work
An estimated 39 million working days lost -
30 million due to ill health & 9 million due to
injury
 UK legal system

Criminal Civil

By HSE or LA By injured person

Leads to a Leads to award of
fine/imprisonment damages
Not insurable Must be insured
 Legal process British Law

Criminal Civil

Someone is injured at work or by people at

work
They make a civil claim for compensation
(damages)
The HSE or local authority prosecute on
behalf of the state (fine/imprisonment)
Health and Safety at Work etc
Act 1974
Duties on all at
work

To protect all
affected by work
 Pre 1974 Legislation

Factories Act OSRP Act Other Safety

1961 1963 Acts

Regulations Regulations Regulations

 Post 1974 Legislation

HASAWA 1974

Regulations

A.C.O.Ps

Factories Act OSRP Act Other Safety

1961 1963 Acts

Regulations Regulations Regulations

 Legal Requirements

Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974

Management of Health & Safety at Work
Regulations 1999

Failure to comply is a criminal act

Employers CANNOT insure against failure
to comply
 Section 2

Section 2(1) - employers general duty

Duty to ensure so far as is reasonably

practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work
of employees and any others who may be affected
by the undertaking.
 Legal Standards
Reasonably Practicable or SFARP

Implies a weighing up of the risk against the cost

(in terms of time, money or trouble) of preventing
or controlling the risk
 Section 2 (cont.)

Provision of such information, instruction, training

and supervision as is necessary to ensure , SFARP,
the health and safety at work of employees and
any others who may be affected.
 Section 2 (cont.)
Duty of Employers to Employees cont.
2.2a - safe plant and systems of work
2.2b - safe use, handling, storage and transportation of
articles and substances
2.2c - information, instruction, training and adequate
supervision
2.2d - safe place of work and a safe means of access and
egress
2.2e - safe working environment and adequate welfare
facilities
 Section 7
Duty of Employees at Work
It shall be the duty of every employee whilst at work:-
to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and
of any other person who may be affected by their acts or
omissions
to co-operate with their employer so far as is necessary to
enable that employer to meet their requirements with
regards to any statutory provisions
 Section 21

Improvement Notices
If an inspector is of the opinion that a person:-
is contravening one or more of the relevant
statutory provisions; or
has contravened one or more of those statutory
provisions, in circumstances that it is likely that
the contravention will continue or be repeated,
then he will issue an Improvement Notice.
 Section 22

Prohibition Notices
If any activity is being, or is about to be, carried
out that could result in serious personal injury,
then an inspector may issue a Prohibition Notice.
This notice will cause the immediate cessation of
the activity involved until all measures are
rectified.
 Enforcement
The HSE can take legal action against an
employer/employee in a criminal court for H&S
failures:
Unlimited fine and/or
Custodial sentence
(Remember - you cannot insure against failure to
comply with H&S legislation)
If guilty = criminal record
 British Justice
INNOCENT
until proven
GUILTY
beyond
ALL
REASONABLE
DOUBT
 Civil Litigation
Provides for compensation to be paid to persons
who suffer harm as a result of a work activity.
Can insure - Employers Liability Insurance
Burden of proof is NEGLIGENCE
Proof is on the balance of probabilities

Effectively guilty until you prove your

innocence
 Reportable
Reporting of:
Injuries (accidents & incidents)
Disease
Dangerous Occurrences
(Regulations)
Accident/Incident Investigation

RIDDOR only requires reporting of

incidents etc.
No explicit legal requirement in any H&S
legislation to investigate - therefore WHY
DO IT?
Accident/Incident Investigation
HSW Act states - employers must
ensure.the health, safety and welfare of
employees... etc.
Reactive monitoring - to prevent the same or
similar from happening again
Review/revise risk assessments and
associated H&S documentation/working
practices
The Management Of Health &
Safety At Work Regulations
1999
 Management of H&S Regs
Risk Assessments

Every employer shall make a suitable and

sufficient assessment of risks to the health and
safety:-
of his employees
of persons not in his employment
 Management of H&S Regs
Suitable & Sufficient

Should enable the employer to identify and

prioritise the measures that need to be taken

Should identify the significant risks arising out of

or as a result of the work activity
Management of H&S Regs
(Definitions)
HAZARD

RISK

HARM
TAKEN FROM THE MHSWR APPROVED CODE OF PRACTICE 1999
 Management of H&S Regs
What is a Hazard ?

Something with the potential to cause

harm
May be chemical, mechanical,electrical,
environmental etc. OR "Human" in nature
 Management of H&S Regs
What is a Risk ?

'Risk expresses the likelihood that harm

from a particular hazard is realised'
Risk therefore reflects both the likelihood
that harm will be caused and its severity
 Management of H&S Regs
What is Harm?
HARM = death, bodily injury and damage to
physical or mental health.
Safety law is only concerned with harm to
property or the environment if that entails a risk of
harm to people.

Now consider risk ranking

 Risk Ranking - Probability
Measurement of frequency/likelihood
3 Categories :
Likelihood of incident recurring
Frequent 3 repeatedly during course of the
work activity
Likelihood of incident occurring
Occasional 2 sometime during course of the
work activity
Likelihood of incident virtually
Rare 1 never occurring during course
of the work activity
Risk Ranking - Consequence
Measurement of severity
3 Categories :
May lead to lost-time or
Severe 3 recordable incident

May lead to recordable or first-

Moderate 2 aid incident

May result in minor first-aid

Minor 1 treatment or no harm being
caused
 Risk Assessment Matrix
Risk = Probability x Consequence
(Severity) Severe Moderate Minor
(3) (2) (1)
Frequent
(3) 9 6 3
Occasional
(2) 6 4 2
Rare
(1) 3 2 1
 Existing Control Measurers
Assess your existing control measures

Take into account whether controls are

being applied / complied with etc.

If there are no controls, enter this on the

assessment
 Required Actions
What
What is to be undertaken
Who
Who is charged with undertaking the action
By When
Action target date
Completion confirmed [Formalised]
Action completion date
 Review
Assessment Review date
Remember that the required actions progress must
be monitored to ensure that the actions are carried
out and are effective.
A review should be undertaken following the
implementation of the improved controls to assess
the effectiveness and ensure other new risks have
not evolved from these actions
 Reviewing cont.

Legal requirement
Reason to suspect no longer valid
Significant change
Think systems approach to constant
monitoring and review
 Risk Control Hierarchy
Hierarchy of risk controls
Eliminate hazard at source
Reduce hazard at source
Remove person from hazard
Contain hazard by enclosure
Reduce employee exposure
Systems of work
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
* pay attention to order*
 Hot Topics

Stress
Field trips
Noise
Occupational road safety
 Stress
Should be considered under Management
Regs & risk assessment
HSE published Management standards for
tackling work related stress
First improvement notice issued this year to
a NHS Trust for failing to assess stress risks
 Field Trips
Management Regs risk assessment
requirement
Popular item for press when something
goes wrong
Require detailed management plans -
obviously dependent upon each trip
 Noise
Existing Noise at Work Regs set levels at
85dBA & 90dBA
New Physical Agents Directive to be
incorporated into UK legal regime by
15/02/06 - noise levels reduced to 80dBA &
85dBA
 Occupational Road Safety
Currently on the HSE top 10 inspection
topics
Traditionally excluded from any statistics
because it is Road Traffic Act & therefore
the police who enforce
Now looking at all work related driving -
excluding commuting to/from work
Health & Safety Management
 HSG65
Policy

Organising

Planning and
Auditing Implementing

Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance
 Organising

Split into four sections, four Cs

Co-operation
Communication
Control
Competence
 Planning & Implementing
Objectives/Actions should be - SMART
Specific
Measurable
Ambitious & agreed
Relevant
Tied to a timetable
 Measuring Performance
Important management tool
Use work already being done
Risk assessment
Active monitoring
Accident/incident data
Detailed techniques in BS 8800/OHSAS 18001
Implementing goes back to effective
communication
 Review & Audit
Remember systems theory - monitor and review
(audit and feedback)
Helps to determine whether actions have been
achieved and if so, what new ones should be set
Once review completed - communicate findings
and remember both positive and negative feedback
Set new SMART objectives
Poor Communication...

Well this certainly buggers up

our plans to conquer the
Universe