Nebosh Learning Outcome 2016
2.3 Describe the key features and appropriate content of an effective health and safety policy.
State the overall aims of the organisation in terms of health and safety performance :
- general statement of intent
- setting overall objectives and quantifiable targets (specific, measurable,achievable, reasonable, time-bound, SMART principles)
- basic concept of benchmarking
- views of interested parties
- technological options
- financial, operational and business requirements
- signatory to statement
Defining the health and safety roles and responsibilities of individuals within the organisation
- organising for health and safety: allocation of responsibilities; lines of communication and feedback loops; the role of line managers in implementing and influencing the health and safety policy and monitoring its effectiveness
Specifying the arrangements for achieving general and specific aims:
- health and safety arrangements: the importance of specifying the organisation’s arrangements for planning and organising, controlling hazards, consultation, communication and monitoring compliance with, and assessing the effectiveness of, the arrangements to implement the health and safety policy
Circumstances that may lead to a need to review the health and safety policy in order to maintain currency and effectiveness (eg, technological, organisational or legal changes).
General statement of intent
- The statement of intent should be signed and dated by the most senior person in the organisation.
- This will demonstrate management commitment to health and safety and give authority to the policy.
- The most senior manager needs to ensure the following:
- key functions of health and safety management, such as monitoring and audit, accident investigation and training, are included in the organisational structure
- adequate resources are available to manage health and safety effectively
- the production of various health and safety arrangements in terms of rules and procedures
- arrangements for the welfare of employees; the regular review and, if necessary, updating of the health and safety policy.
Basic concepts of benchmarking:
- Benchmarking compares the performance of the organisation with that of similar organisations
- Typical benchmarks can include accident rates per employee and accident or disease causation
Name some of the advantages of benchmarking?
- It’s helps with continual improvement
- Key performance indicators (KPI) for a particular organisation may be easily identified
- It focuses attention on weaker performance areas
- It gives confidence to various stockholders
- It is a useful feedback method for boards, chief executives and managers
Setting overall health and safety objectives and quantifiable targets Remember: SMART principles Also - Top-Down processes (Boardroom) and - Bottom-Up processes (Workplace)
It is critical importance that: - Safety representatives and/or employees safety representatives are fully involved throughout the consultation process when setting the objectives and during their implementation. Health and safety objectives need to be: - Specific - Measurable - Achievable - Reasonable - Time-bound These are what's known as (SMART principles)
(2.3.1)(Views of interested parties)
The relationship of health and safety performance to other business activities
Well managed health and safety is important in business terms because:
stakeholders (such as shareholders, customers, insurance companies and the general public)
are influenced by any bad publicity resulting from poor health and safety standards
(2.3.1)Technological options
- The rapid advance in information technology has helped the development of health and safety management systems
- It has enabled the rapid identification of data that is critical to the management of health and safety (e.g. accident and I’ll-health trends, health and safety performance variations between departments within the same organisation
Financial, operational and business requirements
- Although the primary role of a business in profit, the identification, assessment and control of health and safety and other risks is a managerial responsibility of equal importance to production and quality
- The practical implications of health and safety must be carefully thought through to avoid conflict between the demands of policy and others operational requirements
- Insufficient attention to health and safety can lead to problems with production
For example: - Work schedules that fail to take account of the problems of fatigue or inadequate resources allocated to training
The law requires that the written health and safety policy should include three key sections, what are they?
- A health and safety policy
(statement of intent) which includes the health and safety aims and objectives of the organisation - The health and safety (organisation) detailing the people with specific health and safety responsibilities and their duties
- The health and safety (arrangements) in place in terms of systems and procedures.
Defines some of the names, positions and duties of those within the organisation or company who have a specific responsibility for health and safety.
- Directors and senior managers (responsible for setting policy, objectives and targets)
- Supervisors (responsible for checking day-to-day compliance with the policy)
- Health and safety advisers (responsible for giving advice during accident investigations and on compliance issues)
- Other specialists, such as an occupational nurse, chemical analyst and an electrician etc responsible for giving specialist advice on particular health and safety issues
- Health and safety representatives (responsible for representing employees during consultation meetings on health and safety issues with the employer)
- Employees (responsible for taking reasonable care of the health and safety of themselves and others who may be affected by their acts or omissions)
- Fire marshals (responsible for the safe evacuation of the building in an emergency)
- First aiders (responsible for administering first aid to injured persons).
What is meant by ARRANGEMENTS for achieving general and specific aims?
- The arrangements section of the health and safety policy gives details of the specific systems and procedures used to assist in the implementation of the policy statement.
- This will include health and safety rules and procedures and the provision of facilities such as a first-aid room and wash rooms.
- It is common for risk assessments (including COSHH, manual handling and personal protective equipment (PPE) assessments) to be included in the arrangements section, particularly for those hazards referred to in the policy statement.
- It is important that arrangements for fire and other emergencies and for information, instruction, training and supervision are also covered.
Specify the (Arrangements) needed for achieving an organisations general and specific aims?
The following list covers the more common items normally included in the arrangements section of the health and safety policy:
- Employee health and safety code of practice
- Accident and illness reporting and investigation procedures
- Emergency procedures, first aid; fire drill procedure
- Procedures for undertaking risk assessments
- Control of exposure to specific hazards (noise, vibration, radiation, manual handling, hazardous substances, etc.)
- Machinery safety (including safe systems of work, lifting and pressure equipment)
- Electrical equipment (maintenance and testing); maintenance procedures
- Permits to work procedures
- Use of PPE
- Monitoring procedures including health and safety inspections and audits
- Procedures for the control and safety of contractors and visitors
- Provision of welfare facilities
- Training procedures and arrangements
- Catering and food hygiene procedures
- Arrangements for consultation with employees
- Terms of reference and constitution of the safety committee
- Procedures and arrangements for waste disposal.
Explain some of the circumstances that may lead to a review of the health and safety policy in order to maintain currency and effectiveness?
- The health and safety policy needs to monitored and review on a regular basic, for this to be successful, a series of benchmarks needs to be established.
- Typical benchmarks include accident rates per employee and accident or disease causation.
Here are several reasons to review the policy:
- significant organisational changes may have taken place
- There have been changes in key personnel
- There have been changes in legislation and/or guidance
- New work methods have been introduced
- There have been alterations to working arrangements and/or processes
- There have been changes following consultation with employees
- The monitoring of risk assessments or accident/ incident investigations indicates that the health and safety policy is no longer totally effective
- Information from manufacturers has been received
- Advice from an insurance company has been received
- The findings of an external health and safety audit have been received
- Enforcement action has been taken by the HSE or Local Authority
- A sufficient period of time has elapsed since the previous review.
A positive promotion of health and safety performance will achieve far more than simply preventing accidents and ill health.
Describe the benefits to an organisation:
- Minimise financial losses due to accidents and rates of ill-health and other incidents
- Directly involves senior managers in all levels of the organisation
- Improve supervision, particularly for young persons and those on occupational training courses
- Improve production processes
- Improve the public image of the organisation or organisation
Describe some of the disadvantages of a poor health and safety policy :
- The statement in the policy and the health and safety priorities are not understood by or properly communicated to the workforce
- Minimal resources made available for the implementation of the policy
- Too much emphasis on rules for employees and too little on management policy
- A lack of parity with other activities of the organisation (such as finance and quality control) due to mistaken concerns about the costs of health and safety and the effect of those costs on overall performance. This attitude produces a poor health and safety culture
- Lack of senior management involvement in health and safety, particularly at board level
- Employee concerns that their health and safety issues are not being addressed or that they are not receiving adequate health and safety information.
- This can lead to low morale among the workforce and, possibly, high absenteeism; high labour turnover
- Inadequate or no PPE
- Unsafe and poorly maintained machinery and equipment
