e7.1 - Sources of information used in identifying and assessing risk Flashcards
Difficulty of comparing incident data between organisations
Type of work and associated risk may differ between organisations
Definitions of incident and accident may vary between organisations
There may be a difference in the lack of commitment from management
Differences in the number of part time staff
Variations in the competence of workers
Cultural differences that impact health and safety
Data does not differentiate between minor and major incidents
The level of incident reporting may differ between the two organisations
differences in number if days off after an incident that do not relate to severity of injuries
Differences in the quality of procedures and risk assessments
Differences in the state and condition of equipment
External information sources
Health and safety executive (HSE) ACOPs and guidance
Legislation
European Safety Agency
International Labour Organisation (ILO)
World Health Organisation (WHO)
British and International Standards
Professional bodies (e.g. IOSH) and trade bodies
Trades unions
Training bodies (e.g. CITB)
Suppliers and manufacturers
Publications and information services (Croner and Barbour)
Internal information sources
Risk assessments
Training records
Accident data
Safe systems of work
Maintenance records
Health and safety committee meeting minutes
Inspection reports
Health and safety policy
Absence and sickness records
Testing reports for equipment
Uses of external information
Provide up to date information and experience from other organisations
Enable benchmarking to take place and assist in target settings
Demonstrate standards that should be complied with
Give practical advice to ensure suitable standards are developed
Limitations of external information
Some of the infrmation may not be relevant to the organisation
Difficult to find the right information needed to comply with standards
Some of the information quickly becomes out of date
Some internation standards may not be compatible with UK law
Some standards may contradict each other
Uses of internal information
Information will be relevant to the organisation specifically
Collection and use of the data is much easier than external data
Information collected can be acted on immediately by the organisation
Limitations of internal information
Not statistically comparable with industry as a whole
Absence of data giving a false picture of performance (for example a lack of near miss data does not mean no near misses have occurred
Poor recording of data from which analysis can be made
Data not available as the organisation does not record
Collection of data can be time consuming
Data is often inaccurate
