Safety and Health Management SystemFrequently Asked Questions
What is a Safety and Health Management System? Show
A safety and health management system means the part of the Organisation's management system which covers:
The system should cover the entire gambit of an employer's occupational health and safety organisation. The key elements of a successful safety and health management system are: 1. Policy and commitment The workplace should prepare an occupational safety and health policy programme as part of the preparation of the Safety Statement required by Section 20 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Effective safety and health policies should set a clear direction for the organisation to follow. They will contribute to all aspects of business performance as part of a demonstrable commitment to continuous improvement. Responsibilities to people and the working environment will be met in a way that fulfils the spirit and letter of the law. Cost-effective approaches to preserving and developing human and physical resources will reduce financial losses and liabilities. In a wider context, stakeholders' expectations, whether they are shareholders, employees or their representatives, customers or society at large, can be met. back to top 2. Planning The workplace should formulate a plan to fulfil its safety and health policy as set out in the Safety Statement. An effective management structure and arrangements should be put in place for delivering the policy. Safety and health objectives and targets should be set for all managers and employees. back to top 3. Implementation and operation For effective implementation, organisations should develop the capabilities and support mechanisms necessary to achieve the safety and health policy, objectives and targets. All staff should be motivated and empowered to work safely and to protect their long-term health, not simply to avoid accidents. These arrangements should be:
There should be a planned and systematic approach to implementing the safety and health policy through an effective safety and health management system. The aim is to minimise risks. Risk Assessment methods should be used to determine priorities and set objectives for eliminating hazards and reducing risks. Wherever possible, risks should be eliminated through the selection and design of facilities, equipment and processes. If risks cannot be eliminated, they should be minimised by the use of physical controls and safe systems of work or, as a last resort, through the provision of PPE. Performance standards should be established and used for measuring achievement. Specific actions to promote a positive safety and health culture should be identified. There should be a shared common understanding of the organisation‘s vision, values and beliefs on health and safety. The visible and active leadership of senior managers fosters a positive safety and health culture. back to top 4. Measuring performance The organisation should measure, monitor and evaluate safety and health performance. Performance can be measured against agreed standards to reveal when and where improvement is needed. Active self-monitoring reveals how effectively the safety and health management system is functioning. Self-monitoring looks at both hardware (premises, plant and substances) and software (people, procedures and systems, including individual behaviour and performance). If controls fail, reactive monitoring should find out why they failed, by investigating the accidents, ill health or incidents, which could have caused harm or loss. The objectives of active and reactive monitoring are:
back to top 5. Auditing and reviewing performance The organisation should review and improve its safety and health management system continuously, so that its overall safety and health performance improves constantly. The organisation can learn from relevant experience and apply the lessons. There should be a systematic review of performance based on data from monitoring and from independent audits of the whole safety and health management system. These form the basis of complying with the organisation’s responsibilities under the 2005 Act and other statutory provisions. There should be a strong commitment to continuous improvement involving the development of policies, systems and techniques of risk control. Performance should be assessed by:
Many companies now report on how well they have performed on worker safety and health in their annual reports and how they have fulfilled their responsibilities with regard to preparing and implementing their Safety Statements. In addition, employers have greater responsibilities under Section 80 of the 2005 Act on ‘Liability of Directors and Officers of Undertakings’ that requires them to be in a position to prove they have pro-actively managed the safety and health of their workers. Data from this ‘Auditing and reviewing performance’ process should be used for these purposes. back to top What issues should a review of the safety and health management system cover? An organisation should carry out an initial review of the safety and health management system, and follow this up with periodic reviews. The initial review should compare existing safety and health practice with:
back to top A Safety Statement should have a safety and health policy incorporated into it. What is this policy? A safety and health policy is a written document which recognises that safety and health is an integral part of the organisation’s business performance. It is a statement by the organisation of it’s intentions and approach in relation to it’s overall safety and health performance and provides a framework for action, and for the setting of its safety and health objectives and targets. The safety and health policy must:
Organisations achieving high standards of safety and health develop policies that recognise the:
back to top What critical safety and health issues should be addressed, and allocated adequate resources, in the safety and health policy? Critical safety and health issues, which should be addressed and allocated resources, in the safety and health policy, include the:
However, this list is not exhaustive and the critical safety and health issues that could be covered by the policy will depend on the risks in the organisation. If the above issues are adequately covered elsewhere in the Safety Statement or in the safety and health management system, they might need only to be referred to in the safety and health policy. Backup documentation may also be referred to in the policy. back to top Can I get an example of a safety and health policy anywhere? Safety and health policies are specific to each individual organisation The content of the policy of an organisation should be based on the hazards and risks present in the organisation and should reflect the fact that systematic hazard identification and risk assessment have been undertaken. As a minimum, the policy should contain a commitment that safety and health legislation will be complied with and should specify those responsible for implementing the policy at all levels in the organisation and define their responsibilities. Employees’ responsibilities should also be addressed. An organisation’s policy declaration may be as follows: To all employees: This statement sets out the safety and health measures we are implementing to protect everyone who works here. The Board of ABC Ltd has endorsed this statement and gave me the responsibility to implement it. I am committed to ensuring that the safety and health measures set out in our Safety Statement are met. John Kelly, Safety and Health Manager, will give advice and information on how to comply with this Safety Statement but everyone, especially if you are in a management or supervisory position, is responsible for ensuring compliance where they work. We expect all employees to co-operate with us so that we can achieve our target of avoiding accidents. Consultation on safety and health matters, between senior managers and all employees, will be carried out through the safety committee, which you have selected. You must play your part under the Safety Statement. Comply with all the safety and health rules for your area. Work safely and think of others as you do. Know and understand the Risk Assessments for your area. Report safety and health problems to your supervisor. Know who your safety representative is and contact him or her with any safety and health enquiries you may have. Signed back to top What are the responsibilities of management regarding the implementation of safety and health in the organisation? Responsibility for safety and health management ultimately rests with the employer. This responsibility is normally delegated to executive directors, senior managers, line managers, supervisors and employees. Each person’s authority and duties should be clearly defined, documented and communicated to them. The organisational and reporting structure for implementing these duties should be illustrated in an in-house organisational chart. In addition each director on the organisation’s board needs to accept their responsibilities in providing safety and health commitment and leadership by:
Accidents, ill health and incidents are seldom random events. They generally arise from failures of control and involve multiple contributory elements. The immediate cause may be a human or technical failure, but such events usually arise from organisational failings, which are the responsibility of management. Successful safety and health management systems aim to utilise the strengths of managers and other employees. The organisation needs to understand how human factors affect safety and health performance. Senior executive directors or other senior management controlling body members and executive senior managers are primarily responsible for safety and health management in the organisation. These people need to ensure that all their decisions reflect their safety and health intentions, as articulated in the Safety Statement, which should cover:
Senior managers responsibilities include:
back to top How can an organisation control safety and health aspects of contractors’ work? Although organisations routinely contract out either all or parts of their work activities, they may still retain some of the legal responsibility for health and safety, particularly if they directly control how this work is done. For this reason, the organisation should establish and maintain procedures for controlling the safety and health aspects of contractor work. These should include:
Additionally, it is also necessary for organisations to check the ability of contractors where they work close to, or in collaboration with, direct employees or with other contractor's employees. Such arrangements should cover the:
back to top Effective safety and health management includes effective emergency planning. What should this cover? The organisation should establish and maintain procedures to respond to accidents and emergency situations, and to prevent and minimise the safety and health impacts associated with them. This is required by Section 11 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Emergency planning should cover:
The emergency plan itself should include:
The organisation should periodically test, review and revise its emergency preparedness and response procedures where necessary, in particular after the occurrence of accidents or emergency situations. The emergency plan should dovetail with the Safety Statement as required by Section 20 of the 2005 Act. Major accident hazard sites covered by the EU COMAH Regulations, need to have emergency plans in place to cover major accidents involving chemicals. Details of what is required are covered at Control of Major Accident Hazards on this website. back to top What key questions should an employer ask her/himself to determine the adequacy of safety and health management in the organisation? The following are some key questions for employers to assist in determining the adequacy of their safety and health management in the organisation:
back to top How can the safety and health management system be monitored?It should be a line-management responsibility to monitor safety and health performance against predetermined plans and standards. Monitoring reinforces management’s commitment to safety and health objectives in general and helps to develop a positive safety and health culture by rewarding positive work done to control risk. Two types of monitoring are required:
1. Active monitoringEvery organisation should collect information to investigate the causes of substandard performance or conditions adequately. Documented procedures for carrying out these activities on a regular basis for key operations should be established and maintained. The monitoring system should include:
Techniques that should be used for active measurement of the safety and health management system include:
2. Reactive monitoringA system of internal reporting of all accidents (which includes ill health cases) and incidents of non-compliance with the safety and health management system should be set up so that the experience gained may be used to improve the management system. The organisation should encourage an open and positive approach to reporting and follow-up and should also put in place a system of ensuring that reporting requirements are met. The organisation should establish procedures for investigating accidents and incidents to identify their causes, including possible deficiencies in the safety and health management system. Those responsible for investigating accidents, and incidents should be identified and the investigation should include plans for corrective action, which incorporate measures for:
These techniques are explained in more detail in Appendix D of theAuthority's Guidance Workplace Safety and Health Management. back to top Should the management of safety and health be audited in addition to monitoring performance?Monitoring provides the information to let the organisation review activities and decide how to improve performance. Auditing and performance review are the final steps in the safety and health management control cycle. They constitute the ‘feedback loop’ that enables an organisation to reinforce, maintain and develop its ability to reduce risks to the fullest extent and to ensure the continued effectiveness of its safety and health management system. Audits, by the organisation’s own staff or by external bodies, complement monitoring activities by looking to see if the safety and health management systems are actually achieving the right results. Combine the results from measuring performance with information from audits to improve the organisation’s overall approach to safety and health management. The organisation should establish and maintain a programme and procedures for periodic safety and health management system audits to be carried out. This enables a critical appraisal of all the elements of the safety and health management system to be made. Auditing is the structured process of collecting independent information on the efficiency, effectiveness and reliability of the total safety and health management system and drawing up plans for corrective action. These audits should be carried out in addition to routine monitoring, inspection and surveillance of the safety and health management system. The purpose of these audits is to ensure the continued suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the safety and health management system. The audit process should ensure that the necessary information is collected to allow management to carry out this evaluation adequately. The organisation should establish and maintain audit records consistent with the safety and health management system records. Their retention times should be established and must comply with legal requirements. Further information on setting up and operating a safety and health management system audit is given in Appendix E of the Authority's Workplace Safety and Health Management. back to top What should be contained in the system audit protocols and procedures?The protocols and procedures for the audit on the health and safety management system should include the following:
back to top What key questions should an employer ask her/himself when measuring, reviewing and auditing their safety and health performance?The key questions that an employer should ask when measuring, reviewing and auditing their safety and health performance are:
back to top How does the employer train staff to ensure they have the skills, knowledge and attitudes to make them competent in the safety and health aspects of their work?Under Section 10 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, employers must provide their employees with the instruction and training necessary to ensure their safety and health. There are specific training obligations for employees involved in the safety consultation and safety representation processes. Safety and health training must form part of the training of all people who work at the workplace. Training helps people acquire the skills, knowledge and attitudes to make them competent in the safety and health aspects of their work. It includes formal off-the-job training, instruction to individuals and groups, and on-the-job coaching and counselling. However, training is not a substitute for proper risk control, for example to compensate for poorly designed plant or inadequate workstations. The key to effective training is to understand job requirements and individual abilities. In order to train staff to ensure they obtain the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes to make them competent in the safety and health aspects of their work, it is important to identify appropriate training objectives and methods by first identifying the training needs. Training needs may be organisational, job-related and individual: 1. Organisational needs: Everyone in the organisation should know about the organisation‘s Safety Statement and the philosophy underlying it and the structure and systems for delivering the policy. Employees should also know which parts of the systems are relevant to them, to understand the major risks in the organisation‘s activities and how they are controlled. 2. Job-related needs: These fall into two main types - management needs and non-management needs. Management needs include:
Non-management needs include:
3. Individual needs: Individual needs are generally identified through performance appraisal. They may also arise because an individual has not absorbed formal job training or information provided as part of their induction. Training needs vary over time, and assessments should cover:
back to top How does an organisation ensure it has access to sufficient safety and health knowledge, skills and/or experience to identify and manage safety and health risks effectively?Organisations should ensure they have access to sufficient safety and health knowledge, skills or experience to identify and manage safety and health risks effectively, and to set appropriate objectives by:
Whichever method or combination of these methods is chosen by an organisation it does not relieve the employer and the management of the organisation from their legal responsibilities to ensure a safe workplace. back to top What is the role of the safety and health advisor?Safety and health advisers should have the status and competence to advise management and employees with authority and independence. By virtue of the definition of ‘competent person’ under the 2005 Act, they must possess sufficient training, experience and knowledge appropriate to the work to be done. They should be capable of advising on:
To do this properly, safety and health advisers should:
back to top What information should be covered in accident and incident reports?Key information to be covered in accident, ill-health and incident reports include: 1. The event:
Details of the event, including:
2. The potential consequences:
3. Recommendations:
4. Learning from and communicating results from investigations:The organisation, having learnt from its investigations, should:
5. Cautions in using accident and ill health data:Accident and ill health data are important, as they are a direct indicator of safety and health performance. However, some cautions relating to their use are:
back to top When delivering negative news with which of the following should you begin?The indirect approach for delivering bad news has five main parts:. Open with a buffer statement.. Explain the situation.. Break the bad news.. Redirect or provide alternatives.. End politely and forward-looking.. When writing negative news messages you should use the indirect approach when?Indirect approach. When the bad news may have a significant impact on the recipient or you don't know them very well, you may prefer to use the indirect approach. Figure 4.11. 2 shows an example of a bad news message delivered using this approach.
When delivering bad news you should first determine if the negative information is newsworthy?True; When you must deliver bad news, first decide whether the negative information is newsworthy. For example, trivial, noncriminal mistakes or one-time bad behaviors are best left alone. However, more serious offenses must be reported.
Which approach to bad news should be taken if the news is particularly important to the reader?---For minor or routine scenarios, the direct approach is nearly always best. However, if the reader has an emotional investment in the situation, or the consequences to the reader are considerable, the indirect approach is often better, particularly if the bad news is unexpected.
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