The HSC Business Plan for 2005-06 to 2007-08

Fit for Work, Fit for Life, Fit for Tomorrow’ Strategic Delivery Programme

16. The ‘Fit3’ Strategic Delivery Programme is based on analysis of injury and ill health generation across known hazard and sector hotspots in businesses, large and small.

17. The Strategic Delivery Programme (SDP)aims to deliver a 3% reduction in the incidence of work-related fatal and major injuries. Major initiatives and interventions planned include:

• Introducing management standards covering all aspects of driver training in workplace transport. This will include work to secure cooperation of major stakeholders
• A major communication and publicity campaign on slips and trips, supported by special projects and enforcement activity in autumn 2005
• Implementing the Work at Height Regulations
• Projects in construction that contribute to the targets on falls from height, Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD), slips and trips, and workplace transport.

18. Fit3 aims to deliver a 6% reduction in the incidence rate of cases of work-related ill health. Major initiatives planned, as a contribution to rising to the challenge of occupational health, include:

• A major communication campaign on musculoskeletal disorders, which includes piloting the ‘Backs Week’ projects designed to reduce the incidence of manual handling injuries
• Rolling out the management standards for stress across key sectors, including the public sector
• Launching the Workplace Health Direct advice line and selecting partners to pilot new occupational health support services, to provide accessible advice and support
• Targeted initiatives to reduce the incidence of skin disease in the hairdressing and beauty sectors
• Targeted initiatives to reduce the incidence of occupational asthma in the manufacture, woodworking, and health services
• Introducing new Vibration Regulations and Noise Regulations.

19. The SDP also aims to deliver a 9% reduction in the incidence rate of days lost due to work-related injuries and ill health. We will achieve this by targeting the public sector. The Stress, MSD, Slips and Trips and Construction Programmes will deliver significant contributions. Major initiatives planned also include:

• Developing, monitoring and influencing the implementation of the Ministerial Task Force on Health, Safety and Productivity delivery plan, in which we are working closely with Cabinet Office and HM Treasury

• Raising the profile of sickness absence management in the health and safety and human resource cross-government officials network.

20. Enabling work underpins each of the programme blocks, described in more detail at paragraphs 31 to 38. This will be crucial to maximising the benefit and effectiveness of interventions within Fit3. HSE will seek to exploit links between itself and other government departments - for example, with DWP in the reform of incapacity benefit, with Department of Health on the health agenda following the Choosing Health White Paper, and with Ministerial Task Force departments on the Public Services Programme.

21. The SDP’s three main blocks are aligned with the three components of the RHS and PSA targets, i.e. injury reduction, ill health reduction and reduction in days lost. By aligning our activity in this way, Fit3 is best placed to deliver the occupational health and safety PSA targets. HSE’s Field Operations Directorate (FOD) will support all three work blocks through a mixture of specific projects and topic-based inspection.

22. The programmes of work will include a mix of interventions, ranging from the innovative and original to the well tried and proven. Recent developments in FOD's front-line intervention capacity, including the introduction of more Health and Safety Awareness Officers, will allow more proactive interventions (as well as maintaining reactive investigations) to reach target groups in more user-friendly ways.