Managing health and safety
A successful business doesn’t happen by chance. It has to be properly managed. Risks need to be identified and measures put in place to mitigate them. This is true for all aspects of a business – including health and safety.
Some key questions to ask regarding your management of health and safety are:
- Have hazards and risks from facilities, plant and work activities been identified?
- Has enough information on risks from the activities of others who share the site been collected?
- Are adequate measures to control risks in place?
- Does everyone likely to be affected by identified hazards know about and understand their potential for harm?
- When working with others is it clear who is responsible for controlling the risks? Is it defined in contracts?
- Is there good communication with neighbouring organisations?
- Has everyone in the work area had adequate induction training?
- Has everyone been properly trained and been assessed as competent?
- Is all work properly planned?
- Are checks made to make sure workplace precautions do really control the risk? Is the workforce following them?
- Are health and safety arrangements regularly reviewed?
- Is management at all levels clear about their areas of responsibility for health and safety? Are they made accountable for them?
- Have safety reps/employee representatives been consulted?
- Are health and safety goals set each year?
'Further free guidance is found in:
- Managing health and safety in docks HSG 177 ISBN 071762020
- Successful health and safety management HSG 65 ISBN 0717624889
- ICHCA Safety Pamphlet no 7 ‘Safety audit systems for ports’
