Further steps

• Managing
• Leadership
• Competence
• Worker Involvement
• Health

Managing for health and safety

You are at this point because you’ve seen the Essentials and you will have met those principles. This section is for more complex organisations, high hazard industries and those undergoing significant change. Here we continue to advocate the approach of integrating the people issues into a plan/do/check/act model. To act is to learn and improve from experience. Many organisations choose bespoke management systems, such as POPMAR, ISO/BSI 18001 etc. However the success of those systems still hinge on the attitudes and behaviours of people in the organisation.

These questions will test the attitude of management and assess the culture of your organisation. This is a key benchmark which will identify weakness to help develop action plans. See risk profiling for more action plan information.

Questions to ask:

• Have I a business system such as plan-do-check-act/learn that integrates health and safety?
• What is the attitude of my workforce to health and safety, use the questions below to create an attitude survey?
• Do I get feedback on where things may be going wrong before accidents happen, for example near misses or material damage?
• Does someone competent either external or in-house check my health and safety performance?
• Do I learn best practice from other organisations?
• Do I consider the health and safety performance of partners, key suppliers and contractors, whose performance could have an adverse effect on mine?

How to:

• Management Assessment Tool for SMEs (MAST)

Leadership

Your attitude will influence to what extent the health and safety policy and procedures are put into practice. You cannot be present in the workplace all the time therefore your managers/supervisors have to act on your behalf.

Questions to ask:

• How do I demonstrate to my entire workforce that I’m personally proactive in leading health and safety?
• Do I conduct tours with the intention of concentrating solely on health and safety?
• Do all my line managers and supervisors follow my example for health and safety?
• Have I really provided enough resources for successful health and safety?
• Do my staff believe that health and safety is my number one value for this organisation?

How to:

• Health and safety leadership checklist.
• Leadership in major hazard industries
• Research report illustrated case studies

Competence

When your staff have the skills, knowledge and experience to work safely, they improve productivity and add value to your business. They take less absence for accidents or ill-health. Line managers/supervisors know how to effectively implement your aims and workers will identify problems and solutions before incidents occur.

Questions to ask:

• Have I checked that everyone has attended the right health and safety courses and briefings and is working competently?
• Have I got plans to provide health and safety induction for anyone new to the organisation/my team?
• How do I know that I am keeping up to date with the right health and safety information?
• Do I know when to seek health and safety advice, where to get it from and how to check the person will give me relevant, practical, up to date sensible advice?

How to:

• Key Principles for Competence

Worker involvement

Workplaces where employees are involved in taking decisions about health and safety are safer and healthier. Your employees influence health and safety through their own actions. They are often the best people to understand the risks in their workplace.

• Do my staff speak out when they feel they cannot work safely?
• Do I take act on workers’ suggestions for solving problems?
• Do my staff believe we’ve a positive health and safety culture?

How to:

• Involving your workforce in health and safety: Good practice for all workplaces - HSG263

Health

UK-based case studies show health and well-being programmes have a positive impact on reduced sickness absence, reduced staff turnover, reduced accidents and injuries, increased employee satisfaction, a higher company profile, and higher productivity. Initial programme costs can quickly be translated into financial benefits, either through cost savings or additional revenue generation. The message is clear Good Health is Good Business.

Questions to ask:

• Do I know how much ill health is costing my organisation?
• Have I acted on any suggestion that our work may be damaging health?
• Do we have a programme that supports people when they are ill or return to work after an absence?

How to:

• Businesslink: People, health and welfare
• Worksmart
• Occupational health toolkit

(although construction orientated this information has wider application)
Construction health risks