Communication
To achieve success in health and safety management, there needs to be effective communication up, down and across the organisation.
Organisations need to communicate information to their workers on the risk to their health and safety identified in their risk assessments, and the preventive and protective measures necessary to control risk.
The information provided should be communicated appropriately, taking into account:
- workers' levels of competence
- the size and structure of the organisation
How size and structure affect communication
A high-risk workplace, with a large unionised workforce spread over multiple sites, may have trade union representatives from different sites as members of a formal health and safety committee that meets regularly, and feeds into a corporate health and safety committee.
A non-unionised, smaller workplace, located on one small, low-risk site, is more likely to consult directly with employees on a day-to-day basis (eg through toolbox talks, or short safety briefings).