1.3 H&S Management systems - Organising

Question 1

1.3 What should a first aid box contain?

Answer 1

• The box should contain a sufficient quantity of suitable first aid materials and nothing else.
• The first aid materials should be replenished as soon as possible after use.
• No item should be used after the expiry date shown on the packet.
• The equipment should be checked frequently to make sure that sufficient quantities of all items are available.
• The box should be marked with a white cross on a green background in accordance with the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996.
• The box should only contain the items a first aider has been trained to use.
• There should be no medication unless the first aider is specifically trained to administer it.

Question 2

1.3 What should an employer consider for first aid requirements at work?

Answer 2

• the nature of the work and the workplace hazards and risks;
• the size of the organisation;
• the nature of the workforce;
• the organisation’s history of accidents;
• the needs of travelling, remote and lone workers;
• work and shift patterns;
• the distribution of the workforce;
• the remoteness of the site from emergency medical services;
• employees working on shared or multi-occupied sites;
• annual leave and other absences of first aiders and appointed persons; and
• first aid for non-employees – although not a general requirement, some organisations may wish to include this, e.g. schools, shops, theatres, etc.

Question 3

1.3 What procedures need to be developed in case of an emergency?

Answer 3

• chains of command, e.g. names and roles of the people responsible for making decisions;
• names of persons responsible for assessing the level of risk;
• shutdown procedures (i.e. plant / critical processes / business activities);
• actual evacuation procedures, e.g. assembly points, roll calls etc.;
• specific training and drills and specialist equipment that may be needed; and
• the preferred means of contacting the emergency services and who is responsible

Question 4

1.3 List the common situations requiring planned emergency responses.

Answer 4

• Fire emergency;
• First aid treatment;
• Evacuation and/or rescue procedures as necessary;
• Rescue procedures for high risk activities – e.g. from confined spaces;
• Spill containment and cleaning;
• Control of releases to atmosphere or water courses;
• Chemical incidents; and/or
• Security situations.

Question 5

1.3 What will a systematic training programme incorporate to be effective?

Answer 5

• Careful selection of the trainees to ensure they have the mental and physical abilities to successfully complete the training.
• Trained and competent training providers.
• A training plan with clearly defined objectives.
• Sufficient time allocated for the learning.
• Suitable training facilities, equipment and material to achieve the learning.
• Validation of the learning, by demonstration, testing, etc.
• Provision of comprehensive training records.
• Periodic review of the training achievement.
• Planned refresher training.

Question 6

1.3 List the topics that may be covered in skills/job training?

Answer 6

• Legal responsibilities.
• Site-wide safety rules and practices.
• Specific practices for both on and off the job safety.
• Current workplace procedures and codes of practice relevant to the task.
• Housekeeping requirements and how to achieve acceptable standards.
• The meaning of safety signs and workplace notices.
• Relevant operating manuals, checklists, forms and necessary records.
• Manual handling techniques.
• The procedure for the supply, use, maintenance and replacement of personal protective equipment.
• Correct operation of machinery, tools and equipment.
• Their role during emergency situations, including the use of fire fighting and other emergency equipment.
• First-aid procedures and skills.
• Accident / incident and workplace hazard reporting procedures.
• The objectives of the accident investigation procedure.
• How to contribute to safety committee meetings.

Question 7

1.3 What is covered in induction training?

Answer 7

• The safety rules and procedures as defined in the Safety Policy.
• The responsibilities for health and safety in the organisation, including their own responsibilities.
• The reporting procedures for hazards, accidents, near miss situations, etc.
• The major hazards on site that may affect their safety.
• Safety monitoring procedures in operation.
• The access, egress and safe travel within the work areas.
• Areas they should not enter, or where specific additional safety controls or training are required.
• Who they report to and who will oversee their initial training and introduction to the workplace.
• The availability and location of facilities, e.g. toilets, hygiene facilities, first aid, etc.
• Personal and occupational hygiene requirements.
• Personal protective equipment available, and how it should be used and maintained.
• Emergency procedures such as fire, evacuation and rescue, including the location and operation of emergency alarms and refuges.
• The person who will take control of emergency situations in their work area – e.g. local fire wardens.
• The terminology used in the workplace, especially any verbal ‘shorthand’ employed

Question 8

1.3 What are the main objectives of H&S training?

Answer 8

• to provide necessary health and safety skills and information to the workforce;
• to support the health and safety culture within the organisation;
• to ensure the success of any safety programmes and support the safety management system; and
• to ensure compliance with risk control strategies

Question 9

1.3 When should H&S training be provided?

Answer 9

• On being recruited into the organisation.
• On being exposed to new or increased risks due to:
– being transferred or given new responsibilities;
– the introduction of new or altered work equipment;
– the introduction of new technology; and/or
– the introduction of new or altered systems of work.
• Periodic refresher training where appropriate

Question 10

1.3 What information must an employer provide to safety representatives?

Answer 10

• Information about the plans and performance of the workplace, with particular regard to any proposed changes that
may have health and safety implications;
• Technical information about hazards in the workplace and the precautions necessary to overcome them. This might include safety manuals, materials safety data sheets, manufacturers’ instructions, etc;
• Records of any accidents and diseases, and statistics relating to these; and
• Any other information that is relevant, for example results of inspections, air monitoring, risk assessments, noise surveys, etc.

Question 11

1.3 What is the role of the safety committee?

Answer 11

To consider reports on matters arising from previous safety committee meetings.
• To review accident and occupational health trends.
• To review recurring problems revealed by safety audits.
• To consider enforcing authority reports and information releases.
• To assist in the development of safety rules and safe systems of work.
• To review health and safety aspects of future development and changes in procedure.
• To review health and safety aspects of purchasing equipment and materials.
• To review renewal / maintenance programmes.
• To monitor safety training programmes and standards achieved.
• To monitor the effectiveness of health and safety communications within the workplace.
• To monitor the effectiveness of the Safety Policy.

Question 12

1.3 Explain the competence role in safety culture.

Answer 12

Competence can be loosely defined as the ability to do a job at the required standard consistently, and will be based on a number of factors that will include:
• basic mental and physical ability;
• skill, knowledge and experience;
• training – both skills training and safety-specific;
• the attitude of the person; and
• the individual’s ability to identify risks correctly.

Staff recruitment procedures that ensure all employees, including managers, have the necessary mental
and physical abilities to meet the needs of the job.

• Systems to identify training needs and to deliver the training in a suitable format. This must include, where necessary, a planned approach to refresher training.
• Systems to ensure the ongoing provision of information and instruction.
• Provision of adequate supervision to detect and correct errors or degrading standards of performance.
• Provision for staff absence to ensure temporary staff are competent.
• Systems to establish relevant health surveillance to confirm ongoing fitness for work.
• Systems that confirm the competence of third parties such as suppliers, contractors and their employees, etc.
• Provision of relevant advice on health and safety matters to the organisation

Question 13

1.3 Explain the communication role in safety culture.

Answer 13

The communication must be clear, unambiguous and in a format that can be understood by the target audience.

The organisation must develop a range of communication methods that will ensure the correct message is sent to employees and a means of confirming that the message has been received and clearly understood by everyone concerned.

This will require the communication to be in both directions – i.e. from management to employees and from employees to management in the form of feedback, suggestions, etc.

From Management
From employees
The goals and objectives being set within the organisation.
The procedures in place to achieve the goals.
Significant findings of risk assessments.
Method statements and detail of systems of work.
Performance achieved and lessons learned from poor performance.
Individual roles and responsibilities.
The possible sanctions applicable for non-compliance.
Feedback on systems’ effectiveness.
Near miss incident reporting.
Suggestions and ideas for improvement of systems.

Methods of communication 
Written communication 
Electronic communication 
Verbal communication 
Visual communication

Question 14

1.3 Explain in detail the cooperation building block of safety culture.

Answer 14

The objective is to achieve a cooperative approach to health and safety management based on involvement of all staff.
This will obviously require consultation with employees and communication of objectives and encouraging feedback of performance information.
Involvement of the staff allows them to contribute to the development of the workplace precautions and working procedures and to take ownership of the systems devised. This will have the benefit of drawing on the practical knowledge of the employees as well as encouraging their cooperation.

Question 15

1.3 Explain in detail the control buidling block of safety culture.

Answer 15

Control

Define the roles and responsibilities in the Health and Safety Policy document and ensure it is brought
to the attention of all employees.

Establish performance standards for health and safety which can then be monitored

Nominate a senior person to take overall control of the implementation and monitoring of the policy.

Ensure all managers are clearly aware of their roles and responsibilities for health and safety and clearly
communicate the requirements to the people reporting to them.

Involve all employees in the establishment of control systems, especially safety representatives, who have an important part to play in ensuring compliance.

The emphasis should be on collective development of safety systems to prevent incidents and harm rather than blaming individuals after an event has occurred

Key personnel:

Policy makers
These people (usually management at the highest level) will have to understand their role in the formulation and development of policy.

Planners
Planners (usually senior managers) will need to plan effectively to ensure that the policy is implemented.

Implementers
Usually consisting of front line managers and supervisors, implementers must have a clear understanding of policy and plans as well as how they will be implemented

Question 16

1.3 What are the 4 building blocks of safety culture?

Answer 16

Methods of control within the organisation (including management responsibility for policy making, planning and implementing).

The means of securing cooperation between individuals within the organisation.
The methods of communication throughout the organisation.
Ensuring the competence of individuals within the organisation;

Question 17

1.3 What are the most common causes of human error?

Answer 17

Lapses of attention
Although the intentions and objectives of the individual are correct, they make an error in performing a
task, perhaps due to competing demands for their attention.
Mistaken actions
Doing the wrong thing whilst believing it to be right, for instance choosing inappropriate methods for
achieving a desired result.
Misperceptions
Where a person incorrectly interprets information based upon their expectation of what should happen.
E.g. where a preconceived diagnosis blocks out sources of inconsistent information.
Mistaken priorities
Where individuals fail to understand the relative priorities of differing goals, for instance ignoring safety controls to achieve production or financial targets. Where the goals of senior management are clearly communicated individuals may superimpose their own.
Wilfulness
Although relatively uncommon, individuals can be tempted to deliberately disregard safety controls in order to achieve some perceived benefit, for instance removing guards to speed production and achieve more productivity payment.

Question 18

1.3 What are the 3 areas of influence in safety culture?

Answer 18

• The organisation - societal groups, impacts of the organisation, work organisation
• Job factors - physical match, mental match, job design, job safety analysis
• Personal factors - personality, attitude, cognitive dissonance, perception, motivation
This is often referred to as the JOP principle

Question 19

1.3 What is accident causation?

Answer 19

a degree of human error can be found as well as the often more obvious technical or procedural failures.
This is based on actions taken by people that may have caused or contributed to the accident,
or where people could have acted in a more positive way to prevent the accident from occurring.
- understanding near misses is fundamental to avoiding accidents .
- the safety of the employees will often depend, to a greater or lesser degree, on their own skill and
ability to work safely, based on their training, knowledge and experience.

Question 20

1.3 What factors influence behaviour at work?

Answer 20

• the perceptual, mental and physical abilities of people and the interaction between them and their job and working environment;
• the influence of equipment and system design on human performance; and
• the organisational characteristics that have an influence on safety related behaviour at work.

Question 21

1.3 What are the responsibilities of senior management in an organisation?

Answer 21

• ensuring that policies are established and reviewed as necessary to ensure statutory or
other compliance (e.g. professional standards);
• defining policy in terms of strategic and operational objectives, and ensuring that
progress towards their achievement is monitored;
• providing the necessary resources to make the policy work;
• allocating health and safety responsibilities within the management structure at all
levels, including senior management level; and
• leading by example in respect of health and safety, particularly in ensuring that
performance is regularly reviewed

Question 22

1.3 How can people be made accountable for achieving H&S objectives?

Answer 22

• job descriptions that include health and safety responsibilities;
• performance appraisal systems;
• arrangements for managing poor performance; and
• use of disciplinary procedures

Question 23

1.3 What ways can management show their commitment to H&S ?

Answer 23

• Making sure that relevant resources are made available, including financial and staff and
time resources.
• Ensuring that all roles and responsibilities for health and safety are properly defined.
• Ensuring that a senior member of the Board with specific health and safety
responsibilities has been appointed.
• Appointing sufficient competent persons to guide and advise on matters of health and
safety.
• Ensuring that health and safety performance is regularly reviewed by the Board.

Question 24

1.3 What is the role of the H&S practitioner?

Answer 24

• the development of the company health and safety policy, for current and future
operations;
• the promotion of a positive safety culture and implementation of the health and safety
policy;
• planning for health and safety, including the setting of realistic objectives;
• establishing systems of work and performance standards for health and safety,
including setting priorities for action;
• monitoring and routine implementation of the organisation’s health and safety
management system;
• reviewing performance and auditing the health and safety management system;
• external liaison with authoritative bodies; and
• the requirements of health and safety legislation, and the measures required to ensure
compliance.

Question 25

1.3 What other duties can the H&S advisor provide?

Answer 25

• advising on any problems or concerns brought to them;
• assisting in the coordination of safety programmes;
• advising on risk assessment procedures and the identification of workplace hazards;
• assisting in accident investigations and development of remedial actions;
• providing advice and assistance to the Safety Committee;
• generating and interpreting accident or incident statistics, and reporting the findings to
the relevant managers; and
• acting as a focal point for all health and safety related issues and maintaining health and
safety information systems.

Question 26

1.3 What do H&S advisors need to perform their duties?

Answer 26

• be properly trained and suitably qualified;
• maintain adequate information systems on topics including law, health and safety
management and technical advances;
• interpret the law in the context of their own organisation;
• be involved in establishing organisational arrangements, systems and risk control
standards relating to hardware and human performance, by advising line management
on matters such as legal and technical standards;
• establish and maintain procedures for reporting, investigating, recording and analysing
accidents and incidents;
• establish and maintain procedures, including monitoring and other means such as
review and auditing, to ensure senior managers get a true picture of how well health and
safety is being managed (where a benchmarking role may be especially valuable); and
• present their advice independently and effectively.

Question 27

1.3 What do persons in control of premises need to action?

Answer 27

The employer is not always the sole person responsible for
the safety of people in a workplace. Duties can be placed
upon ‘persons in control of premises’ – particularly in the
respect of fire – to take such steps as are reasonable to
ensure there are no risks to the health and safety of people
who are not employees but use the premises. Special
consideration should be given to people under the age of 18.
This specifically includes considering their inexperience, lack
of awareness of risks, immaturity and the extent of safety training provided. Where several
companies occupy a building owned and controlled by a landlord, the duty will extend to:
• people entering the premises to work;
• people entering the premises to use machinery or equipment;
• access to and exit from the premises; and
• shared parts of the building, such as corridors, stairs, lifts and storage areas.
Companies that share premises are expected to cooperate with each other and coordinate
their safety efforts, so that premises comply with legal requirements and reasonable steps
are taken to inform other people when there are health and safety risks. All employers in
shared premises should satisfy themselves that adequate arrangements are adopted, and
where a particular employer controls the premises the other employers should help assess
shared risks and coordinate the necessary control procedures. The appointment of a shared
health and safety coordinator is one way to address the issue.

Question 28

1.3 What are employers duties when buying plant and equipment?

Answer 28

• They must ensure the equipment is safe and suitable for the purpose and complies with
relevant legislation.
• When selecting equipment, they must consider existing working conditions and health
and safety issues.
• They must provide adequate health and safety information, instructions, training and
supervision for operators.
• Manufacturers are often required by law to provide information that will enable the safe
use of equipment without danger to health or safety.

Question 29

1.3 What are the 5 steps in managing contractors?

Answer 29

STEP 1: PLANNING
Define the job | Identify the hazards | Assess the risks
Eliminate and reduce the risks | Specify health and safety conditions
Discuss site requirements with the Contractor
STEP 2: CHOOSING A CONTRACTOR
Decide what competence is needed | Ask questions
Obtain evidence to support Contractors’ competence and experience
Ensure the Contractor understands the job, the site and any specific hazards / problems
Ask for a method statement | Find out whether sub-contractors are to be used
STEP 3: CONTRACTORS WORKING ON SITE
Implement a signing in/out system | Appoint a nominated site contact
Reinforce local site rules | Carry out regular inspections
STEP 4: KEEPING A CHECK
Decide how often, when and by whom | Are any special arrangements in place?
Are any parts of the job particularly dangerous?
Maintain suitable records of inspections and meetings
STEP 5: REVIEWING THE WORK
Regularly review the overall performance of the Contractor
Hold regular contract meetings to discuss particular issues
Ensure any learning points are fully implemented

Question 30

1.3 What should all organisations ensure are in place for managing contractors?

Answer 30

• A concise policy on selecting, approving, using and monitoring contractors;
• Detailed organisational arrangements including responsibilities of staff involved with
contractors;
• Formal procedures to ensure contractors are properly managed, including selection,
appointment, site rules, communication with other contractors, monitoring and review
of safety performance;
• Effective planning of contracted work and proper implementation of procedures;
• A means of measuring the overall performance of the contractor, including accident,
incidents, near misses and periodic inspections; and
• A means of reviewing the performance of contractors on a regular basis and ensuring
the implementation of the necessary corrective action(s).

Question 31

1.3 What are important components of a positive H&S culture?

Answer 31

• Leadership and commitment to health and safety throughout all levels of the
organisation.
• Acceptance that high standards of health and safety are achievable as part of a longterm
strategy.
• A detailed assessment of health and safety risks in the organisation and the
development of appropriate control and monitoring systems.
• A health and safety policy statement outlining short- and long-term health and safety
objectives.
• Relevant employee training programmes and communication and consultation
procedures.
• Systems for monitoring equipment, processes and procedures and the prompt
rectification of defects.
• The prompt investigation of all accidents and incidents and reports made detailing any
necessary remedial actions.