Element 4 Flashcards
Give definitions of the different methods of measuring H&S performance; Measurements, Monitoring, Auditing, Reviewing
Measurements - can be quantitative or qualitative.
Monitoring involves collecting information, such as measurements or observations, to give management info on performance trends.
Auditing is collecting independent information on the overall efficiency of the health and safety management system and creating corrective action plans
Reviewing is making judgements about performance and deciding on actions to improve.
List the benefits of measuring H&S performance
- identify substandard health and safety practices and conditions
- identify trends of types of accident, injury or illness
- compare performance with targets
- ‘benchmarking’ performance against similar organisations or an industry norm
- evaluate the effectiveness of controls and create actions to rectify
deficiencies - identifying new or changed risks
- assessing legal compliance
- providing the Board of Directors / safety committee with relevant information
- boost morale and motivate the workforce through positive reinforcement on progress
- maintaining external accreditations such as ISO 45001.
Describe the 2 types of monitoring systems.
Active Systems monitor the effectiveness of workplace precautions, RCSs and management
arrangements, and provide leading indicators of performance. They provide leading indicators to warn of future risk.
Reactive Systems monitor accidents, ill health, incidents and other evidence of deficient health and safety performance. (it gives lagging indicators).
Describe the domino theory of accident causation
PROACTIVE
1. Root Causes: audits identify bad planning and org failings.
2. Underlying causes: Inspections can identify unsafe acts / conditions.
3. Direct causes: environmental monitoring can identify agents of harm.
REACTIVE
4. Accident: Statistics can be gathered following an accident/incident where loss occured.
5. Loss: Statistics on injury, illness on property damage
List the 6 various forms of active monitoring
Active monitoring gives information on:
- progress against plans and objectives
- the effectiveness of the H&S management system
- level of compliance with performance standards.
Active monitoring can take the form of…
1. Inspections: of plant, premises & equipment to check conditions against objectives.
2. Audits: examine all aspects of H&S perf against obj.
3. Job observations: check the effectiveness of workplace precautions
4. Health/Medical surveillance: to identify issues early.
5. Environmental: monitoring to identify early signs of harm from noise/dust
6. Benchmarking: compares with other similar industries.
7. Also safety tours, sampling and surveys
Discuss what is reactive monitoring and what it might entail
Reactive monitoring aims to improve H&S performance by
measuring and learning from past events, mistakes and poor safety practice.
Reactive systems are triggered after an event and include identifying and
reporting:
- injuries and cases of ill health
- other losses, such as damage to property
- incidents, including near misses
- complaints by the workforce regarding health, safety and welfare issues
- enforcement actions, such as prosecutions, enforcement notices or informal letters
- civil claims for compensation
- costs arising out of all of the above.
Describe the benefits and weaknesses of checklists / inspection forms.
Benefitsl;
- prior preparation and planning ensures the inspection is structured and systematic
- ensures a degree of consistency in the process and the interpretation of findings
- reduces the chance that important areas or issues might be missed
- can be adapted or customised for use in different areas
- provides an immediate record of findings
- provides an easy method for comparison and audit
Weaknesses
- the process may be overly rigid with no flexibility to explore other issues of interest
- the checklist needs to be regularly reviewed and updated to stay current as the workplace evolves
- there may be a tendency for people to complete tick lists without actually undertaking the checks
- the expectation of consistency can be taken for granted with little effort put into training inspectors
to help ensure that consistency
What should an inspection report include?
Aim to persuade manament to make changes and should include;
- Introduction: detailing the scope of the inspection.
- Discussion: highlighting the significant risks that were found, possible breaches of legislation and
their potential consequences.
- Conclusions: summarising the key issues.
- Recommendations: including an action plan for remedial action with priorities and timescales.
- Executive summary: should be prepared and inserted at the beginning of the report.
Give definitions of an Accident, Near Miss and undesired circumstance
Accident: An undesired event that results in injury, ill health, or property damage.
Near miss: An undesired event that had the potential to cause injury, ill health or property damage,
but did not.
undesired circumstances are ‘a set of conditions or circumstances that
have the potential to cause injury or ill health,
Describe the Domino theory of accident causation and explain each stage
Domino theory of accident causation suggest that accidents result from a chain of sequential events.
Accident prevention strategies involve removing one of the dominoes.
Root causes - management planning or organisational failings
Underlying causes -Unsafe acts and unsafe conditions (the guard removed
Direct causes The agent of injury or ill-health (the saw blade, the substance.).
Accident An undesired event that results in injury, ill-health, or property
damage.
Loss e.g. injury, illness or property damage.
What are the legal and business reasons to investigate incidents?
Legal reasons:
- Accident investigation is required under The Management of Health and Safety at Work etc Regulations 1999 (MHSWR)
- In civil action, there is a need to make full disclosure and courts may view it as demonstration of a positive attitude
- Insurance companies require the findings of the investigation when dealing with a claim.
Business :
- the prevention of further similar adverse events
- the prevention of business losses due to disruption, stoppage, lost orders and the costs of legal
actions
- an improvement in employee morale and attitude towards health and safety as a consequence of
positive action
- the development of managerial skills such as problem solving and action planning.
How should you respond to an emergency
- Preserve the scene
- Note the people, equipment involved and witnesses
- Report the adverse event according to company policy and procedures.
- Determine appropriate level of response
- Report the adverse event to the regulatory authority if necessary.
In an Emergency -
- Make the area safe and take prompt emergency action such as…
- isolating services
- securing the area with barriers
- give first aid / contact emergency services
- informing the next of kin
- informing management and the safety representative
- notifying the enforcement authority by the quickest practicable means
- collecting initial evidence such as photographs, sketches and the names of witnesses and setting
up the accident investigation.
Describe the different levels of investigation
The level of investigation should be determined by the likelyhood and consequence of it reoccuring.
Minimal:
Relevant supervisor investigates circumstances to learn lessons & prevent recurrences.
Low
A short investigation by supervisor or line manager.
Looks to identify immediate, underlying and root causes of the adverse event, to try to prevent a recurrence and to learn any general lessons.
Medium
A more detailed investigation by the relevant supervisor or line
manager, the health and safety adviser and employee representatives.
Looks for immediate, underlying and root causes.
High
A team based investigation, involving supervisors or line managers, safety advisers and employee representatives.
Carried out under the supervision of senior management or directors.
Looks for the immediate, underlying, and root causes.
What should an accident investigation look to establish?
1) the time and location of the accident
2) details of injured parties and anyone else involved
3) details of injury or ill-health caused
4) the activities being undertaken at the time
5) any unusual working conditions
6) whether the risk was known or not
7) whether a safe systems of work existed and was being followed
8) the level of competence of all involved
9) whether the organisation and arrangement of work was a factor
10) whether work materials were a factor
11) whether the workplace layout (environment) was a factor
12) difficulties in using plant or equipment
13) whether adequate safety equipment was provided and used
14) contribution of cleaning or maintenance activities
15) any other contributing factors
16) an understanding of the chain of events.
Describe the 4 steps of the investigation process
1 - Gather information
- From the scene using photos, measurements, sketches and record conditions
- Interview the people involved
- Look at documentation (RA)
2 - Analyse
Examine all possible causes and consequences using a multi-causal analysis to understand the direct, unlying and root causes.
- Identify Risk Controls
Propose suitable controls that would have prevented the incident.
Prioritise the controls identified
Consider if similar accidents can occur elsewhere in the business. - Implement risk controls
Involve senior management in implementing an action plan for risk controls. Should be SMART
