Element IA1: Principles of Health and Safety Management Flashcards
1.1 Reasons for effective management of H&S 1.2 Social Factors 1.3 Uses of & reasons for introducing a H&SMS 1.4 Principles and content of effective H&S Management systems
IA1.1 Reasons for the effective management of health and safety
• Moral:
- the concept of reasonable care
- the unacceptability of putting the health and safety of people at risk
- society’s attitude to moral obligations
- accident/incident and ill-health statistics
- the effect of size of organisation on accident/incident rates
• Legal:
- preventive
- punitive
- the compensatory effects of law
- the principle of self-regulation
• Economic:
- the costs associated with accidents/incidents and ill-health and their impact on society and on organisations
- the insured and un-insured costs
- the financial benefits of effective health and safety management.
IA1.2 Societal factors which influence an organisation’s health and safety standards and priorities
- economic climate, government policy and initiatives
- industry/business risk profile
- globalisation of business
- migrant workers
- level of sickness absence
- societal expectations of equality ie, adjustments for workers with disabilities.
IA1.3 What is a management system
Plan: Implies having a considered policy
Do: Concerns the arrangements for putting the plan into practice
Check: Means it is necessary to assess or monitor performance
Act: Means performance should be reviewed leading to continuous improvement in the management system.
through HSG65 or OHSAS18001
IA1.3 The reasons for the introduction of health and safety management systems.
- Better H&S performance, which will reduce the costs from accidents and incidents.
- Greater awareness of legal requirements, which will reduce the chances of committing an offence
- Greater business efficiency, which will reduce costs
- Reduced insurance premiums, by demonstrating effective risk control.
- Improved image and positive public relations from a publicly responsible attitude towards employees.
IA1.4 the role of the health and safety policy in relation to a health and safety management system and as a vehicle for the communication of health and safety information
Tells people about a company’s approach to managing Health and Safety
• Communicates the organisations commitment to HandS to existing employees
o Can be used:
In the induction of new employees
To involve workforce representatives in writing and amending the policy when necessary.
At regular briefing sessions to communicate information relating to different sections of the policy.
IA1.4 The requirements for a written health and safety policy and for recording arrangements in relevant standards
May be a requirement of national legislation in some regions
It is required by ILO-OSH 2001 and OHSAS 18001
IA1.4 The general principles and objectives of a health and safety policy document
It sets out:
• What needs to be done
• Who needs to do it
• How it is going to be achieved
The key elements/components of a health and safety management system:
- ILO-OSH-2001 Guidelines on Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. ILO, 2001
Policy: A policy document should be developed in conjunction with workers and signed off by top management. The policy should commit the organisation to protecting the Health and safety of employees, compliance with applicable laws and guidance, consultation with employees and their participation, and continuous improvement.
• Organising: Specific roles should be delegated/allocated throughout the organisation, including delegation of responsibility, accountability and authority.
• Planning and implementation: Starts with an initial review to understand the organisations current position which creates the baseline for future continuous improvement. The planning, development and implementation of the SMS system should involve the setting of realistic, achievable objectives and the creation of a plan to meet those objectives, as well as selecting appropriate measurement criteria which will later be used to see if the objectives have been met and for the allocation of resources.
• Evaluation: Procedures need to be in place to monitor, measure and record the performance of the SMS
• Action for Improvement: OHS management system performance monitoring, audits and management reviews will necessarily create a list of corrective actions. It be must ensure that the root causes of the problems have been established, and then that there is a system in place to ensure those actions are carried out.
• Continual Improvement: The organisation should strive to continually improve. It should compare itself with other similar organisations.
- OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems)
Policy: Should state the overall H&S objectives of the organisation and express commitment to improving H&S performance.
• Planning: is needed for the effective identification of hazards and assessment of risks in all activities, and for identifying any applicable law. The organisation should also establish H&S objectives consistent with the H&S policy and establish a management programme to achieve those objectives.
• Implementation and operation: The necessary organisational structure and resources need to be put in place to implement the plans, though top management top management retain ultimate responsibility. People should be competent to perform their designated roles; the organisation requires systems in place to ensure that H&S information is communicated to employees. Employees should also be consulted on H&S matters and be involved in the development and review of policies and procedures.
• Checking and Corrective Action: The organisation requires procedures in order to regularly monitor and measure H&S performance, also require procedures for recording and investigating accidents/non-conformances and to ensure that remedial actions are implemented. There should also be an audit programme to identify that the SMS is operating as planned and is effective.
• Management review: This is the job of top management. The whole system should be periodically reviewed to make sure it continuous to be effective.
• Continual Improvement: The organisation should strive to continually improve. It should compare itself with other similar organisations.
Identify Advantages of an Integrated management system
A well-planned IMS is likely to operate more cost effectively
• Integration should lead to the avoidance of duplication
• The objectives and processes of management systems are essentially the same.
• A positive culture in one discipline may be carried over to others.
• An IMS should involve timely overall system reviews.
Identify limitations of an Integrated management system
Existing systems may work well already
• Uncertainties regarding key terms
• System requirements may vary across topics covered
• Regulators and single-topic auditors may have difficulty evaluating their part of the IMS when its interwoven with other parts of no concern to the evaluator
• A powerful, integrated team may reduce the ownership of the topics by line management.
