IA6 Flashcards
(b) Give the meani ng of the term ‘safe system of work’. 2 marks (c) Outline the issues to be addressed to effectively implement a safe system of work.
(b)
A safe system of work means the integration of people, equipment,
materials and the environment to produce an acceptable level of
safety or a method of carrying out a task in which hazards have
been identifi ed and eliminated, or risks reduced to an acceptable
level.
(c)
Issues that should be addressed to ensure the effective
implementation of a safe system of work include:
ü
its timing, taking into consideration the need to avoid shift
ü
changes and holidays
ü
the number of persons affected
ü
the need to communicate with the workforce and to provide
them with relevant information using clear and unambiguous
language
ü
arranging for the provision of the necessary training
ü
ensuring that managers and supervisors are made aware of
and understand their responsibilities
ü
introducing procedures for securing feedback from the
workers
ü
making arrangements for the monitoring and periodic review
of the system and to introduce any changes found to be
necessary.
A maintenance worker was asphyxiated when working in an empty fuel tank. A subsequent investigation found that the worker had been operating without a permit to work. (a Outline why a permit to work would b e considered necessary in these circumstances. 3 marks (b Outline the possible reasons why the permit to work procedure was not followed on this occasion.
(a
A risk assessment of the work to be done would have identified the
need for a permit to work since the activity involved was a non
routine high risk task in a confined space where the precaut ions to
be taken were complex particularly since additional hazards might
be introduced as the work progressed and it was, therefore an
activity requiring a structural and systematic approach.
(b
One possible reason might have been that no, or an inade
quate,
risk assessment had been carried out and consequently the
potential hazards had not been identified. There could also have
been a poor health and safety culture within the organisation, where
violations were routine and where a permit to work system was
considered to be too bureaucratic, and where complying with the
terms of a permit prevents a task being finished quickly particularly
when there is pressure to complete.
Other reasons include:
ü
the difficulty in organising the required control measure s
before starting work, particularly if a competent person was
not at hand to authorise the permit
ü
the failure on the part of management to stress the importance
of using a permit in such circumstances
ü
the possibility that the organisation had failed to in troduce and
operate a permit to work system.
Outline, with appropriate examples, the key features of the following risk management concepts: (a risk avoidance 2 marks (b risk reduction 2 marks (c) r isk transfer 3 marks (d) risk retention
(a
Risk avoid
ance involves taking active steps to avoid or eliminate
risk for example by discontinuing the process, avoiding the activity
or eliminating a hazardous substance.
(b
Risk reduction
involves evaluating the risks and developing risk
reduction strategies. I t requires the organisation to define an
acceptable level of risk control to be achieved which could be by the
use of safety/risk management systems or the use of a hierarchy of
control measures.
(c)
Risk transfer
involves transferring risk to other parti es but paying a
premium for this for example by the use of insurance, or the use of
contractors to undertake certain works , or the use of third parties for
business interruption recovery planning or outsourcing a process or
processes.
(d)
Risk retention
involves accepting a level of risk within the
organisation, along with a decision to fund losses internally. It could
involve risk retention with knowledge, where the risk has been
recognised and evaluated, or risk retention without knowledge,
where the ri sk has not been identified obviously an unfavourable
position for the organisation to be in.
(a) An org anisation has decided to introduce a permit to work system for maintenance and engineering work at a manufacturing plant that operates continuously over three shifts. Outline factors that should be considered when introducing and maintaining an effective permit to work system in these circumstances. 10 marks (b) An audit of the permit to work system shows that many permits to work have not been completed correctly or have not been signed back. Explain possible reasons why there has been a failure to adher e properly to the permit to work system.
(a) Factors to be outlined include: ü the definition of jobs and areas to which the system will apply ü the development of the documentation ü arrangements for issue and return ü spot checks ü auditing of the system. (b) Reasons to be explained include: ü the competence of issuers and receivers have the right people, with the right experience been selected as issuers and receivers ü the training of issuers and re ceivers have the people been trained in how to complete and return permits ü a poor safety culture could this culture encourage staff to not take procedures seriously ü production pressures could mean that safety procedures are overlooked.
(a) Outline key principles of the following risk management strategies AND give an example of EACH i) risk transfer 3 marks ii) risk reduction 3 marks (b) When applying a risk reduction strategy, outline factors that affect the choice of risk control measures.
(a)
i) Risk transfer involves transferring responsibility to a third part in return
for pay ment of a premium. An example is using an insurance company.
ii) Risk reduction involves evaluating risks and developing risk reduction
strategies or defining acceptable levels of risk to be achieved. An
example is using the hierarchy of controls.
(b)
F
actors to be outlined include:
ü
cost
ü
legal requirements
ü
employee competence.
Outline
the essential features of
permit to work systems.
The essential features to be outlined includ e: ü co ordination and control of permits ü permit suspensions ü hand back ü shift handover procedures.
