Jargon Buster Flashcards
Competent person
Each person has sufficient training, knowledge, experience and other abilities or skills to be able to carry out their work safely and without risk to health.
Civil Law
The branch of law concerned with compensating individuals for the wrongs done to them.
The Emplo yer
The employer in this context is normally an
organisation, and is sometimes referred to as the
“corporate body
AT WORK
This means when the worker is in the workplace, or
outside the workplace but carrying out the duties of
their employer. It usually applies during work breaks
and work-related travel, and in some countries
would also apply to commuting (travel to and from
work at the start and finish of a work period).
CONTRACTOR AND CLIENT
Contractor - a person or organisation engaged to
undertake certain work on behalf of a client but not
under the client’s direct supervision and control.
Client - a person or organisation who engages a
contractor.
Morale
The level of commitment, energy and enthusiasm
that a workforce has for the work being done.
Ergonomics
The study of the relationship between
the worker, the work that they are doing, and the
environment in which they are doing it.
Motivation
A person’s drive towards a goal. The thing that is
making them do what they do.
CONSULTING AND INFORMING
Consulting - the two-way exchange of information
and opinion between the employer and workers
so that the best course of action can be agreed
upon. This implies that the employer listens to
the concerns of his workers and changes his
plans as necessary. True consultation therefore
provides an opportunity for workers to feed back
to management on their feelings and opinions on
health and safety matters.
Informing - providing information to workers in a
form that they can understand and then checking
that the information has been understood. The
information flow is one-way and the employer does
not have to take any notice of feedback.
GAP ANALYSIS
A technique in which the current situation is
compared with the desired or “target” situation.
HAZARD
Something with the potential to cause harm.
RISK
The likelihood that a hazard will cause harm in
combination with the severity of injury, damage or
loss that might foreseeably occur.
RISK ASSESSMENT
A formalised process of identifying hazards,
assessing the risk that they generate and then either
eliminating or controlling the risk.
PPE
Equipment or clothing that is worn or held by a
worker that protects them from one or more risks to
their safety or health.
Work related violence
Any incident in which a person is abused, threatened
or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work.
Work at Heigth
Work where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause
personal injury.
(Note that work at height can be subject to legal
definition and the definition given here is useful for
best practice. Note also that the definition does not
mention ground level, so it is possible to work at
height whilst underground or at ground level, e.g. at
the side of a sheer drop.
BANKSMAN
A person who gives directions to a driver or
operator who for some reason cannot fully see what
they are in control of. A banksman might direct
an excavator operator digging a trench, a crane
operator during a lifting operation or a vehicle driver
during a reversing operation, for example.
Note that the specific hazards and controls relevant
to forklift trucks are described in Elements 2 and 3
of this unit.
ROLL BAR OR ROLL CAGE
Part of the structure of the vehicle that prevents the
driver from being crushed should the vehicle roll
over onto its side or top. It is also known as a rollover
protective structure (ROP S).
