Unit A 3rd 100

Question 1

Legal actions that might be available to an injured

person in a claim for compensation AND the tests that would have to be made for the actions to succeed

Answer 1

In order to succeed in an action for negligence, the claimant would need to
Prove:
• That a duty of care was owed to him
• That this duty was breached
• That his injuries occurred as a result of the breach
• That the type of injury was reasonably foreseeable.
Inclusion of these stages as they applied to a scenario was required – for instance, that the employer had not done everything that could reasonably be expected to prevent a foreseeable accident in that a safe system of work had not
been provided. Marks were also available for reference to relevant case law such as
Wilsons & Clyde Coal v English (1938).
The claimant would also be able to pursue an action for a breach of statutory duty.
For this claim to succeed he would need to prove:
• That he was within the class of persons the statute was designed to protect (he was an employee acting in the course of his employment)
• That his injury was of the type that the requirements of the statute were intended to prevent
• That a duty was placed on the defendant which he had failed to meet and that the injury sustained was a direct result of this failure.
Additionally, he would have to counter any argument that the legislation involved did not allow for civil action to be taken.

Question 2

The meaning of ‘general’ and ‘special’ damages that may be awarded in the event of a successful claim AND give examples of the factors that are considered in calculating their value.

Answer 2

General damages:
• Where no exact sum is calculable, are based on estimated financial costs, such as loss of future income in cases where there is partial or complete incapacity, sums awarded for pain and suffering and those awarded for the reduction in the claimant’s quality of life and amenity where account is taken of factors such as age, lack of mobility, degree of disfigurement, inability to pursue sports, hobbies and other interests, and diminished eligibility for social relationships.

Special damages:
• Where the exact sum is calculable such as itemised legal expenses, the loss of earnings prior to trial and the costs that have accrued in making alterations to property as a direct result of a disability resulting from the workplace accident.

Question 3

The meaning of ‘skill-based’, ‘rule-based’ AND

‘knowledge-based’ behaviour.

Answer 3

Skill based:
• Involves a low level, pre-programmed sequence of actions where employees carry out routine operations, often as though they were on ‘auto pilot’

Rule based:
• Involves actions based on recognising patterns or situations and then selecting actions based on a learned set of rules.

Knowledge based:
• Involved at the higher problem-solving level, when there are no set rules and a decision on the appropriate action to be taken is based on knowledge of the system.

Question 4

How might ‘Skill Based’ errors give rise to human failure

Answer 4

Errors may arise if:
• A similar routine is incorrectly selected
• If there is interruption or inattention causing a stage in the operation to be omitted or repeated
• I checks are not carried out to verify that the correct routine has been selected.
Preventive measures include:
• Designing routines and controls so that they are distinct from each other
• Using feedback signals to warn when the wrong course of action is being taken
• Allowing adequate work breaks or job rotation to maintain attention
• Introducing training, competence assessment and a high level of supervision.

Signals passed at danger on the railway may be a result of skill-based errors.

Question 5

How might ‘Rule Based’ errors give rise to human failure

Answer 5

Errors may occur where, for example:
• The diagnosis is based only on previous experience or where sufficient training has not been given to enable employees to make an accurate diagnosis
• Where there is a tendency to apply the usual rule or solution even if it is inappropriate
• Where simply there is a failure to remember the rule that should be applied.
Preventive measures include:
• Clear presentation of information, logical and easy to follow rule sets, systems designed to highlight infrequent or unusual events
• Provision of training and competence assessment.

Examples (Piper Alpha or Three Mile Island)

Question 6

How might ‘Knowledge Based’ errors give rise to human failure

Answer 6

Errors will occur if:

• There is a lack of knowledge or inadequate understanding of the system
• If there is insufficient time to carry out a proper diagnosis
• If the problem is not properly thought through or evidence is ignored.
Preventive measures include:
• Training particularly in risk and hazard assessment
• The provision of adequate resources in terms of information and time
• The use of supervision and checking systems such as group or peer review.

Flixborough and Port Ramsgate provide examples of this type of error.

Question 7

Objectives of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis

FMEA

Answer 7

Objectives of FMEA are to analyse each component of a system in order to identify the possible causes of its failure and the effects of the failure on the system as a whole.

Question 8

Methodology of FMEA AND give an example of a

typical safety application

Answer 8

The methodology of FMEA involves breaking a system down into its component parts
and identifying how each part could fail and all possible causes for its failure

Safety Application:
• Identifying the effects of the failure on the system as a whole in terms of the severity of the consequences and assessing the probability of failure
• Identifying means for the detection of the failure such as by sensors
• Allocating a risk priority number to each component based on the probability and severity of failure and the effectiveness of its detection
• Devising actions to reduce the risk to a tolerable level and documenting the results in a suitable format.

Question 9

Ways develop and support the arrangements for consultation with employees on health and
safety matters.

Answer 9

Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations
Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations

• Initially, the health and safety professional might advise on the requirements of the Regulations and the good and accepted practices to be followed both by safety committees and safety representatives
• Make proposals for local arrangements for formal consultation
• Offer advice and support for the training arrangements of safety representatives and representatives of employee safety and arrange for the necessary resources to be provided to enable them to carry out their duties.
• They might also usefully influence the constitution, composition and agenda of the safety committee and by attending the meetings of the committee, provide professional advice to assist the members in their deliberations while additionally advising on the arrangements for direct consultation with employees and encouraging informal consultation at routine team meetings and briefings.
• Finally they will have a part to play in encouraging senior management members to take an active part in both formal and informal consultation and to respond promptly to proposals made and concerns expressed during the consultation process.

Question 10

Statutory duties set down in Section 4 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Answer 10

The section imposes duties on persons in control of non-domestic premises which are made available to others, who are not their employees, as a place of work or as a place where plant or substances are provided for their use.

The duties include taking reasonable measures to ensure that the premises, the means of access and egress to them and the plant and substances provided for use are safe and without risks to health.

The measures that it will be reasonable to expect the duty holder to take will depend both on the degree of control which he/she has, and this may be determined by a contract of tenancy, and on the test of reasonable practicability.

Question 11

Main defences to a civil action for breach of statutory duty.

Answer 11

Initial procedural defences that might be offered:

• Were that the action was out of time or was not allowed by the relevant statute. - If neither were held to be valid, then it might be argued that there was no breach of the duty owed by the defendant under the statute and if there was a breach, it did not cause the injury to which the action referred.
• Claimant was not within the class of persons protected by the statute nor was the harm suffered by the claimant of the type that the statute was designed to prevent.

Reference to relevant case law such as Corn v Weirs Glass (Hanley) Ltd

Question 12

Meaning of ‘joint and several liability’

Answer 12

Where all parties involved in committing the negligent act are individually liable for the full amount of damages.

Such damages may be recovered in full from any one of the negligent parties following a successful civil action.

The party thus sued may then claim a contribution from the others who are jointly liable.

Question 13

Tortfeasor

Answer 13

A person who has committed a Tort

Tort – A civil wrong

Question 14

Reasons why the rate of reported accidents can be a poor measure of a campaign’s effectiveness

Answer 14

Previously been under reported either because of a deficiency in the existing reporting procedures or ignorance on the part of the employees that reporting was necessary.

Raised awareness, prompted by the advertising campaign, could have led to previously unreported accidents now being reported and that, in the absence of any other data, it would not be possible to gauge whether or not the increase was “real”.

Other reasons why using the number of reported accidents might be an unsatisfactory way of measuring the effectiveness of the campaign could be that the anticipated improvement in health and safety standards may not be apparent until sometime after the campaign has ended or that the campaign may have focused on specific hazards which are not the basis of many of the reported accidents.

Question 15

Proactive (active) monitoring techniques which

might be used to assess the organisation’s health and safety performance

Answer 15

Proactive:
• Safety inspections involving physical inspections of the workplace to identify hazards and unsafe conditions
• Safety audits, where the systematic critical examination of all aspects of an organisation’s health and safety performance against stated objectives is carried out
• Safety tours involving unscheduled inspections to observe the workplace in operation without prior warning.
• Safety sampling, safety surveys, environmental monitoring, safety
• climate measures, behavioural observation and benchmarking.

Question 16

Issues that would need to be considered when

assessing whether a proposed extra detector in parallel should be adopted

Answer 16

• Probability of system failure and its consequences
• Legal requirements and advice contained in industry and HSE codes of practice and guidance
• The initial cost of the additional detector coupled with the subsequent expense connected with its ongoing maintenance and inspection and risk tolerability criteria such as those for example contained in ‘reducing risks protecting people’.

Question 17

Assuming that the decision is taken to use two detectors in parallel, outline other ways in which the reliability of the control system could be improved

Answer 17

Ways in which the reliability of the control system could be improved:

• Use of design stage failure tracing techniques such as FMEA and HAZOP
• Introducing purchasing quality control arrangements to ensure the most reliable detectors are used and using two different types of equipment to minimise the risk of common mode failure
• Ensuring the system components are tested before installation and that they are correctly installed by competent personnel
• Arranging for the introduction of procedures for the periodic inspection, testing and maintenance of the system including the replacement of components within their useful life
• Providing training to employees in operating the system and in fault detection and using indicators or warnings to indicate component failure.

Question 18

Meaning of ‘Common Mode Failure’

Answer 18

A failure of a number of items due to a common cause e.g. loss of electricity supply

Or

A type or cause of failure that could affect more than one component at a time, even when the components are supposed to be arranged to operate independently of each other.

Question 19

Statutory reporting and recording requirements under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 that apply when someone is either injured at work or by a work activity.

Answer 19

• The reporting and recording duties under the Regulations fall to the responsible person who is nominally the employer or the person in control of the premises where the accident occurred.
• When a person at work is killed or suffers a major injury such as an amputation or permanent or temporary loss of sight, a report has to be sent to the enforcing authority by the quickest possible means
• Submit appropriate written report (F2508IE) within 10 days for fatalities, specified injuries, accident to non-employees (taken to hospital) and dangerous occurrences
• For over 7- day injuries, submit the appropriate form within 15 days
• Fatal and specified injuries reported to HSE call centre only
• If a person who has suffered a major injury accident subsequently dies within a year of the date of the accident, the enforcing authority must be informed in writing as soon as they are aware of it
• If an employee suffers an accident which is not classed as major but following which he/she is incapable of carrying out their normal work for a period of more than three days, a written report must be submitted to the enforcing authority within ten days.
• Records of reportable incidents including the name of the injured person, the date and time of the accident, place where it happened, occupation, cause and nature, name and address of notifier and the date the report was submitted to the enforcing authority, must be kept for a period of three years.

Question 20

Methods or techniques that can be used to help in the identification of immediate and underlying causes during accident investigation

Answer 20

• Identifying the immediate causes for each event leading up to the accident and then for each immediate cause, identifying one or more underlying causes
• Using a structured ‘why’ questioning analysis
• Using immediate and underlying cause checklists such as HSG245 (adverse event analysis) or HSG65 (Appendix 5)
• Carrying out an events and causal effects analysis – a graphical method of linking accident events with causal factors and using a team of people with relevant knowledge to identify both the immediate and underlying causes
• Fault Tree Analysis
• Event Tree Analysis

Question 21

Meaning and relevance of the following terms in the context of controlling human error in the workplace:

(i) ‘ergonomics’;
(ii) ‘anthropometry’;
(iii) ‘task analysis’.

Answer 21

Ergonomics:
The design of equipment, task and environment to take account of human limitations and capabilities

Anthropometry:
The collection of data on human physical dimensions which can then be applied to equipment design

Task Analysis:
The breaking down of tasks into successively more detailed actions which allows an analysis of the scope for human error with each action.

Question 22

Ways in which human reliability in the workplace may be improved.

Answer 22

Individual issues:
• Careful selection of staff taking into account skills, qualifications and aptitude
• The provision of appropriate training both at the induction stage and to meet subsequent job specific needs
• The consideration of the special needs of those who may be more vulnerable
• Monitoring personal safety performance
• Using workplace incentive schemes and assessing job satisfaction and providing health surveillance and a counselling service for those suffering from the effects of stress.
Job Issues:
• Introduction of task analysis for critical tasks
• The design of work patterns and shift organisation to minimise stress and
• Fatigue
• The use of job rotation to minimise monotony
• The introduction of good communication arrangements between individuals, shifts and groups and using a sufficient number of personnel to avoid constant time pressures
Organisational Issues:
• Development of a positive health and safety culture the provision of good
• leadership example and commitment
• The introduction of effective health and safety management systems
• Maximising employee involvement in health and safety issues
• Ensuring effective arrangements for employee consultation
• The introduction of procedures for change management and the provision of an adequate level of supervision

Question 23

A number of external bodies may influence health and safety standards in an organisation.

Using specific examples of external bodies, explain in EACH case why they influence internal decision making on health and safety matters in an organisation.

Answer 23

• Parliament and the legislation it produces
• Enforcing authorities and the powers available to them
• Courts and the legal decisions that they make
• Clients and customers and their expectations
• Contractors and/or competitors and the pressures they might exert
• Trade unions; insurance companies with their ability to increase employer or public liability insurance or even refuse cover
• Public opinion and pressure groups
• Technical standards or professional bodies such as CEN, IOSH and ILO
• Accrediting bodies and consultants and training providers.

Question 24

How might task analysis may be used to help with hazard identification as part of a risk assessment process.

Answer 24

Task analysis involves breaking down an activity or process into its more detailed constituent parts.

This allows a more systematic identification of the hazards associated with the activity or process to be made and makes for an easier assessment of the scope for human error.

Question 25

Explain why the number of people exposed to a hazard could affect BOTH the probability AND severity components of risk.

Answer 25

The number of people exposed to a hazard may affect the probability component of risk because:
• With more people exposed, there is a greater chance of someone being affected by the hazard. For example, in the case of a hazard resulting from falling objects or materials, the number of people in ‘the line of fire’ would be critical.

As for the likely severity of the resultant risk:
• The greater number of people affected, the higher the severity will be. The number of people likely to be affected by an explosion is a good practical example.

Question 26

Types of external UK publications to which an employer may refer when deciding whether the level of risk associated with a specific hazard has been reduced to an acceptable level.

In EACH case, outline how the publication may assist in deciding on acceptable levels of risk.

Answer 26

• Statutes and/or statutory instruments and HSE ACOPs which describe the risk control standards required for compliance with the law
• HSE Guidance which provides guidance on the interpretation of the law and technical advice on risks and risk control standards associated with certain activities and processes
• British Standards which lay down specific standards for instance for machinery and its guarding
• Industry, trade associations and TU guidance and guidance on risk tolerability such as the HSE publication ‘Reducing Risks, Protecting People’.

Question 27

Possible reasons why a permit system could not being properly adhered to.

Answer 27

Reasons to account for the failure to adhere to a permit to work could include:

• The lack of competence of both the permit issuer and the receiver
• The lack of training and information that has been given
• A poor health and safety culture within the organisation
• Routine violations with a lack of perceived importance of the permit system
• Pressure to complete the task
• Possible complexity and impracticability of the system which makes it difficult to understand
• Inadequate level of supervision
• Lack of routine monitoring and the non-availability of the permit issuer to complete the “sign back” and cancel the permit once the work had been completed

Question 28

The principles of cost-benefit analysis

Answer 28

The preparation of a cost-benefit analysis would involve:

• Calculating the total costs, including the capital and ongoing costs of each option
• Wherever possible, the benefits that would accrue from the use of the proposed system should be quantified and these would include process efficiency gains, lower operating costs and a reduction in accidents and cases of ill-health and their associated costs
• Once the costs and benefits of the proposal have been quantified, a comparison should then be made and presented

Question 29

A prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 may be brought summarily or on indictment.

Identify the criminal courts that may hear the prosecution when it is brought for the first time.
AND
Outline routes of appeal that could be pursued
following a conviction.

Answer 29

Summary offences:
Magistrates Only

Indictable Offences:
Crown Court

Triable Either Way:
Mag or Crown

Routes of Appeal:
Mag > Crown > HCQBD or Court of Appeal (Criminal) > Supreme Court
Or…
Mag > HCQBD > Supreme Court

Question 30

A child is struck by a train after getting onto a railway line through a section of damaged fencing.

The fencing had been damaged for some time and the damage had been reported to the body in control of the railway two months previously.

In relation to the body that is occupying or in control of the railway in these circumstances:

Identify the statute that creates civil liability

Answer 30

Occupiers Liability Act 1984

Nature of the duties AND the key provisions of this statute:
Under the statute, occupiers or controllers of premises or land owe a duty of care to unlawful visitors to take such care of their safety as is reasonable in all the circumstances.
For the duty to apply:
• The occupier must be aware of the danger or have reasonable grounds to believe it exists
• They must have reasonable grounds to believe that a person is or may come into the vicinity of the danger
• The risk must be one against which the occupier might reasonably be expected to offer some protection
In appropriate cases warnings or other steps to discourage people from incurring the risk may discharge the duty.

Question 31

Witness interviews are an important part of the information-gathering process of an accident investigation.

Describe the requirements of an interview process that would help to obtain the best quality of information from witnesses

Answer 31

• Interview as soon as possible after the event though it may be necessary to postpone the interview if the witness is injured or in shock
• Providing a suitable environment for the interview
• Interviewing one witness at a time
• Putting the witness at ease and establishing a good rapport with him or her taking care to stress the preventive purpose of the investigation rather than the apportioning of blame
• Explaining the purpose of the interview and the need to record it
• Using an appropriate questioning technique to establish key facts and avoiding leading questions or implied conclusions
• Using appropriate sketches, photographs or a visit to the scene of the accident to help with the interview
• Listening to the witness without interruptions and allowing them sufficient time to give answers
• Summarising and checking agreement at the end of the interview.
• Possible need to adjust language to suit the witness and the use of interpreters for those where English is not the first language
• Clarifying what was actually witnessed as opposed to deduced
• Inviting the witnesses to have someone accompany them if they so wish
• Showing appreciation at the end of the interview.

Question 32

Explain why accident / incident ratio studies are often depicted as a triangle

Answer 32

The triangle is used to represent the relative increase in numbers with lower severity outcomes.

Question 33

How can raw accident / incident data be converted into the type of results which are normally shown in an accident / incident ratio study triangle.

Answer 33

The raw data is classified by the severity of the outcome such as for example, Fatality, Major Injury, Minor Injury, Near Misses, Unsafe Acts.

The numerical ratios of the severity outcomes are calculated to give “1” as the outcome of highest severity

Question 34

Explain the reasons why, in practice, the ratios of accident / incident outcomes in an organisation always follow this triangular pattern.

Answer 34

There are a number of reasons why the ratios of outcomes in an organisation follow a similar pattern. Whilst many, but not all, low severity incidents have the potential to cause higher severity injuries, the probabilities dictate that most incidents do not result in a high severity outcome.

Another factor which may have a bearing could be the investment of more resources to prevent those incidents which are perceived as having a high severity outcome.

Question 35

Explain the implications of accident / incident ratio studies for accident and incident investigation arrangements and resourcing.

Answer 35

The implications of accident ratio studies for accident and incident investigation
arrangements and the allocation of resources are that:

• All accidents and incidents should be investigated and the resources applied should be based on the potential loss rather than the actual loss
• The outcome of an accident/incident depends on local circumstances and alternative outcomes for the same unplanned event are possible
• It is important to investigate near misses, property damage and minor injuries which are often overlooked because of a lack of serious outcome since near misses often have identical root causes to serious incidents and can reveal management system failures before serious incidents occur.

Question 36

General types of health and safety related information that an employer should obtain before appointing a contractor

Answer 36

The client would need to obtain:

• Learning of the contractor’s experience in carrying out similar work
• References from other clients on their satisfaction on the way their contract was
• completed.
• Standards to be followed in the design / construction and the procedures in place for assessing risks and controlling quality during the design / construction stage as well as evidence of the qualifications and experience of individual design personnel.
• Information should be obtained on the contractor’s current safety policy
• Information on arrangements for managing health and safety on site
• Resources that would be allocated to this particular aspect of the contract
• Examples of completed risk assessments and method statements
• Performance measures such as accident rates, inspection reports, enforcement notices and audit reports
• Membership of a relevant professional body.
• Qualifications and competency of those employees to be engaged in the installation work with the procedures to be adopted for the selection of sub-contractors if these were needed.
• Contractor’s possession of adequate insurance cover related to public and product liability should have been ensured.

Question 37

SECTION 6 HSWA

Answer 37

It shall be the duty of any person who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies any article for use at work or any article of fairground equipment—

a) to ensure, SFAIRP that the article is so designed and constructed that it will be safe and without risks to health at all times when it is being set, used, cleaned or maintained by a person at work;
b) to carry out or arrange for the carrying out of such testing and examination as may be necessary for the performance of the duty imposed on him by the preceding paragraph;
c) to take such steps as are necessary to secure that persons supplied by that person with the article are provided with adequate information about the use for which the article is designed or has been tested and about any conditions necessary to ensure that it will be safe and without risks to health at all such times as are mentioned in paragraph (a) above and when it is being dismantled or disposed of; and
d) to take such steps as are necessary to secure, SFAIRP, that persons so supplied are provided with all such revisions of information provided to them by virtue of the preceding paragraph as are necessary by reason of its becoming known that anything gives rise to a serious risk to health or safety.

Question 38

Practical reasons why a train driver may not have perceived
a signal correctly and as a result crashed and outline actions that could be taken in order to help reduce the likelihood of a recurrence of this incident

Answer 38

• Driver’s perception may have been distorted by fatigue / drugs / alcohol / medication
• Colour definition may have been impaired by sunlight / defective vision
• Signal fault may have indicated wrong colour
• Distraction may have led to incorrect interpretation of signal
• Signal obscured / visible for too short a time
• Expectation that signal would be “clear” led to false assumption
• Unusual configuration of signal may have led driver to misinterpret signal
Steps to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence include:
• Careful recruitment / selection procedures - competence / aptitude / fitness / health / vision
• Re-design signal / Re-position / Standardise format
• Cab / task design to minimise distractions - ergonomic considerations
• Driver involvement / consultation on design / visibility / operational issues - cab glazing / reflections etc
• Signal maintenance
• Driver training - route familiarity / Provide driver with information - signalling / SPADs etc
• Consultation / Supervision
• Refresher training / Breaks / shift rotation
• Drug / alcohol testing regime
• Encourage near-miss / SPAD reporting and disseminate information
• Provide sunglasses / visors or Install warning systems

Question 39

How safety tours could contribute to improving health and safety performance AND to improving health and safety culture within a company.

Answer 39

Performance and Culture can be improved by:
• Helping to identify compliance or noncompliance with performance standards and, by repetition in the same area, indicating an improving or worsening trend and checking the implementation and effectiveness of agreed courses of action.
• When carried out in different areas, they can point up common organisational health and safety problems and may identify opportunities for improved performance through the observations of the tour members or by their conversations with employees during the tour.
• When tours are carried out on an unscheduled basis, there is the additional benefit of observing normal standards of behaviour rather than those specifically adopted for the event.
• Tours may also help to improve the health and safety culture of an organisation particularly if they are led on a regular basis by members of management indicating their commitment to the cause.
• Additionally, prompt remedial action for deficiencies noted enhances the perception of the priority given to health and safety matters whilst the involvement of employees in the tours will again encourage ownership and improve their perception of the importance of the subject, particularly if the findings of the tours are shared with the workforce on a regular basis.

Question 40

Issues that should be considered when planning a

health and safety inspection programme.

Answer 40

who, what, where and when.
• Composition and competence of the inspection team
• The specific areas of the workplace to be inspected
• The frequency and timings of the inspections which may have to be more frequent in
• higher risk areas with a decision being made as to whether the inspections would take
• place at peak working times or during slow periods and whether they should be
• planned or unannounced
• The method of carrying out the inspections and whether check lists should be prepared and if so by whom
• The possible need to provide personal protective equipment for the inspection team
• The involvement of the workforce in consultation on the proposed programme
• The need to obtain senior management support and commitment for the inspection programme
• Consulting previous inspection reports and researching applicable legislation and standards
• Deciding on procedures to be followed after the inspection to ensure appropriate remedial action is taken.
• Reviewing previous findings, legal requirements, costs and resources and reporting on the results of the inspection

Question 41

A Managing Director wishes to dismiss two employees who he has described as `troublemakers’ for reporting a near miss to the HSE, who subsequently issues enforcement notices

Explain the advice you would give the Managing Director with respect to the proposed disciplinary action against the employees who have complained

Answer 41

Advise that:
• The matter involves a protected disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
• Action at an Employment Tribunal may result
• Negative effect on H&S culture if the two employees are disciplined over H&S matters
• Need to recognise the root causes of employee concerns

Question 42

Steps that could be taken to gain the support of the workforce in improving the health and safety culture within the company

Answer 42

• Informal discussions and safety climate questionnaires
• Methods of demonstrating the commitment of the business to the improvement of the safety culture such as the development of a new policy, establishing a health and safety committee, appointing a safety adviser, encouraging informal communication on health and safety, investing in safety training for leaders and staff and emphasising through communication and good example that safety had the same priority as production were all measures that should have been identified
• Steps to increase employee participation were also important and could have included involvement in risk assessments, the development of safe systems of work, inspections, incident
• investigation and team briefing sessions.

Question 43

An organisation is proposing to move from a health and safety
management system based on the Health and Safety Executive’s HSG65 model to one that aligns itself with ISO45001.

Outline the possible advantages AND disadvantages of such a change.

Answer 43

Advantages:
• Easier integration with other standards such as ISO9001 and allow for integrated management system
• Opportunity to promote company and gain some publicity
• Easier to benchmark performance against other companies who have the certification
• Shows company is committed to continual improvement
• External body certifies the standard and not in house, more creditable to suppliers and employers etc.
Disadvantages:
• System not recognised by HSE, only audit against HSG65
• Costs involved with the change may be expensive
• Time to change will be lengthy taking resources away from other parts of the business
• Increased paperwork
• Complicated
• Audits may not involve HSE professionals if integrated with other management systems
• Non safety professionals might manage the systems without the correct regulatory knowledge

Question 44

Strengths of using accident rates as a measure of

health and safety performance

Answer 44

• They are a measurable number with defined criteria
• They provide an easy way of plotting trends
• They represent categories of loss events which have actually happened and which are undesirable

Question 45

The weaknesses of using accident rates as a measure of

health and safety performance

Answer 45

• Rates give a historic measure but not a prediction of future performance and indicate the effectiveness of previous rather than current safety measures
• That accidents may not be reported or recorded, and when or if they are, their number may often be too small to be used as a statistically reliable performance indicator whilst the absence of accidents does not mean that procedures currently in place are safe
• That the rates do not provide a measure of the actual or potential severity of an accident nor identify high consequence, low probability risk
• That minor accidents, near misses and other such incidents are not included
• That the rates do not reflect the presence of any chronic health issues
• Differences in the interpretation of the word ‘accident’ and the way in which contractors or part-time employees are treated may make the data and their comparison invalid.

Question 46

Types of information that should be included in written safe
systems of work.

PEME

PEOPLE, EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, ENVIRONMENT

Answer 46

• Clear description of the work activity or the work area to which the SSOW is to apply, the significant hazards and risks involved, the personnel to be involved in the activity noting particularly those who should not be involved such as young persons or other vulnerable personnel
• The level of training and competence that would be required, communication arrangements and the arrangements to be put in place for the supervision of the activity or area.
• Description of the plant and equipment required for the work to detail the specific risk control measure that should be taken
• Indication of any personal protective equipment to be used
• Highlight the requirement for any job specific instructions or briefing that would have to be given to those involved in the work.
• Additionally, an element of the SSOW would be an indication of the emergency arrangements that should be in place for the activity together with those for communicating with others who might not have a part to play in the activity but who might be affected by it.
• Finally, information would have to be provided on the arrangements for the safe completion of the task or activity; the withdrawal of the precautions that had been adopted
• Any proposed date for a review of the SSOW in the light of experience gained or any changes either in legislation or technical knowledge.

Question 47

Possible strengths AND weaknesses of the role of the union-appointed safety representative in improving workplace health and safety standards and culture

Answer 47

Strengths:
• Ensuring that employee concerns which might otherwise remain unknown, are brought to the attention of management and if necessary to an inspector from the enforcing authority.
• Applying pressure to ensure that the promised action on improving working
• conditions is taken
• Ensuring employee involvement in and commitment to good health and safety practices
• Encouraging and supporting active monitoring by exercising their entitlement to carry out inspections of the workplace and ensuring employee input during the investigation of accidents and incidents
• Acting as a champion for health and safety and so promoting awareness and interest
• By virtue of their acquired knowledge and training, highlighting shortcomings in that provided for members of management
• Encouraging the employer to set up a formal health and safety committee which will promote further consultation with the employees.
Weaknesses:
• Less direct engagement and consultation by management with the workforce on health and safety issues.
• Their investigative role could lead to them focusing on compensation claims rather than on the introduction of control measures to prevent a recurrence
• Danger that health and safety issues might be mixed up and confused with other employment relations issues.
• A representative who has not received appropriate training may fail to establish correct priorities and cause resources to be wasted
• One who is ineffective may undermine the existing safety culture of the organisation by failing to represent the views and opinions of employees
• Possibility that their role may not be seen as relevant by non-union employees

Question 48

Meaning of the term ‘violation’

Answer 48

“violation” is a deliberate and intentional deviation from, rules, procedures, instructions or regulations

Question 49

Outline the meaning of ‘routine’, ‘situational’ or ‘exceptional’ violation

Answer 49

A routine violation involves continually breaking a rule or procedure to the extent that it becomes the normal way of working

In the case of a situational violation, rules are broken due to pressures from the job such as insufficient staff for the workload, time pressures, adverse conditions or because the right equipment for the job is not available

Exceptional violations by their very name are rare and only happen when things have gone wrong and a risk is taken to solve an urgent problem or is believed to be the lesser of two evils

Question 50

Reason why a poor safety culture might lead to higher levels of violation by employees.

Answer 50

Good or poor safety culture in an organisation is based on the common beliefs and perceptions of the employees which over time are built up by the decisions and behaviour of leaders and/or peers.

As such, a lack of a shared perception about the importance of safety could lead to individual employees violating a rule or procedure because they are driven by their own perception of what is really important or they may be influenced by peer pressure.

This negative perception that rules are not important and that production is more important – both prime factors of a poor safety culture – could lead to higher levels of
violation.

Question 51

Meaning of the terms ‘practicable’

Answer 51

Must be carried out if it is technically possible or feasible in the light of current knowledge and invention. It is a duty of a higher standard than ‘reasonably practicable’ since cost cannot be taken into consideration in discharging a practicable duty.

Adsett v. K&L Steelfounders and Engineers Ltd (1953)
In the this case, the employer argued that the extractor had been installed as soon as it had been thought of. The Court of Appeal held that the employer could not be held liable, as for a measure to be “practicable” meant that it had to be known about, especially by experts, so that it could be applied by people in the industry

Question 52

Meaning of the term ‘reasonably practicable’

Answer 52

To discharge a reasonably practicable duty, the duty holder is required to balance the risk (likelihood and severity of harm) against the cost in terms of time, effort and money of reducing risk.

They must continue to reduce the risk until the cost of further risk reduction becomes very disproportionate to the risk removed, its only at this point the duty is met

Edwards v National Coal Board [1949]
Mr Edwards was killed when an unsupported section of a travelling road in a mine gave way. Only about half the whole length of the road was shored up. The company argued that the cost of shoring up all roads in every mine was prohibitive when compared to the risk.

Question 53

Authorities who might be involved in investigating an accident that resulted in a fatality or in initiating and/or conducting criminal prosecutions AND outline the involvement of each authority in these circumstances

Answer 53

Accident would be investigated by the HSE who would subsequently decide whether to prosecute for breaches of the HSW Act or Regulations and would conduct summary proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court or brief a barrister if the case was to be heard on indictment in the Crown Court.

The police might also investigate the circumstances of the accident with respect to manslaughter or suspicious death and refer their findings to the Crown Prosecution Service to make a decision whether a prosecution for manslaughter should proceed.

Question 54

A Managing Director, who was controlling work at the
scene when a fatal accident occurred, has refused
permission for the HSE inspector to make a further visit and to take statements.

Outline the specific powers of inspectors that are relevant to this issue AND the possible courses of action that the inspector may pursue.

Answer 54

• Inspectors have the power to enter premises at any reasonable time s20 HSAWA, taking with them another authorised person if this is thought necessary and also a member of the police if obstruction is anticipated
• To require any person to answer questions and to sign a declaration of truth as to their answers (though statements which may incriminate the interviewee, such as the Managing Director in this case, would not be admissible as evidence in any subsequent prosecution)
• To be entitled to reasonable facilities and assistance from the person in control of the premises
The possible courses of action that the inspector might pursue include:
• Re-visiting the premises with a colleague or police officer to take statements
• Consider arranging interviews with witnesses at an alternative venue
• Carrying out a voluntary interview of the Managing Director under caution;
• Prosecuting the Managing Director both for obstructing them in the course of their duties and for preventing other persons from being interviewed by them.

Question 55

Outline the legal criteria that must be satisfied to obtain a conviction under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007

Answer 55

Organisation may be found guilty of an offence under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 if the way in which its activities are managed or organised causes a person’s death and amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed to the deceased.

The organisation’s conduct must have fallen far below what could have reasonably been expected and a substantial part of the failure within the organisation must have been at a senior management level.

Question 56

A 13 year-old boy is riding on the back of a milk delivery van when he falls and is injured. The boy has been helping the milkman to deliver milk even though doing this was forbidden by the dairy that employs the milkman.

(a) Explain, with reasons, which of the parties concerned may have civil liability at common law for the injury. Use case law to support your answer where appropriate. (5)

Answer 56

The first party considered to have civil liability at common law would be the milkman if it can be proved that he has behaved negligently.

Relevant case law to support this argument would be found in Donoghue v Stephenson and Caparo v Dickman.

Additionally it could be argued that the dairy will have vicarious liability since the milkman was their employee, the accident occurred during the course of his employment and though he had apparently broken the company’s rules, this in itself would not be sufficient to remove the vicarious liability. Rose v Plenty could have been cited as supporting case law for this view. This part of the question was generally well answered.

Question 57

An action alleging negligence by the milkman is brought on behalf of the injured boy.

Outline possible defences against such an action AND, in EACH case, relate your answer to the scenario given. (6)

Answer 57

• Complete denial of the stated facts regarding the injury.
• No duty of care was owed to the injured party
• Duty was not breached taking into account foreseeability and reasonableness.
• Other possible defences included that the damage did not arise from the breach of duty, contributory negligence or volenti non fit injuria.
• If the dairy was being sued, an argument that the milkman had gone outside the course of his employment could be made to try and avoid vicarious liability.

Question 58

The negligence claim is to be managed in accordance with the relevant pre-action protocol.

Identify FIVE possible documents that the defendant may have to send to the claimant under this protocol. (5)

Answer 58

• Accident book entry
• The supervisor’s accident report
• The RIDDOR report to the HSE
• Other communications between the Executive and the defendants
• Pre-accident risk assessment
• Post-accident risk assessment
• Records of any training or information that had been provided to employees.

Question 59

Following this accident the milkman was dismissed for gross misconduct for a serious breach of safety rules.

The milkman considers this to be unfair and brings an action for unfair dismissal to an Employment Tribunal.

Outline the orders that the Employment Tribunal may make if they find in the milkman’s favour (3)
Identify the body that would hear any appeal from the decision of the Employment Tribunal (1)

Answer 59

• Order that he be re-instated and allowed to return to his original job and conditions
• Be re-engaged by the same employer but in a different job or with different conditions
• Be awarded compensation for loss of employment.
• Any appeal against the decision of the Tribunal would be heard by the
• Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Question 60

Describe the organisational and planning issues to be addressed in the development of an audit programme.

Answer 60

• Consideration of the logistics and resources required such as the time to be taken, releasing personnel and the financial implications and obtaining the support and commitment of senior managers and other key stakeholders.
• Nature, scale and frequency of the auditing relative to the level of risk involved, the standards against which the management arrangements were to be audited such as, for example, legal or good practice, and the identification of the key elements of the audit process such as the planning, interviews and verification, feedback routes and the preparation and presentation of the final report. There would also have to be recognition of the need to develop audit protocols and consider issues such as scoring or the use of proprietary software.
• The types of auditing such as comprehensive, horizontal or vertical slicing
• Audit scope such as management system elements and selected performance standards
• The use of a single auditor or audit teams
• Training of auditors and briefing of those members of the organisation who were likely to be affected

Question 61

Features of a safe system of work

PEME

PEOPLE, EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS ENVIRONMENT

Answer 61

• Clear description of the work activity or the work area to which the SSOW is to apply, the significant hazards and risks involved, the personnel to be involved in the activity noting particularly those who should not be involved such as young persons or other vulnerable personnel
• The level of training and competence that would be required, communication arrangements and the arrangements to be put in place for the supervision of the activity or area.
• Description of the plant and equipment required for the work to detail the specific risk control measure that should be taken
• Indication of any personal protective equipment to be used
• Highlight the requirement for any job specific instructions or briefing that would have to be given to those involved in the work.
• Additionally, an element of the SSOW would be an indication of the emergency arrangements that should be in place for the activity together with those for communicating with others who might not have a part to play in the activity but who might be affected by it.
• Finally, information would have to be provided on the arrangements for the safe completion of the task or activity
• The withdrawal of the precautions that had been adopted
• Any proposed date for a review of the SSOW in the light of experience gained or any changes either in legislation or technical knowledge.

Question 62

Principles and content of effective health and safety, quality, environmental and integrated management systems with reference to recognised models and standards

Answer 62

Key legal requirements of MHSW reg 7:
• H&S Assistant to be competent
• Appointment of one or more persons as necessary
• Arrangements for cooperation if 2 or more
• Numbers of H&S Assistants and time available to be sufficient for organisation’s size, risk and risk distribution
• Information on health and safety issues to be provided to external appointees
• Preference for internal appointment(s)
• Information on temporary workers
• Exemptions for partnerships where one partner is sufficiently competent.

Question 63

Outline the role of the health and safety professional when designing the H&S management system

Answer 63

Key elements of strategic role include:
• Formulating and developing elements of the health and safety management system
• Developing/agreeing a suitable safety policy statement
• Developing and agreeing plans for improvement including short and long-term targets
• Involvement in reactive monitoring such as reporting and accident investigation
• Involvement in proactive monitoring such as inspections and audits
• Developing/agreeing plans to improve safety culture
• Organising and participating in review arrangements
• Managing relationships with enforcing bodies
• Advising senior managers / Board on strategic safety issues
• Co-ordination and support issues of a health and safety department

Question 64

Active Failures

Latent Failures

Answer 64

Active Failures – Unsafe acts which have immediate effects on the integrity of the system, usually committed by those directly involved with the task. Cause of the failure is down to human error (accidental) or a violation (deliberate)

Latent Failures – At the strategic levels, both in the organisation and external environment, they remain dormant until they react with local factors, unsafe acts and work environments and increase the likelihood of an active failure (e.g. lack of supervisor, maintenance failure)

When the gaps created by active failures align with those created by latent conditions, the opportunity exists for a serious outcome.

Question 65

Outline the benefits of conducting accident investigation

Answer 65

• Prevention of similar events occurring again which in turn would lead to various negative effects on the business due to disruption, loss of production, damage to reputation and cost of criminal or civil actions
• Improvement in employee morale due to the fact that their employer is seen to take these issues seriously
• Development of managerial skills which can be applied to other areas of the organisation.

Question 66

Strengths of using accident rates as a measure of health and safety performance (5)

Answer 66

Strengths:
• Measurable number with defined criteria
• Easy to plot a trend
• Benchmark data may be available
• Represents categories of loss events which have actually happened, and which are undesirable.

Question 67

Weaknesses of using accident rates as a measure of health and safety performance

Answer 67

Weaknesses:
• Historic measure of performance / cannot predict future performance
• Measures previous not current safety measures effectiveness in the short term
• Subject to random fluctuations / number of accidents often too small to be used as reliable performance indicators
• Accidents may not be reported / recorded / disclosed
• Absence of accidents does not necessarily indicate that procedures are safe
• Does not measure actual or potential severity of accident
• Unable to identify high consequence, low probability risk
• Does not reflect chronic health issues
• Affected by propensity to take time off / morale
• Other near misses / minor accidents / incidents are not included
• Different definitions of ‘accident’ / different treatment of part-time workers / contractors may make data and / or comparisons

Question 68

Criteria that should be met for a risk assessment to be suitable and sufficient

Answer 68

For a Risk Assessment to be “suitable and sufficient” it should:

• Identify the significant risks arising from, or in connection with the work
• Detail in the assessment should be proportionate to this risk
• The most hazardous sites will require the most sophisticated risk assessments
• Must consider all those who may be effected by the activities
• The risk assessment should indicate the period of time for which it is likely to be valid

Question 69

Outline what should be included in the significant findings

Answer 69

• A record of the preventative and protective measures in place to control the risks
• What further action, if any needs to be taken to reduce risk sufficiently
• Proof that a suitable and sufficient assessment has been made

Question 70

Outline the requirements for review of the risk assessment

PEARRLS

Answer 70

Annually
Change in processes, procedures, or new equipment etc
Change in staff
Change in hazards / new hazards or risks

Question 71

ACoPs

Answer 71

Quasi-legal” status
• Less authoritative than law
• More authoritative than guidance.
• Presents an approved means of complying with relevant statutory provisions
• Evidence of a failure to follow the provisions of an acop is admissible in Court as indicating a breach of the relevant statutory provisions.
• Failure to follow the provisions of an acop is not in itself grounds for a prosecution as long as the duty holder can demonstrate compliance by “other equally effective means”.

Question 72

ACoPs
How they are created

Made by industry experts, approved by HSE under
Section 16 HASAWA, with consent of SoS

Answer 72

• ACoP’S are written by recognised experts
• After consultation with relevant government departments or any other appropriate department, they are then approved and issued by the Health and Safety Commission with the consent of the Secretary of State.

Question 73

Difference between the functions, rights and entitlements of Safety Representatives appointed under the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 with those of Representatives of Employee Safety elected in accordance with the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996

Answer 73

SR&SCR 1977:
• Time off with pay for training
• Time off with pay for carrying out functions
• Represent employees (TU members) in consultations with employer with regard to making and maintenance of arrangements for health and safety
• To make representations to the employer on potential hazards, dangerous occurrences, accidents, employees complaints and on general matters regarding health and safety at work
RoES 1996:
• Time off with pay for training
• Time off with pay to carry out functions
• Represent members (TU) in making representations to employer on H&S maters
• To make representations to inspectors from enforcing authority and to receive information from inspectors
• To carry out inspection of the workplace
• To investigate potential hazards and dangerous occurrences and examine causes of accidents at the workplace
• To investigate employees complaints regarding health, safety and welfare
• To attend meetings of safety committees in the capacity of a safety rep

Question 74

FIVE topics on which employees or their representatives must be consulted

Answer 74

• Arrangements for the appointment of competent person(s)
• Arrangements for planning and organisation of H&S training
• Matters substantially affecting H&S
• The H&S consequences of new technologies
• New measures / controls to reduce risk
• New equipment / PPE etc.

Question 75

Identify the circumstances under which the employer is not obliged to disclose information to employees or their representatives

Answer 75

The employer is not required to disclose:
• Information which would be against the interests of national security
• Information that would contravene a prohibition imposed by or under any enactment
• Information relating specifically to an individual, unless he/she has consented to it being disclosed
• Information which would, for reasons other than its effect on health or safety, cause substantial injury to the employer’s undertaking or, where the information was supplied to him by some other person, to the undertaking of that other person
• Information obtained by the employer for the purpose of bringing, prosecuting or defending any legal proceedings
• Information which is not related to health or safety matters

Question 76

Regulation 5 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 places legal duties on employers in respect of health and safety management arrangements. Outline the duties concerned
AEPOCMR

Answer 76

MHSWR reg 5 requires employers to make appropriate arrangements - given the size of their undertaking and the nature of their activities - (i.e. proportionate) for the effective planning, organisation, monitoring and review of the measures for controlling risk - in writing if 5 or more employees

Question 77

For a range of internal information sources:

Outline how EACH source contributes to risk assessment

Answer 77

Internal sources such as:

Accident, Near-miss Reports - these reports are useful information as they clearly identify hazards that either have or had potential to cause injury / ill health. They are useful during the risk assessment as they help in the evaluation of likelihood and severity of injury and hence contribute to estimating the degree of risk involved.
Absence records - may also be an indication of problems.
Inspection reports – may be useful in identifying the hazardous conditions in the work place and also common types of control failures. This process not only aids the hazard identification process but also influences risk assessment. The effectiveness of various control options can be better estimated based on current controls
Audit reports - may be useful in a similar way, in identifying hazards that have been overlooked and identifying the effectiveness / reliability of existing control measures.
Maintenance Records – may be useful in determining the effectiveness and reliability of particular control in the work place, such as automatic warning system, guards, PPEs etc

Question 78

Outline limitations of internal information sources

Answer 78

Limitations of using internal information sources include:

• The information on accidents is only based on local data and therefore because something hasn’t happened yet may give a false sense of likelihood/frequency.
• A larger sample size (use of external data) may be required or use of near miss data instead.
• Reports of ill-health may be due to a combination of a work situation plus a pre-existing condition

Question 79

Information that should be included in written safe systems of work
PRAACTISES-IITS

Answer 79

• Clear description of the activity / area to which the ssow applies
• Significant risks/hazards involved
• Personnel involved in the activity / excluded from the activity (eg young persons, etc)
• Level of training or competence required
• Arrangements for supervision
• Arrangements for control or co-ordination of the work
• Detailed risk control steps to be taken
• Description of any plant and equipment required for the work
• Description of any PPE required
• Requirements for any job-specific instruction or briefing for those involved
• Arrangements for communication between personnel involved in the work
• Emergency arrangements
• Any elements for which a PTW is required
• Arrangements for safe completion/withdrawal of precautions
• Arrangements for communication with others working in the area/who might be affected
• Formal approval/signature of authorising manager/date
• Review date

Question 80

How a union-appointed safety representative may influence improvements in workplace health and safety standards

Answer 80

• Being a member of safety committee
• Involvement in development of H&S policy
• Investigating potential hazards and dangerous occurrences
• Examining cause of accidents
• Investigating H&S complaints from workers
• Making representations to employers/management on potential hazards
• Carrying out inspections of the workplace

Question 81

Explain why the union-appointed safety representative may find it difficult to influence safety standards

Answer 81

• He may have differing objectives to another member of the safety committee
• There may be resistance from management to address certain issues
• Management may not really have any intention of taking into account the views of the workforce (Tokenism)
• There may be a clash of personalities with employers/management
• He may be seen as lacking authority
• He may be unclear as to his role versus the role of the H&S practitioner

Question 82

A fatality occurred when an unsupported excavation collapsed on an employee. An initial investigation into this accident revealed that there had been a number of minor collapses in the days before the accident and yet the danger of a full collapse had not been recognised. No effective measures were taken to deal with the danger.

With reference to the Hale and Glendon model of individual behaviour in the face of danger determine possible reasons why this accident occurred. (12)

Answer 82

The Hale Glendon model assumes that danger is always present and that when faced with danger people may, through their actions, create danger or take action to control that danger and therefore prevent harmful outcomes. It involves the steps of:
• Hazard identification
• Assessment of risks
• Selection and adoption of measures to reduce risk
It considers both active and latent failures and considers the different areas of knowledge, Rules and skills.
In the case of the excavation above, the workers who had experienced the minor collapses represent an active failure did not take the necessary action to prevent the major collapse. They may not have realised the potential for a larger failure. They may not have known the rules regarding the reporting system or they may not have been motivated to report them. It is not clear whether any measures were introduced following the minor collapses, but if they were, it would appear that those involved did not have the required level of skills.
Latent failures may have been made by the designers, safety advisors or emergency planners who failed to foresee the potential for the collapse and failed to provide the necessary supports for the excavation. Managers may have also failed to provide sufficient levels of supervision and also failed to make clear what the near miss reporting system was if they had any concerns

Question 83

Outline methods of improving human reliability so that accidents can be prevented in the future

Individual Factors

Answer 83

Individual factors:
• Training (Safety induction, Job specific and refresher) – in the absence of proper, effective training, worker will not know how to behave correctly and they will do what they see as the best.
• Incentive Scheme: if worker see some form of reward for good behaviour then they are more likely to comply with the rules, etc. and they are also more likely to exercise care when performing their duties because they have a personal reason for caring about outcomes. Incentive can be financial in nature , but may have no financial value at all (e.g. Employee of the Month scheme )
• Individual characteristics such as personal attitudes, skills, qualifications and aptitude.
• The consideration of special needs of those who may be more vulnerable.
• Monitoring personal safety performance
• Assessing job satisfaction and a counselling service for those recognised as suffering from the effect of stress.

Question 84

Outline methods of improving human reliability so that accidents can be prevented in the future

Job Factors

Answer 84

Job factors:
• Allowing Appropriate rest breaks
• Introduction of task analysis for the critical task
• The design of work patterns
• Shift organisation to minimise stress and fatigue
• The use of job rotation to counter monotony and boredom and maintain a level of interest
• Usage of sufficient number of personnel to avoid constant time pressures

Question 85

Outline methods of improving human reliability so that accidents can be prevented in the future

Organisation Factors

Answer 85

Organisation factors:
• Employee selection: recruiting the right worker for the job is an important measure. For example a worker with high IQ on a monotonous job is likely to bend and break the rules to relieve the monotony.
• Supervision: The provision of adequate level of supervision. It is vital that workers are supervised to an adequate level in the workplace so that non-compliance and errors are detected and corrected early. This prevents bad habits from forming and sends a clear message to the workers: rule breaking will not be tolerated.
• Demonstrable Management commitment - without strong leadership workers will not feel motivated to behave correctly.
• Development of a positive health and safety culture through:
o Introduction of effective health and safety management system
o Maximising employees’ involvement in health and safety issues.
o Ensuring effective arrangements for employees’ consultation.
• The introduction of good communication arrangements between individuals, shifts and groups, so that workers feel engaged in the decision making process in the workplace and therefore feel a greater level of commitment to work.

Question 86

Outline key principles of the following risk management
strategy

Risk transfer

Answer 86

Risk transfer involves transferring responsibility to a third party, such as an insurance company and the loss is financed from funds outside of the organisation. Another good example would be to engage a contractor who will take on the risk.

Question 87

Outline key principles of the following risk management
strategy

Risk reduction

Answer 87

Risk reduction is where the risk cannot be avoided or eliminated entirely, but attempts are made to reduce the frequency and/or severity of a potential loss by use of a typical safety control techniques such as engineering solutions to control risk at source, procedures and behaviour measures such as training etc.

Risk reduction involved evaluating risks and developing risk reduction strategies or defining acceptable levels of risk to be achieved

Question 88

Outline key principles of the following risk management
strategy

Risk Retention

Answer 88

Risk retention is where accepting a certain level of risk, by knowing the consequences either by with or without knowledge

Question 89

When applying a risk reduction strategy, outline factors that affect the choice of risk control measures

Answer 89

Factors include:
• Use of hierarchy of control measures – Eliminate, Substitute, Isolate, Controls, PPE, Competence first
• Whether measure provides collective or individual protection
• Cost of measure
• Practicality – is it possible
• Effectiveness
• Legislative or ACOP requirements
• Competence of workforce + training needed

Question 90

Societal factors that influence health and safety standards.

Answer 90

Societal factors that influence H&S standards / priorities include:
• Economic climate - austerity, cuts in funding, competition, labour shortages, H&S given lower priority
• Government policy / priorities / initiatives / campaigns, new legislation introduced – is likely to direct companies’ focus on those areas and distract from others
• Industry / business risk profile – higher risks equate to more control and vice versa
• Globalisation of business - dealing with different cultures and legislative requirements / standards - difficulty in establishing a consistent “corporate” system / approach
• Migrant workers - language difficulties, different cultures / attitudes
• National levels of sickness absence and incapacity - government initiatives / legislation - Equality Act e.g. “fit note”, requirements to make reasonable adjustments

Question 91

Meaning of the term ‘contract’

Answer 91

A contract is an agreement between two or more people, and must be written, verbal or implied.

The parties should intend their contract to have legal consequences

Question 92

Outline elements required for a contract to be legally

enforceable

Answer 92

• The contract must be in agreement between two parties
• Consideration - Something of value must be given in exchange for a promise i.e. Money to complete some work
• Legal relations – There must be intention to create legal relations i.e. that there will be legal consequences if the contract is broken
• No illegal circumstances – There must be no circumstances surrounding the contract which make it unenforceable, void or illegal. i.e. drug dealing
• Legal Capacity – The parties must have legal capacity to contract e.g. persons must be over 18yrs old, sound mind, not drunk etc.

Question 93

Outline factors that make a contract potentially unenforceable

Answer 93

• Contract is older than 6 years – no legal remedy after this period
• The parties must have legal capacity – must of be age, sound mind, not drunk etc.
• There is illegal circumstances surrounding the contract
• Contract is unfair

Question 94

Outline actions taken by the contracted parties that make a contract completed.

Answer 94

One way of completing a contract is for both parties to complete their obligations.

Contract can be cancelled by mutual agreement

Question 95

The key steps in the accident investigation process within setting up the investigation team

Answer 95

Types of people who should be involved include Management, Supervisors, HSE Advisors and they must be experiences / competent in the investigation processes and activity/task related to the incident

The qualities of the person leading the investigation is also important and the level of investigation required dependant on the potential the incident had.

Question 96

The key steps in the accident investigation process within gathering information

Answer 96

Information should be gathered soon as possible after the event.

Arrangements would need to be taken for inspection of the scene, taking photographs/making sketches, taking measurements, isolating equipment, all whilst ensuring that the area no longer presents a danger to the investigation team or others.

In addition interviews would need to be conducted using a suitable technique and in a suitable environment

Question 97

The key steps in the accident investigation process within analysing information

Answer 97

Arrangements to assemble all evidence, identify any gaps ,determine immediate and root causes (use of 5 why’s or cause and effect diagrams)

Identify all possible control measures and the selection of those most suitable/likely to be effective - use of cost-benefit analysis.

Do similar controls need to be considered elsewhere?

Establish causation using a systematic approach, or to use FTA or similar and lead to an understanding of why the accident had occurred.

Question 98

The key steps in the accident investigation process within reviewing risk control measures

Answer 98

Planning and Implementation of measures - Involving setting timescales, allocating responsibilities and checking that actions have been implemented/are successful.

Identifying where changes needed to be made to prevent the accident happening again

Do similar controls need to be considered elsewhere?

Question 99

Content of typical behavioural change programmes

Answer 99

• Management leadership and commitment to the programme
• Appoint project team to lead and oversee the project in the organisation
• Identify the specific observable behaviour that needs changing, e.g. wearing of hearing protectors in a high noise environment
• Measure the level of the desired behaviour by observations, site walkarounds, management tours etc.
• Identify the cues (or triggers) that cause the behaviour and the consequences (or pay offs) (good and bad) that may result from the behaviour
• Development of suitable checklist or recording system
• Train a group of workers to observe and record the safety critical behaviour
• Role programme out to general workforce
• Praise/reward safe behaviour and challenge unsafe behaviour
• Set goals for desired changes and review progress
• Feedback safe/unsafe behaviour levels regularly to workforce

Question 100

A large public limited company (PLC) providing transport services has recently suffered an incident in which several passengers died.

How might the consequences of this incident may affect the
PLC

Answer 100

Consequences of incident include:
• Criminal prosecution and penalties (HSE / CPS)
• Civil actions - damages / claims
• Remediation / clean-up cost
• Lost productivity / services / passengers
• Expenditure on investigation, business continuity, remedial action, PR etc resulting in reduced profitability
• Reputational damage - both customers / clients and local community / general public
• Higher insurance / difficulty in insuring
• Damage to staff morale / confidence
• Difficulty in retaining / recruiting staff
• Restrictions imposed by regulators (licences / permissioning regimes)
• Damage to shareholder confidence / trust

Question 101

Explain the purpose of the FRC guidance and how it can relate to an serious incident

Answer 101

Purpose of Turnbull guidelines:

They are designed to ensure effective risk management processes are in place. The guidelines advocate clear policy and commitment, risk evaluation through a process of risk assessment, management processes that control risk to an acceptable level, monitoring arrangements, clear communication and reporting arrangements, a process of internal audit, an annual Board level review of risk controls and a statement to shareholders on outcomes.

Relevance of Turnbull guidelines:

Incidents present risks to financial wellbeing, organisational effectiveness, health & safety, the environment, customer / client relations / reputational risks that are all covered within the Turnbull guidelines. Compliance with Turnbull Report supports good H&S management and reduces risk.

Question 102

Factors that should be considered when assessing an

organisation’s current health and safety culture

Answer 102

The range of factors could be considered include:
•	Standard of Housekeeping
•	Presence/absence of warning signs in the premises
•	Range and Quality of risk assessments
•	Usability of procedures
•	Good or bad staff relationships
•	Accident/ ill-health statistics
•	Absenteeism
•	Employees attitudes
•	Incidents/frequency of litigation

Question 103

Methods an organisation can use to gather information

when assessing the current health and safety culture

Answer 103

A range of methods can be used, including:
• Walking around making observations
• A questionnaire can be used which asks workers the extent that they agree or disagree with a range of statements.
• Looking at documents/ records – risk assessments, inspection/audit reports, various records such as cases of ill-health/absentee rates, staff turnover.
• Interviewing employees

Question 104

Factors influence the success of a cultural change

programme.

Answer 104

Factors influencing success include
• The level of senior management commitment
• The level of resources (money, people, time) allocated to support the change;
• The use of various types of communication with workers to secure their involvement
• The level of trust and confidence in management by the workforce;
• Level of staff turnover - high level may make cultural improvement difficult to embed;
• History of previous industrial relations;
• The existence of a blame culture;
• Workforce cultural issues such as race and language

Question 105

Objectives of active monitoring.

Answer 105

The objectives are to check that the health and safety plans and controls have been implemented and to monitor the extent of compliance with:

• Organisation systems and procedures
• Legislation and technical standards

By identifying non compliances steps can be taken to ensure that weaknesses are addressed, so maintain the adequacy of the plans and controls and helping to avoid any incidents.

Active monitoring is planned and takes place regularly

Question 106

Objectives of reactive monitoring

Answer 106

Depends on the event already occurring.

The objective is to analyse data relating to:

• Accidents
• Ill health situations
• Other loss causing events
• Any other factors that degrade the system

Question 107

A 13 year old boy is riding on the back of a milk delivery van when he falls and is injured. The boy has been helping the milkman to deliver milk even though doing this was forbidden by the dairy that employs the milkman.

Explain with reasons which of the parties concerned may have a civil liability at common law for the injury. Use case law to support your answer where appropriate

Answer 107

The milkman - If he has behaved negligently - Relevant case - Donoghue v Stephenson, Caparo v Dickman or other
The dairy - Will have vicarious liability due to the Milkman being in the course of normal employment

Breaking the rules does not remove vicarious liability Relevant case - Rose v Plenty, Lister v Romford Ice and Cold Storage.

Question 108

An action alleging negligence by the milkman is brought on behalf
of the injured boy.

Outline possible defences against such an action, relating each
answer to the scenario given.

Answer 108

Denial of facts regarding the injury; out of time case brought too late; no duty of care owed to the boy; duty not breached – with reference to foreseeability or reasonableness; damage not arising from the breach – boy injured through some other cause; type of damage not reasonably foreseeable; volenti non fit injuria; contributory negligence; dairy being sued, milkman outside course of employment. (All these defences need some explanation relevant to the scenario)

Question 109

Outline practical measures that management could take to communicate effectively when managing this change. (10)

Answer 109

The provision of regular and frequent newsletters or memos using language and technical content which is clear and easily understood;
Holding regular meetings between management and the workforce such as team briefings and tool box talks; Providing the opportunity for regular meetings between the workforce and their safety delegates; Placing notice boards at various locations on the site and ensuring that they display relevant information and are updated at regular intervals;
Introducing team building activities and staff suggestion schemes; and
Providing accident and incident data to all the workers

Question 110

Other than effective communication, outline additional ways in which management could gain the support and commitment of employees when managing this change. (10)

Answer 110

Additional steps that management might take to gain the support and commitment of workers include: skilling or simply a dislike of any type of change.
The most important requirement is to effectively consult with the workforce. This could be through formal means such as the safety committee or more informally through day to day meetings with leaders , employees; tool box talk; safety circles or improvement groups
A steady / progressive or step by step change process with trials and pilots of the proposed changes Setting out clearly the reasons for, and the benefits of, the proposed changes such as improved accident rates and production rates
It will be important to actively involve the workforce in the proposals, take on board suggestions and offer trainings in the new methods.
A final part of the process should be continuing demonstration of senior management commitment and Regular review of the changes to learn from any mistakes