Element-2
Health and safety at work
Responsibilities
for health and safety:
This element focuses on how health and safety should
be managed within an organization.
It discusses who has responsibility for health and
safety and what these responsibilities are.
You will look at system used to manage health and
safety.
On completion of these elements, you should be able
to:
v Outline
the health and safety role and responsibility of relevant parties.
v Outline
the key features of safety to effectively manage health and safety.
v Outline
how accidents are caused and the role and function of accidents recording and
investigation.
v Identify
the methods of improving the health and safety performance.
Contractors
Terms
Client: The party for whom the work or project carried
out.
Principal Contractor: who has been appointed by client.
Contractor: the person engaged by client to
undertake the work.
Sub Contractor: usually defined as a
contractor who has been engaged by another rather than the client.
Employers
Responsibility
The main responsibilities lie with the employer for
the Health and Safety and welfare of workers and the Health and Safety of
anyone who is affected by their work activities.
Eg: Visitors, Agency Workers, Contractors, and
General public.
Managements responsibilities for
Employees
1. Safe
plant and equipment: That are plants
and equipment provided is to use and capable of being safety maintained.
2. Supervision: Educate supervision is ensuring that
procedures and policies are being followed.
3. Safe
Environment and welfare facilities: The environment considers drinking
water, washing facilities, toilets, proper lights etc.
4. Safe
Place of work access and egress:
Safe place of work is provided with safe access and egress to the work
place.
5. Effective
health and safety management arrangement: Provide a suitable, proper organization,
planning, monitoring, auditing, and reviewing.
6. Health
surveillance (observation): If necessary health surveillance is needed to
carry out.
7. Competent
Health and Safety Assistance: That
the competent advice is available on health and safety from within or outside
the organization.
8. Information
training and instruction: Information training and instruction necessary
to assist them to carry out their function safely.
9. Safety
Policy: Provide and revise as
appropriate written policy statement to be brought to the notice of employee.
10. Risk
Assessment: The Risk assessments are
carried out and action taken to insure that will be minimized.
Employees
Responsibility
1. Employees
should follow health and safety instruction and training that they have
received.
2. Employee’s
duties are to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and
other person.
3. Employees
should inform their employer any danger or short coming in the health and
safety arrangements.
4. If
there are duties placed on their employer the employee should co- operate with
his employer.
5. No
employee should intentionally interfere with anything provided in the interest
of the Health and safety or Welfare.
Directors
Health and Safety should be seen as an important
part of business activity and should be “run from the front” by the board of
Directors.
Members of the board and Senior managers have both
the collective and an individual responsibility for the Health and Safety.
If there are serious failures, then the UK Law and
in many other countries individuals’ senior company representative can be
prosecuted if they have been negligent.
Responsibility
of Directors
1. Health
and safety should appear regularly on the agenda for the board meetings and
progress against targets, should be routinely monitored and reviewed. This
might include items such as the security of health and safety performance and
reviewed of audit information.
2. The
most Serious co-operate risk should be reviewed by the board.
3. Suitable
resources are assigned to health and safety.
4. The
organization receive competent health and safety advice
5. Serious
or new risk have been assed and controlled
6. Workers
of their representative have been properly consulted on decision that affects
their health and safety.
7. The
board should also authorize and formally sign off the health and safety Policy.
Responsibility of
Senior Manager
1. Drawing
up plans for and monitoring the
implementation of the organization health and safety policy
2. Assigning
resources for the health and safety procedure and measure and for associated
training programmers.
3. Ensuring
that lower level of managers give health and safety the appropriate priority
reference of their responsibilities.
Responsibilities of Middle managers
and Supervisors
1. Day
to day responsibility for managing health and safety this includes ensuring
that the health and safety policy and control identified risk assessment are
implemented.
2. Circumstance
health and safety policy is monitored and reviewed in the light of the
particular applying in work area.
3. Safe
systems of work are implemented for all working procedure and practices are
properly documented.
4. Appropriate
safety equipments is supplied and properly maintained and use at all times
5. All
Workers are effectively trained and competent to carry out the work allotted to
them without risk
6. All
necessary arrangement are made and maintained in respect of accident reporting,
first aid, fire precaution etc.
General
Duties of Designers manufactures suppliers and importers
1. Articles
must be designed and constructed to be safe when being set, used, cleaned and
maintained.
2. Substances
must be safe when being used handled, processed, stored or transported.
3. Carry
out and arrange test.
4. Provide
revision if necessary.
5. Installer
and worker must be competent.
Safety Practitioners should have
1. Knowledge
and understanding of work involved
2. Understand
principles of risk assessment
3. Knowledge
of current health and safety application.
4. Capacity
to apply to task required.
5. Ability
to identify problems
6. Ability
to assessing the need for actions
7. Ability
to design and develop strategies.
8. Competence
based qualification.
Functions of Safety
Practitioners
1. Advice
management
2. Carry
out inspections
3. Investigation
accidents
4. Record
analyze accident data
5. Assist
with training
6. Contact
with external bodies
7. Contact
with work force
8. Contact
with contractors
9. Monitor
safety policy.
General
Duties of Safety Officer
1. Provide
advice, information and instruction of local OHS issues
2. Assist
in the application of OHS procedures
3. Help
manage risk and hazard in their area
4. Report
and investigate incident’s injury and hazard
5. Review
and analyze injury and incident report data
6. Develop
injury and incident prevention strategies of their area.
7. Monitor
local area compliance with OHS policy and procedures.
8. Audit
local areas OHS compliance with regards to risk and emergency hazards waste
management.
Safety
Representative Functions
1. Investigate
potential hazard and dangerous occurrence.
2. Investigate
complaints from employees.
3. Make
representation on general matters of health safety to employer.
4. Carry
out work place inspection.
5. Examine
cause of accidents.
6. Consult
with enforcement authorities.
7. Attend
safety committee.
Workers Responsibilities
1. Every
worker has a responsibility to look their own health and safety and that of any
other person who might be affected by what they do or don’t do.
2. Cooperate
with their employer at all times on all issues of health and safety.
3. Worker
should use tools and other equipment correctly and not interfere with or misuse
equipment such as fire extinguisher provided for health and safety.
4. Some
workers may have other specific responsibility such as carrying out particular
health and safety check’s E.g.: Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system used to
control dust and fumes in some industries working correctly.
Responsibilities of First Aiders
ØFirst aid Equipment and facilities, ensuring
its is readily available at all times.
ØAny situation where an ill or injured worker
requires attention from a medical practitioner or nurse.
ØCalling for professional assistance in the
event of an accident of injury.
ØMinimizing the consequences of an injury until
medical help is obtained.
ØTreatment of minor injuries which would not
receive or do not need medical attention.
Safety Precaution
for Visitor’s
1. Signing
in
2.
|
Providing PPE
3. Providing
identification badge
4. Site
induction
5. Escorting
visitor to area of work
6. Regular
monitoring
7. Escorting
visitor back to reception area
8. Signing
out.
System of Managing
Health and Safety
v Employer
should consult with their workers on aspects of health and safety which affects
them.
v Consultation
indicates a constructive two ways dialogue between worker’s and management. It
allows workers to raise concern’s offer opinion and influence decision.
v In
small business it may be possible to consult each worker separately. In large
organization worker can be consulted through health and safety representations,
which may be appointed by trade union or elected by worker’s themselves.
v Consultations
can be informal or normal, possible through a health and safety committee which
hold’s formal meeting usually between managers and appointed health and safety
representative.
Typically those committees may:
1. Examine
statistics on accidents record and ill health.
2. Review
accident investigation and subsequent actions.
3. Discuss
inspection of the workplace by enforcing authority’s management or workers
health and safety representative.
4. Review
risk assessment
5. Identify
health and safety training needs
6. Consider
changes in the work place affecting the health safety and welfare of workers.
Employer’s benefits
of Consulting Workers
1. It
is easier to identify risk and frame joint solution to problems.
2. It
shows worker’s that the organization takes their health and safety and well
being seriously and may improve moral.
3. I
t should lead to gather awareness of health and safety among the worker’s and
better control of workplace risk.
4. Business
may also see improvements in overall quality and business efficiency.
Safety Policy
A health
and safety policy may be document that is required for organizations insurance
company and customer.
1. The
policy set’s out the General vision, organization and arrangements for the
whole business.
2. Effectiveness
health and safety management being with the introduction of the effective
health and safety policy.
3. The
Details of the information include with the policy will very much depend on the
size and type of organization to which it relates.
4. A
small administrative office based company will probably only require a very
simple policy but large companies will require a more detailed document.
Purpose of Safety
policy
1. Management
commitment to safety
2. Organization
and arrangements for controlling work related hazards.
3. Protect
people from injury and ill- health.
4. Comply
with legal requirement’s
5. Manage
health and safety on the cost effective basis.
Statement
of Intent (commitment)
ØDemonstrate (shows) management commitment to
health and safety and set’s goals and objective.
ØSigned by most senor person in organization
because:
1. Shows
management commitment
2. Gives
policy authority
3. Person
who signs it has ultimate responsibility.
Possible contents of a simple safety policy may include
details
1. An
overall statement publically declaring the directors commitments to health and
safety
2. How
the company will prevent accident and cases of work related ill health and
provide suitable control of health and Safety.
3. Commitments
to provide suitable training to ensure the worker’s are competent to do their
work.
4. Arrangement’s
for engaging and consulting with workers on day to day health and safety
condition and providing advice and supervision on occupational health.
5. Implementation
of emergency procedures.
6. Maintaining
safe and healthy working conditions. Providing and maintaining safe plant and
equipment and machinery and ensuring safe storage of substances.
7. How
health and safety information will be communicated to workers.
8. First
aid arrangements and how accidents are reported and investigated.
Communicating the Policy
For Health and safety policy to be implemented
effectively it must understood by all those it affects. The information it
contains need to be communicated accurately to all workers.
Employer
must bring a policy to employee’s attention this can be done by.
1. Displaying
it on a notice board
2. Introducing
it on induction and training succession
3. Considering
it on team briefing and tool box talks.
4. Using
news letters
5. Inserts
in wage slips
6. Posters
7. Build
into safe system and program practice
8. Manager’s
discusses with work force.
Ineffective Health
and safety policies
1. No
commitment or leadership
2. No
annual objectives
3. Health
and safety not given enough priority
4. In
sufficient resources provided
5. Employees
do not understand aim’s
6. Too
much stress on employees responsibility
7. No
measures of performance
8. Management
unaware of their role.
9. No
training of management in their responsibility
How Accidents are caused
Many people believe that accidents happen. They
believe that the occurrence of an accident is unavoidable and cannot be
avoided.
Some says
it “It was just bad luck” or “they were in the wrong place at wrong time”.
All those excuse fails to identify the true cause of
accidents.
One researcher found that for the every serious or
disabling injury there are.
1 Major injury /Fatality
10 Minor Injuries
30 Property Damage
600 Near Miss
Unsafe Act and Unsafe Conditions
An Unsafe act occurs when a worker ignores or is not
aware of the standard operating procedures or safe work practice designed to
protect the worker and prevent accident.
1. Operating
without qualification or authorization
2. Lack
of improper use of PPE
3. Failure
to tag out/ lockout
4. Operating
equipment at unsafe speed
5. Failure
to caution
6. Bypass
or removal of safety device
7. Using
defective equipment
8. Working
in hazardous location without suitable protection or warning
9. Improper
repair of equipment.
10. Horse
play (Fun)
11. Wearing
unsafe clothing
12. Taking
an unsafe position.
Unsafe Conditions
Un Safe conditions are hazardous
conditions or circumstances that could lead directly to an accident.
1. Defective
tools, equipment or supplies
2. Poor
support or guards
3. Blocking
in workplace
4. Poor
warning system
5. Fire
and explosion hazards
6. Poor
housekeeping such as slippery floor and improper storage
7. Hazardous
atmospheric conditions
8. Excessive
noise
9. Poor
ventilation
10. Misuse
of fire protection equipment.
Improving Health and Safety
Performances
You have probably heard of the concept of frequent
improvement in relation to quality.
This concept promotes a working culture where every worker
is involved in improving business affectively and performance.
This is exactly what we are trying to achieve when
talking about improving health and safety it is common to link quality and
health and safety system together.
How can we tell our health and safety performance is
good or bad?
Example of poor health and safety performance:
1. We
might look for high accident rates.
2. High
absenteeism
3. Unsafe
behavior
4. Complaints
5. Poor
house keeping
6. Negative
reports from health and safety advisor.
Negative Factors on
Health and Safety Performance
1. Lack
of resources
2. Lack
of management commitment
3. Allowing
unsafe behavior
4. Poor
risk assessment and control
5. In
effective communication
6. Not
understanding the risk involved in the job due to insufficient training and
poor workers skills.
Positive factors on
Health and Safety Performance
1. Competence
and training
2. Through
risk assessment followed by implementation of necessary actions.
3. Learning
from past accidents
4. Communication
and consultation
5. Regular
monitoring of Standards.
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