EDP's Services Providing the Complete Solution

Introducing and implementing a Safety Management System can seem a daunting prospect but EDP provides you with as much or as little support as you need. Our outline approach is represented in the following steps.

Step 1

The first step is to assess the scale of the task to help you identify where you are most at risk and to establish priorities for action. Current legislation represents the minimum standard that has to be achieved, though to reap maximum benefit, we need to aim high in terms of the effectiveness of the safety systems in operation.

We carefully examine the systems and practices you already have in place against the risks associated with your people premises and processes.

Rather like an accountant conducts an audit of your financial affairs, we do the same for your health, safety and environment, providing you with an overview of your organisation’s performance.

Step 2

Having established your current status, we assemble a work programme to improve your organisation’s health and safety performance – something we refer to as a Project Route Map. We then work with your people, providing as much or as little support as you wish to achieve an effective implementation of the required systems.

Our methods are consistent with UK and International standards - HSG65 and OHSAS 18001 - and we are happy to advise on which are the most appropriate standards to aim for in your circumstances.

Step 3

Central to installing an effective management system is identifying risks and devising workable solutions for eliminating or managing the risks. In many cases, your own staff may be able to undertake the work after some training. Other areas, such as Fire Safety or Asbestos Management, require more specialist expertise. EDP is able to undertake all the work or any part of it, providing training and mentoring for your own staff as needed.

Most of the benefits arise directly or indirectly from this activity and it is vital that assessments are thorough. In addition to helping to safeguard your people and the environment, there are other potential benefits for your organisation such as better staff morale, lower levels of absenteeism, improved staff retention, improved efficiency and productivity, and others.

Step 4

An essential element for improving health and safety is the right level and standard of training, for example:

• Induction training for new members of staff
• Role responsibilities such as required by Managers, Directors or Partners of your organisation.
• Task specific training such as required for working with computers (DSE), manual handling operations, fork-lift truck driving, etc
• Job related training such as managing conflict and aggression, or personal safety
• Training for specific roles associated with health and safety such as first aid or fire warden.
• General awareness training such as the implications of recent legal changes.
• EDP offers a schedule of public courses, run from our Head Office in the North of England or from selected sites in other parts of the UK. These are ideal for clients who only have a few people who need the training.

Alternatively, if you prefer, we can run dedicated training courses, tailored for your specific circumstances, which can prove particularly cost-effective and convenient when you have a larger number of employees who need training.

Step 5

We appreciate that your core business is probably not in health and safety and therefore you need access to specialist knowledge from time to time, for example to help you understand the implications of legal changes or provide guidance on how to respond if something goes wrong.

EDP aims to keep you up to date with changes in health safety and environment legislation and provides a help line to call for anything from routine enquiries to crisis response.

If we know there are changes that will impact you in particular ways, we invariably contact you with recommendations of what you need to do and our Consultants are always available to help when emergencies arise.

As far as possible, our aim is to provide a “safe pair of hands” for all your health, safety and environment needs.

Step 6

As far as possible, some clients prefer to manage the day-to-day operation of their health, safety and environment systems themselves. Some prefer to outsource as much as possible to dedicated professionals, either because they don’t have sufficient expertise in house or because they don’t want to be distracted from their core business activities. Many prefer to strike a balance between these two alternatives.

EDP can supply all the additional resource you need from regular visits from one of our consultants to check everything is running smoothly to deploying one or more consultants permanently on your site.

Regardless of the level of support you need, we guarantee all our work to the same high standards.

The only aspect you cannot delegate is the overall responsibility for ensuring you comply with health and safety legislation. That duty legally rests with your own directors but EDP is able to help you discharge it every step of the way.

Why not contact us now to see how we can help you implement truly effective Health and Safety?