January 2010

Effective Health and Safety

How effective is your organisation in promoting health and safety amongst your workers?

Sadly, much of the effort we expend is wasted and fails to produce the results we are seeking. There may be many reasons for this including, for example, the often quoted lack of top-level commitment.

Whilst lack of commitment at management level may be true in some cases, there are plenty organisations in which the management are fully determined to improve health and safety yet feel they are fighting an uphill battle.

Commitment is Needed at All Levels

If that rings true for you, perhaps part of the reason is that it is only management who are committed. Perhaps there are too many individual employees with the attitude of "Health and Safety? – That's the domain of Personnel or the Facilities Department. It has nothing to do with me".

For maximum benefit, Health and Safety must be owned by everybody in the organisation without exception. This is often referred to as the "Health and Safety Culture" of an organisation. If there is a severe lack of interest or even a cynical attitude towards management initiatives, then it is past time for a change of culture.

The safety culture of an organisation has been defined as the product of individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies and patterns of behaviour that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organisation's health and safety management.

As always, culture starts at the top but, once management commitment is in place, it is time to turn attention to the rest of the workforce and that means involving workers in Health and Safety decisions.

Lack of Worker Involvement

The Health and Safety Executive has estimated that 60% of UK workers are never consulted about health and safety, either directly or via appointed representatives. This is all the more remarkable in light of the legal duty on the part of employees as laid down in such legislation as 'The Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996' or 'The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977'

The HSE has included employee consultation as one of 10 primary goals in its new strategy, which was published in June 2009. In regard to this issue, the HSE stated, "Workplace research provides evidence to suggest that involving workers has a positive effect on health and safety performance".

The Executive views worker involvement as a simple two-way process in which employers and employees:



Of course, this is easy enough to say but not necessarily easy in practice. However, the HSE has plenty of advice on what you can do to achieve a better safe-working relationship. You can read about their recommendations on the 'HSE Worker Involvement' website.

You can also read the guidance document that the HSE issues to its inspectors about Worker Consultation and Involvement.

One of the recommendations that is not all that difficult to implement is to train managers and worker representatives together on the same health and safety courses. This provides a forum for all parties to express and explain their views in an environment that is conducive to discussion and debate.

The aim is to foster understanding and appreciation of each other's role in providing a healthier and safer working environment. It is a recognition that people are far more likely to support initiatives that they have helped to develop and therefore feel that they own.

Contact EDP HS&E Consultants for all your health, safety and environment needs. We can check your current arrangements and advise you about any changes or improvements you need to make.

To discuss your requirements, without any obligation on your part, please gives us a call or complete the Enquiry Form on our website.