Health & Safety at Work act etc 1974

Section 2

2.1 General duty to ensure so far as reasonable practicable the health & safety of employees

2.2a Provision & maintenance of safe plant & SSOW

2.2b Safe use, handling, storage and transport of materials

2.2c Information, Instruction, Training and Supervision

2.2d Safe access and regress

2.2e Adequate safe facilities

2.3.3Policy

2.2.4/5 Safety rep

2.2.6Consultation with safety reps

2.2.7Establish committee if requested by 2 reps in writing

Section 3

Public contractor

Visitors disclosure of information

Section 4

Sharing workplace

Section 5

Emission

Section 6

Manufacturers

Section 7

Employee duty

Section 8

Employees not to interfere

Section 9

Charge for PPE

Section 33

Not to obstruct inspector

Section 37

Prosecution of Director / Managers

Health & Safety at Work act etc 1974

Whistle Blowing

Prescribed People

-Union Safety rep

-Employer

-H&S advisor

-Professional body

-HSE

Law = The Public Interest Disclosure act 1998

Employee good faith

Employees must have reasonable belief of one or more of the following

Breach of legal obligation

A criminal offence

Miscarriage of justice

Danger to the H&S of an individual

Danger to the environment

Protected disclosure

Whistle Blowing

Prescribed people

Employee good faith

Employees protected against

-loss of job

-victimisation

-if job lost, case for unfair dismissal

Domino Theory

Event 5

Effect - injury

Heinrich / Bird Loftus

Natural culmination of a series of events leads to a preventable injury occurring

Chain of events

Remove as to prevent accident

Event 1

Ancestry / social environment

Event 2

Fault of person

Domino Theory

Event 4

Accident

Event 3

Unsafe act or condition

Bird & Loftus developed Heinrich model to include management influence

Benefits

• Structured accident investigation

• Bird & Loftus version encourages the search for underlying causes

Limitations

• Simplistic straight chain thinking

• Heinrich model restricts the findings of underlying causes

Compensation AmountsCompensation Amounts

Special known

Loss of earnings up to trial

Modifications of house

Travel expenses

Special care

Medical costs

Legal expenses

General not know

After care

Pain & Suffering

Impact upon family life

Loss of ability

Loss of quality of life

Loss of future earnings

Reducing the risk of component failureReduce the risk of component failure

Burning in

Regular inspection

Monitoring of conductions ,e.g.. temp

Planned replacement

Information, e.g.. Life span

Component design

Collection of failure information

Introduction of parrelet systems

Standby systems

Planned preventative maintenance

Life Span

Failure mode analysis

Factors that affect perceptionFactors that affect perception

AgeExperience

Physical abilityPersonality

AttitudeIntelligence

Information receivedKnowledge

Design & ergonomicsKnowledge & experience

TrainingSenses

Environmental factors, e.g. noiseDrugs & alcohol

Fatigue e.g.. ShiftsNature of hazard

VisualAudioSmellFeel

Gaining Workforce CommitmentGaining Workforce Commitment

Training

Leading from the front

Finding out reasons for resistance

Consultation with employees

Use of step by step instructions

Setting out clearly the reasons and benefits of the proposed change

Produce positive feedback

Get everyone involved

Demonstrate weakness in existing system

Get their input

E.g. pilot schemes

Accident Interview Techniques

Accident Interview TechniquesPut person at ease by explaining purpose of investigation

Take notes

May need to adjust language for witness

Interview person at the scene if possible (props easily available, help memory)

Invite witness to have accompanying personInterview ASAP

after the event

Careful Question Phrasing

•What happened

•What did you see

•What times

•Where

•When

•How

•Who

•Not why

Listen without interruption

Repeat witness account back to them to check that it is fully understood

Finish interview on a positive note – perhaps what witness thinks can be done to improve

Benefits of staying with HSG65

Benefits of staying with HSG65Existing system may be working well

HSG65 is used by the enforcing bodies

HSG65 was created to address the requirements of Reg5 MHSR99

Organisation could be exposed during change over

Cost of change overIncreased

paperwork

OHSAS model may be too sophisticated for smaller companies

Audits are generally carried out by health & safety specialist

No cost for certificates / maintain certification

Consideration when developing an audit

program

Consideration when developing an audit programApplicable legislation Resource required

to audit

Training for auditor

Frequency of audits

Aspects to be audited e.g.. Elements of HSG65

Time required

Scoring system

feedback

Monitoring systems for results

Benefits of OHSAS18001

Benefits of OHSAS18001External regulation e.g.. customer

Customer demand

Recently accredited to ISO standard (2007)

International recognition

External assessment

More prescriptive system

Clearer standard for benchmarking

Benefits of Integrated

Management Systems

Benefits of Integrated Management SystemsTeam approach

Improved and/or equal culture for all standards/disciplines

Reduction in costs

•Combined audits

•Less duplicates

•Same format used

•Combined information systems

Equal influence

Holistic approach to risk management

Equal business priority

Benefits of Separate

Management Systems

Benefits of separate management systemsExisting systems may work well

One discipline may require a more complex system to meet business needs

Health & Safety / Environmental have a minimum legal requirementPotential loss of

professional disciplines required

Customer demand

•ISO/OHSAS required

•Complex auditing

Business exposure during integration period

Resistance to change

Multiple causation

Multiple causationMay be more use than one underlying cause Not only if happens in

sequence

Thorough accident investigation requires all cause to be identified

Look at all factors including culture, management

Failings usually interact with each other causing incident, can be major

Benefits

•Thorough accident investigation

•Identification of all underlying causes including effects of managers and management systems

•Encourages the use of a more systematic accident analysis such as fault tree analysis

HSWA 74 & Disabled person considerations

HSWA 74 & Disabled person considerationsSection 2

1. General duty H&S of employees

Safe access and regress

Nature of disability

Adaptation of SSOW to suit

Appropriate means of training & providing information

Workplace circumstances

Safe plant

Reasonably practicable measures to ensure safe

Welfare provisions

Disability discrimination act &

Disabled person considerations

Disability discrimination act 1995Unlawful for employer to discriminate against a disabled person when he employs

Not to discriminate during recruitment

Reasonable adjustments

•Premises, access /egress, welfare

Emergency procedures

Consider effectiveness of modifications.

E.g. fire alarm effectiveness

Equal promotion prospects

Workplace layout

Vicarious Liability

Vicarious Liability

Breach of civil lawCases

•Lister Vs Romford Ice & Cold Storage

•Hudson Vs Ridge manufacturing (competent fellow employees)

Tort of negligence committed by employee

Defences

•Volenti non fit injuries

•Contributory negligence

•Not acting within scope of employment

•Not employed

•No injury or unforeseeable

Employers liability insurance

Employee employed by employer

Employee acting in course of employment

Negligent act cause injury or loss to third party

Means to pay claimant

Considerations when developing a near miss system

Near miss systemsClearly definition of ‘near Miss’

Who will report near misses

Consultation with employee

Building of a fair blame culture

Ease of reporting, clear, straight forward format

Training required

Provision of information, instruction and training

Define reporting lines to ensure actions are implemented

Positive feedback for reporters

Purpose & Benefits of near miss data

Purpose and Benefits of Near Miss DataNear misses have the potential to become an accident’

Investigation of near misses and carrying out improves/implementing preventative measures

Data analysis can show trends and reoccurring issues – indicates areas to improve

Helps to identify inadequate SSOW

Identifies inadequate training

Shows management commitment through action follow up and feed back

Proactive approach to incident management

Identifies inadequate health and safety management and/or elements of the management system

Identifies opportunities for improvements

Helps get everyone involved in safety

Control design

Design of controls

Keep number to minimum A change of system

state should only occur after operation of a control

System restarts should only occur after operating a control

Operating a control should require a positive action by the operator with immediate effect

Labels & shape put to effective use

Controls should be kept next to the display that gives the reading of its output

Stop controls should be easy to activate

Arrange of controls in sequence of use

Space between each control

Easy to use e.g.. Toggles / switches

Display design

Design of DisplaysDigital for quantative information

Direct relation between readout and control

Lights used for status readings

VDU’s to show process overview

Correct number of controls, too many will overload operators

Dials with pointers to convey qualative readings

Use of colours to give clear indication of a change in state

Emergency displays should be clearly identifiable

Characteristics Of A Positive Safety

Culture

Characteristics Of A Positive Safety CultureOpen communication between managers and shop floor

Management commitment

Availability of funds and resources

Strong participation by employees

Mutual trust

Leadership by managers

Good quality of health and safety training

Potentially low accident rates

Reporting of hazards by employees

Strategic role of H&S profession

Strategic role of H&S profession

Policy development and setting of objectives

Managing enforcing bodies

Formulating & developing elements of the H&S management systems

Auditing & identifying further opportunities for improvement

Advising senior managers

Developing / agreeing plans for improvement, short and long term

Involvement in reactive monitoring e.g. accident investigation

Ensuring organisation is legally compliant and keeping up to date with legislation changes

Developing strong good safety culture

Employer responsible for negligent act of contract

vicarious liability

Employer responsible for negligent act of contract vicarious liability

Case: Mersey docks & harbour board Vs Coggins & Griffiths

Contractor under control of employer

Contractor carrying act over which employer has control

Employer authorises negligent act

Acting in course of employment

Act caused harm or loss to third party

Requirement of Reg7 MHSR1999

Requirement of Reg7 MHSR1999Person competent to advise

Appoint one or more persons

Number of and time available sufficient for size, risk and risk distribution of the company

Arrangements for cooperation if more than one

Provision of information on health & safety issues to externally appointed (consultant)

Preference is internal appointment

Information on temporary workers

Exemption for partners if one or more is competent

Typical client / contract for work

carried out

Typical client / contract for work carried out

Contractor to maintain legal compliance Provision of

competent persons

The requirement that the contractor has RAs, SSOW,MSs

Employer liability insurance

The contractor / client supplies appropriate welfare

Requirement to attend site H&S induction before workers start work on site

Define safety responsibilities between client & contractor

Clients right to stop work if unsafe

Clients right to monitor safety standards of contractors

Responsibilities for emergency planning

Limitations of measuring H&S performance by

accidents / incidents

Limitations of measuring H&S performance by accidents / incidents

Does not reflect chronic health issues May take long time for

data to provide trends

Data is a measure of failure not success

Under reporting particularly when targets are set

Historic performance can not predict future performance

Data measures effectiveness of previous safety measures not new measures

Accident data may be small hence not being easy to see trends

Absence of incident does not mean good procedures in place

Data is subject to random fluctuation

Reactive

Elements of legally enforceable

contract

Contracts

An offer from one party & acceptance from another can be verbal or written The intention to create

legal relations

Parties involved must have legal capacity to do so e.g.. adult

Legal considerations

•Money

•Undertaking work/tasks

Genuine consent gives the terms of contract e.g.. No misinterpretations

Not mentally incapacitated at the time of the contract

Contract must not be to commit a crime

HAZOP

HAZOP

Design stage of processDefine scope

Appropriate specialist

•Engineers

•Health & safety advisor

•Operators

•Managers

•Defined Hazop leader

Team effort

Process broken down into sections to analyse

Identify possible deviations from normal running

Assess impact of deviations

•No flow

•Flow

Identify possible preventative measures

Create action plan for improvement

•Owner

•What

•When

Why a PTW system may not be used

Why a PTW system may not be used

Too bureaucratic

Difficult system to use

Lack of information, instruction, training and supervision

Poor safety culture e.g.. Routine work

Too time consuming

Permit not specific to task

Absence of competent person to authorise

Potential hazards not fully identified

Difficult to organise control measures

Reasons to establish effective consultation with

employees

Reasons to establish effective consultation with employees

Statutory requirement

•Health and safety (consulting with employees reg 1996)

Promotion of good safety culture through employee involvement

Information from shop floor

Promote employee ownershipIdentification of

improvement opportunities

Improving perception about value of H&S

Practicable

Where technology or knowledge exists must be implemented

Cases

•Adsett vs K & L steel founders (technology not known, silica dust)

Not as high a duty as Absolute but higher duty than reasonably practicable

Cost of precautions is not a factor

Practicable

Reasonable Practicable

Balance of cost vs risk

One factor must be grossly disproportionate to the other

Duty not as strict as Absolute or practicable

Cases•Edwards vs National coal board(shoring up of roadway) NCB found liable as risk and consequences was greater than cost•Marshall Vs Gotham (gypsum mine)

Reasonable Practicable

Decision is reached to implement precaution or not after balancing

Reasons why accidents should be investigated

Establish causes both immediate and underlying causes

To ensure future preventative actions can be defined and implemented

Investigation could provide useful information for evaluating the costs of accidents

Demonstrate management commitment

Reasons why accidents should be investigated

Assess compliance with legal requirements

Obtain information/evidence for any future civil claim

Information gathered from investigation can be used to evaluate whether current precautions are adequate, also SSOW and existing risk assessments are they adequate

Assess whether further training and/or supervision is required

Accident investigation

Take photos, make sketches take measurements of scene

Obtain and CCTV footage that may be available

Identify environmental factors that could have contributed to the accident e.g. poor light, noise, wet conditions

Look at any RA/SSOW in place

Accident investigation

Look at any relevant procedures that are in place

Interview all parties involves ASAP, e.g. injured party, witnessess

Look at training records that may exist for people involved in accident

Identify immediate causes/underlying causes

Analysing accident investigation data

Examine information objectively i.e with a view to identify the causes

Look at job factors involved e.g. distractions

Look at any organisational factors which may have contributed

Competence of person involved e.g. training/supervision

Analysing accident investigation data

Where procedures adequate e.g. RA/SSOW

Existing health and safety culture

Assess human factors that may have been involved e.g. fatigue, stress, alcohol

Quality of supervision

Plant/equipment factors e.g. serviceable/inspected

Take into account any environmental factors that may have exited e.g. noise, light, air condition

Gain Support Of Workforce To Improve Health And

Safety Culture

Consultation, co-operation, participation, competence, commitment

Talk to the workforce, get their input

Understand current employee perception of health and safety

Have informal discussion, team meetings etc

Gain Support Of Workforce To Improve Health And Safety Culture

Increase employee participation e.g. risk assessments. H & S meetings

Show management commitment by leading from the front

Set health and safety targets and create plans for improvement, communicate these plans to all of the workforce

Introduce new consultation forums

Demonstrate good resource for H & S

Train them, - show the benefits of improved safety conditions

Introduce new improved safety policy's and programmes e.g. behavioural safety programme

Ensure positive feedback is given

Consideration For Emergency Planning Including COMAH Site

• Identification of roles and responsibilities of key individuals in the planning stage e.g. technical support, engineers, safety advisors, key managers

• Consider the quantities involved e.g. flammables stored• Provision of information to local authorities• Possible causes of major incident e.g. fire in flammable tank farm• Estimating the likely extent of damage e.g. dispersion analysis of a gas release/explosion• Staff and equipment required to control the incident/minimise impact, call out arrangements• Setting up of an incident control team• Resources needed to deal with incident e.g. specialists• Raising the alarm both on site and off• Evacuation for both site and nearby residents/shelter arrangements• Training for staff in emergency plans arrangements • Action to minimize extent e.g. shutting of service• Search and rescue arrangements• Notification of emergency services and HSE • Control and management on site including roles and responsibilities for emergencies incident team• Provision of information for emergency service e.g. location of hazards and potential impact• Control of spillages/pollution, toxicity/flammability and possible adverse effects• Clean up/decontamination procedures• Dealing with the press• Consultation with emergency services e.g. technical advice• Emergency plan testing arrangements• Establishing control centres• Site plans information• Business continuity

Human Failure

ErrorsNot deliberate

Violationsdeliberate

Routine•Normal way of work

Situational•Job pressure•Time•Rule not safe at time•Incorrect equipment

Exceptional•Emergency situations•Something goes wrong•Not carry out safely decisions taken, normally due to time won’t allow

Skill based errors Mistakes

Doing the wrong thing believing it to be right

Rule based•Remember rules of familiar procedure•Apply wrong rule•Apply rules to wrong situation

Knowledge based•Unfamiliar circumstance•Apply knowledge•Eg mechanic

Slips of actionActions not as planned•Steps in wrong order•Too soon•Too late•Too strong•Too weak•Up rather than down

LapsesMemory•Forget to carry out action•Lose place in task•Example forget to turn something on

Human Failure

European LawRegulations

– Apply directly in member states– Go straight into member law– If conflict with National law European prevails– Rarely used

Directives– Can be applied to all members or individual members

– Lay down objectives what achievement is required

– Directives have to be implemented by member states.

Decisions– Can be made by Council or commission

– Biding upon those they address

– Main use is to allow a member state to depart from a requirement of a EU treaty

Articles of Treaty of Rome

Article 95– Intended to remove barriers to trade/ensure unrestricted movement

and sale

– Harmonised product standards

– E.g. Machinery Directive

Article 137– Setting of minimum standards of health and safety

– Harmonisation and improvement of workplace health and safety standards

– E.g. Frame work directive 6 pack

Procedure for making regulations under HSWA1974

Power to make regs given to secretary of state by section 15 HSWA

Subject matter of reg should fall within schedule 3 of the act

Passed it no vote against

HSC could make proposal to secretary of state

Procedure for making regulations under HSWA1974

Consultation between secretary and HSC and other relevant government bodies must occur

Proposals must lie before both houses of parliament for 40 days

If vote against they are annulled

Cost vs Benefit Analysis as applies to proposed regulation

Identify overall value to society of proposed regulation

Comparison with cost of implementing the regulation

Cost of benefit in terms of prevention of death, injury and ill health

Cost vs Benefit Analysis as applies to proposed regulation

Cot and benefits both converted into monetary values

Cost adjusted for different time scales of implementation and benefits that may occur

Finally the calculated monetary values are compared and a decision is reached

Ensuring Safety of other workers while construction work is

undertaken

Agree schedule/time frame for work

Provision of information on things such as signing in/out procedures

Ensure all waste removed controlled

Presence of asbestos and control measures

Ensuring Safety of other workers while construction work is undertaken

Site induction procedure

PTW system may be required for abnormal activities

Office employees fully informed of location and nature of work

Monitoring of contractor health and safety performance

Establish emergency procedures for contractors and normal staff during the work

Barrier area of, close sections where work carried out

Safe storage of hazardous materials

Contractors informed of any site hazards