Intervention handbook 2015/16
safety@dardansecurity.co.uk Tel: 01603 447 000 Fax: 01603 447 001 www.dardansecurity.co.uk Written by Steve Cook, Health and Safety Advisor
Contents Introduction
4
What is a risk assessment?
29
Safety statement
6
What is a safety culture?
8
Five steps to risk assessment
31
The safety culture ladder
9
Frequently asked questions
39
Getting help
40
Near misses
41
Reporting near misses
42
An apple a day...
43
Safety intervention report
44
Investigating incidents
45
The complex nature of health and safety
10
Barriers to health and safety
11
Why manage health and safety?
12
Health and Safety at Work (1974)
14
Management of H&S at Work Regulations (1999)
16
Basic investigations procedure 46 RIDDOR
47
Safety intervention report (e.g.) 48
Providing adequate training and information
17
Providing supervision
19
Management responsibilities
20
Key behaviours
22
Controlling the risks
24
Identify the hazards
26
Risk assessments
28
Introduction Health and safety is not just about legislation. It’s about making sure our staff arrive and leave their place of employment safely and return home to their loved ones safely.
As managers, we need to ensure a safe working environment for our staff, clients, contractors, visitors and members of the public. This Intervention guide is designed to assist in identifying safety issues and addressing them before they turn into safety incidents or accidents. Why manage health and safety? Accidents and ill health are costly to workers and their families. They can also hurt companies because, in addition to the costs of personal injuries, they may incur far greater costs from damage to property or equipment, and lost production.
4 Introduction
Our safety culture is reliant on our; attitudes, behaviour and leading by example, this can only be achieved if we work as a team to ensure safety for all. Other costs to consider are; sick-pay; damage or loss of productivity, repairs to vehicles, plant and equipment, overtime working and temporary labour, delays, investigation time and fines. Every working day in Great Britain at least one person is killed and over 6000 are injured at work. Every year three-quarters of a million people take time off work because of work-related illness. About 30 million work days are lost as a result. More important is the loss of a loved one or their incapacity, let’s get it right! Managers shall: Ensure standards are maintained Communicate effectively Intervene Consult with their teams Follow health and safety legislation and guidance Raise health & safety concerns Challenge unsafe practice
Remember it only takes the same amount of time for an accident to ruin someone’s life as it does to prevent it.
Intervention handbook 5
Safety statement What are we trying to achieve? Eliminating known hazards (as far as practicable) in our workplace; and, through communication with our employees, identify and control new hazards as they arise. Meeting legislative, regulatory responsibilities, obligations and standard/code of practice requirements. Reducing risks to negligible or acceptable levels through: effective safety management, information, and instruction where required. Consulting with all employees on aspects of workplace safety. Providing and maintaining safe equipment, materials, methods and systems of work. Training, informing and supervising employees to ensure safe and competent working. Prevention of accidents, ill health and stress as far as practicable. Reviewing and continuously improving our processes and methods of working through the setting of objectives, internal audits and management reviews.
6 Safety statement
Intervention handbook 7
What is a safety culture? Safety culture is the way in which safety is managed in the workplace, and often reflects “the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and values that employees share in relation to safety� Source: Cox and Cox, 1991
Safety culture is achieved by sharing safety consiousness, attitudes and behaviour. As managers, we are expected to: Lead by example Intervene with safety issues Confront unsafe actions and behaviours Discuss safety with our staff If we are able to achieve a positive safety culture in our business, the benefits are; our staff will feel H&S is important, our staff will work safely, reduced accidents and incidents and reduced ill health. It has been proven by health and safety experts that where there is a negative H&S culture; staff feel H&S is not important, staff are not H&S educated, lack of leadership and direction, workers begin to work unsafely and the accident rate increases. A positive safety culture can only be achieved if the core values attitudes and behaviours are shared by people throughout our organisation.
8 What is a safety culture?
The safety culture ladder
Generative
Safety is how the company runs its business, possessing a healthy safety paranoia.
Proactive
Safety is managed with workforce involvement and lead indicators
Calculative
Safety is managed on the basis of procedures and documentation and uses trail indicators.
Reactive
Safety is can issue once an accident has occurred.
Pathological
Safety, something that prevents the company doing business. Culture is to not get caught.
Intervention handbook 9
A complex nature Health, safety and welfare in the workplace can be a complex problem due to conflicting needs of business and the demands placed on us all.
Good health and safety practice often relies on individual behaviours, often due to time constraints individuals can fail to act safely.
As Managers it is important for us to identify when this is happening and intervene to prevent an unsafe act from becoming an incident. It is key for us as Managers to lead by example and persuade our teams to behave safely. This guide is aimed at assisting with this task and identifying the key areas of health and safety at work. Let’s start by looking at three key definitions. Health The absence of disease or ill health. Safety The absence of risk of serious personal injury Welfare Access to basic facilities i.e. toilets, hand washing facilities and basic first aid provision.
10 A complex nature
Barriers to health and safety Complexity Workplaces by their nature can be complex with various tasks being performed by a variety of people. Consideration must be given to; duties being performed, the impact those duties may have on others, the training required for those duties and whether the appropriate safety precautions are in place.
Behavioural Issues Individuals behaviour is paramount to their safety and the safety of others, most accidents are caused as a result of individuals behaviours, often as a result of trying to save time by cutting corners. Individuals will behave individually and need to be reminded of the importance of safety in the workplace.
Conflicting Demands As a service provider we often have conflicting demands placed on us in relation to; duties being performed, time constraints, budgets and the need to provide the service without risk to people’s health.
Barriers to health and safety 11
Why manage health and safety? The three main reasons why organisations have to manage health and safety: Moral reasons
Economic
The moral duty that is owed to each other, it is morally unacceptable to accept the risk of injury in the workplace, society expects a duty of care and good standards of health and safety.
Accidents and ill health cost money, every time an event occurs there are direct and indirect costs as a result. Direct costs First aid Sick pay Lost time Overtime pay to cover employee Indirect costs Investigation time and costs Loss of staff morale Loss of reputation Loss of goodwill with customers
12 Why manage health and safety?
Legal reasons There are two types of law which create the legal framework for Health and Safety: Criminal being concerned with the punishment of companies or individuals who have broken statute health and safety law. i.e. the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999). Action brought by the state (i.e. HSE Inspector) with the intention of punishment through fines and imprisonment. Burden of proof is “guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”
Civil which is concerned with compensation for persons injured in work related incidents through no fault of their own. Action brought by the individual with the intention of compensation. Burden of proof is “on balance of probabilities.” To demonstrate that an employer is negligent the claimant needs to prove that: A duty of care was owed to them, That duty of care was breached, They suffered an injury or loss as a direct result of that breach of duty of care. As Managers we are responsible to ensure that we meet the Health, Safety and Welfare needs of our employees and are aware of the Moral, Economic and Legal reasons for doing so.
Intervention handbook 13
Health and Safety at Work etc Act (1974) The principle piece of statute law states that: “The employer owes a duty of care to his employees to ensure, so as far as reasonably practicable, their health and safety and welfare at work.� This means a balance between the level of risk and cost, measured in time, money and effort in reducing said risk.
Employees also have a duty to themselves and others and must co-operate with the employer.
Employers also owe the duty to ensure the health and safety of non-employees.
Remember that Directors, Senior Managers and external advisers can be charged with offences committed by an organisation. Ignorance is not a defence!
14 Health and Safety at Work etc. Act(1974)
Section 2 Requires an employer to prepare a written health and safety policy. Section 3 Places a duty on employers to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable that non employees are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. Section 4
The control of premises to ensure so far as is practicable that; premises are safe, the means of access and egress are safe, any plant or substances provided by them for use in that premises are safe.
Section 7
States it shall be the duty of every employee to; take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work and to co-operate with the employer to enable compliance with legal requirements.
Section 8
States no person shall interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health and safety or welfare. This duty is not limited to employees.
Section 9
States that an employer cannot charge his employee for things done to achieve legal compliance this includes the issue of PPE.
Section 36
Where the offence committed by a company is due to the act or default of another, that person may be charged with or convicted of the offence whether or not proceedings are pursued against the company.
Section 37
Senior management of the company as well as the company may be personally liable for breaches of the law. These persons may be prosecuted if it can be shown that they consented, connived or were negligent in their duties in allowing an offence to be committed. Intervention handbook 15
Management of H&S at Work Regulations (MHSWR,1999) The MSHWR (1999) covers the same geographic as the HSWA (1974) with more specific and detailed requirements which include: Regulation 3
and experience.
Risk assessments to cover employees and nonemployees which must be written and recorded where there are five or more employees and must be reviewed.
Regulation 8 & 9
Regulation 4 Principles of prevention to include a hierarchy of control. Regulation 5 Health and safety arrangements to cover planning, organising, control, monitoring, and review of preventative measures. Regulation 6 Health surveillance i.e. night workers, DSE assessments, Noise at work etc. Regulation 7 Health and safety assistance; competent persons with sufficient training, expertise 16 Why manage health and safety?
Procedures for serious and imminent danger and contact with external services. Develop procedures to be implemented. Regulation 10 Information for employees; employer must provide information on; risks to health and safety, control measures and emergency procedures. Regulation 11 Co-operation and coordination where employers share a workplace; employer must co-operate with others to ensure good health and safety and inform others of potential risks from their tasks. Regulation 12 & 15 Provide contractors with health and safety information.
Regulation 13
Regulation 16 - 18
Capabilities and training; employers must take in to account capability of staff and provide adequate H&S training for new recruits, new duties and refresher training.
Protection of new or expectant mothers; with consideration to duties performed and working environment for; pregnancy, breast feeding or mother of a child less than six months old.
Regulation 14 Employees duties; following training and instruction given, to report any serious or imminent danger or shortcomings of H&S measures, procedures, equipment or training.
Regulation 19 Protection of young persons defined as anyone under the age of 18, with consideration being given to inexperience and limited risk perception.
Intervention handbook 17
Providing adequate training and information All our employees and contractors need to know how to work safely and without risks to their health. You must provide clear instructions, information and adequate training for your employees. This training must include a full company induction, site induction and on the job training. This will be confirmed with a site training record and a ten week check to ensure the operative is fully conversant with their duties and their health and safety responsibilities. Inductions and on-site training shall include; H&S policy, Fire & Emergency procedure training, welfare, safe access and egress, accident reporting and near miss reporting, safety rules, PPE, Risk assessment and Safe Systems of work applicable to their task.
Contractors and self-employed people who may be working for you must be provided with information on; hazards and risks they may face, measures in place to deal with those hazards and risks, how to follow any emergency procedures. Some employees may have particular training needs, for example; new recruits need basic induction training in how to work safely, including arrangements for first aid, fire and evacuation; people changing jobs or taking on extra responsibilities need to know about any new health and safety implications; young employees are particularly vulnerable to accidents and you need to pay particular attention to their needs, so their training should be a priority. It is also important that new, inexperienced or young employees are adequately supervised.
18 Providing adequate training and information
Providing supervision We must provide adequate and appropriate supervision for our employees., they need to know what we expect from them in terms of health and safety. They need to understand our health and safety policy and how they contribute to the management of our health and safety. Staff may need training in the specific hazards of their duties and how we expect the risks to be controlled i.e. Manual handling for our couriers or gate operations. New starters, inexperienced or young people, as well as those whose first language is not English, may need more supervision than others.
Ensure our employees know how to raise concerns and supervisors are familiar with the possible problems due to unfamiliarity, inexperience and communication difficulties. Through this guide we will cover; the five steps to risk assessment, near miss reporting and safety interventions. It is our responsibility as Managers to ensure all our staff are aware of these procedures and how to raise a health and safety concern.
Providing supervision 19
Management responsibilities Managers need to ensure: Their employees understand the risks associated with their duties and work environment and measures to control them. Control measures are in place to protect against risk. Ensure that these are up to date and are being properly used, maintained and monitored. Duties are being performed as agreed. Training received is effective and appropriate and whether employees have the necessary capacity and competence to complete their duties.
20 Management responsibilities
Intervention handbook 21
Key behaviours
Follow safety rules and guidance Setting high standards and ensuring compliance
Communicate openly and honestly By listening and learning.
22 Key behaviours
Be safety aware Intervene when there is risk and promote safe working practices
Get involved Share safety messages and get your staff involved.
Intervention handbook 23
Controlling the risks Risk = The likelihood a hazard will cause harm As part of managing the health and safety of our business, we must control the risks in our workplace. To do this we need to think about what might cause harm to our staff, clients, visitors and members of the public and decide whether we are doing enough to prevent it. This process is known as risk assessment and is something we are required by law to carry out. Risk assessment is about identifying and taking sensible and proportionate measures to control the risks in our workplace, not about creating huge amounts of paperwork. We are already taking steps to protect our employees, but our risk assessments will help us decide whether we should be doing more.
24 Controlling the risks
Think about how accidents and ill health could happen and concentrate on real risks – those that are most likely and which may cause the most harm. For some risks, other regulations require particular control measures. Your assessment can help you identify where you need to look at certain risks and these particular control measures in more detail. These control measures do not have to be assessed separately but can be considered as part of, or an extension of, your overall risk assessment.
Intervention handbook 25
Identify the hazards Hazard = Something with the potential to cause harm One of the most important aspects of your risk assessment is accurately identifying the potential hazards in your workplace. A good starting point is to walk around your workplace and think about any hazards. In other words, what is it about the activities, processes or substances used that could injure your employees or harm their health? When you work in a place every day it is easy to overlook some hazards, so here are some tips to help you identify the ones that matter:
Check manufacturers’ instructions or data sheets for chemicals and equipment, they can be very helpful in explaining the hazards and putting them in perspective. Look back at your accident and ill-health records these often help to identify the less obvious hazards. Take account of non-routine operations (e.g. maintenance or manual operations) Remember to think about long term hazards to health (e.g. high levels of noise or exposure to harmful substances). There are some hazards with a recognised risk of harm, for example working at height, working with chemicals, machinery, and asbestos. Depending on the type clients premises, there may be other hazards that are relevant to our employees.
26 Identify the hazards
Hazards are broadly classed as: Physical Electricity, fall from heights, falling objects, collision with objects, trapped or crushed. Chemical Contact or inhalation, acid, cement dust, fumes Biological Disease, legionella, blood spills, bacteria Ergonomic Repetitive strain injuries, manual handling Psychological trauma, stress
Intervention handbook 27 27 Intervention handbook
Risk assessments The objective of a risk assessment is to ensure hazards are eliminated or the risks minimised. To prevent: Death or personal injury Ill health Other types of loss incident Breaches of statute law - Which may lead to enforcement or prosecution The direct and indirect costs following an accident. Risk assessments are essential to protect our staff, clients, visitors and members of the public as well as our business, and to comply with the law.
28 Risk assessment
A risk assessment allows us to focus on the duties we perform and the risks they present in our workplace. Quite often straightforward measures can easily control risks, for example ensuring spillages are cleaned up promptly so people do not slip, or cupboard drawers are kept closed and cables are not left across walkways to ensure people do not trip. Remember to intervene when seeing these and ensure good housekeeping is maintained, this is a simple, cheap and effective measure to ensure our staff and others are protected. We are required by law to protect people as far as is ‘reasonably practicable’. The following notes are a guide to achieve this, as recommended by the HSE.
What is a risk assessment? A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what could cause harm to people in our workplace. This enables us to weigh up whether we have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. Our staff and others have a right to be protected from harm caused by a failure to take reasonable control measures. Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and affect our business if time is lost, equipment is damaged, insurance costs increase or we have to go to court. We are legally required to assess the risks in our workplace and put in place a plan to control the risks. As IOSH trained staff you are competent to complete the assessment yourself, you don’t have to be a health and safety expert; however help and advice is at hand so ask our Health and Safety Adviser if you have any concerns or are unsure.
Don’t overcomplicate the process, in our business most of the risks are well known and the necessary control measures are easy to apply. You probably already know whether, for example, you have employees who move heavy loads and so could harm their backs, or where people are most likely to slip or trip. If so, check that you have taken reasonable precautions to avoid injury. Always involve your staff with the risk assessment process to ensure all parties are aware of the duty being performed and the potential risk. They will have useful information about how the work is done, which will make your assessment of the risk more thorough and effective. But remember, you are responsible for seeing that the assessment is carried out properly.
What is handbook a risk assessment 29 29 Intervention
When thinking about your risk assessment, remeber: A hazard is anything that may cause harm, such as chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, an open drawer etc; the risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by these and other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be. 30 Intervention handbook
Five steps to risk assessment Step 1 Identify the hazards First you need to work out how people could be harmed. When you work in a place every day it is easy to overlook some hazards, so here are some tips to help you identify the ones that matter: Walk around your workplace and look at what could reasonably be expected to cause harm. Ask our employees or their representatives what they think. They may have noticed things that are not immediately obvious to you. Have a look at our accident and ill-health records – these often help to identify the less obvious hazards. Remember to think about long-term hazards to health (e.g. high levels of noise or exposure to harmful substances) as well as safety hazards. More information is available on the HSE website (www.hse.gov. uk). HSE publishes practical guidance on where hazards occur and how to control them. Check manufacturers’ instructions or data sheets for chemicals and equipment. They can be very helpful in spelling out the hazards and putting them in perspective.
Step 1: Identify the hazards 31
Step 2 Decide who might be harmed and how For each hazard you need to be clear about who might be harmed; it will help you identify the best way of managing the risk. That doesn’t mean listing everyone by name, but rather identifying groups of people (e.g. ‘people working in the storeroom’ or ‘passers-by’). In each case, identify how they might be harmed, i.e. what type of injury or ill health might occur. For example, ‘people in locker rooms may suffer back injury from repeated lifting of boxes.’ Remember: Some workers have particular requirements, e.g. new and young workers, new or expectant mothers and people with disabilities may be at particular risk. Extra thought will be needed for some hazards; cleaners, visitors, contractors, maintenance workers etc, who may not be in the workplace all the time; members of the public, if they could be hurt by your activities, if you share your workplace, you will need to think about how your work affects others present, as well as how their work affects your staff – talk to them and ask your staff if they can think of anyone you may have missed.
32 Step 2: Decide who might be harmed
Step 3 Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions Having spotted the hazards, you then have to decide what to do about them. The law requires you to do everything ‘reasonably practicable’ to protect people from harm. You can work this iut for yourself, but the easiest way is to compare what you are with good practice. There are many sources of good practice - HSE’s website (www. hse.gov.uk). So first, look at what you’re already doing, think about what controls you have in place and how the work is organised. Then compsare this with the good practive and see if there’s more you should be doing to bring yourself up the standard.
Intervention handbook 33
Can I get rid of the hazard altogether or how can I control the risk so harm is unlikely? Remember ERICPD the hierarchy of control? E - Eliminate (can we eliminate the hazard completely) R - Reduce (can we reduce the risk to an acceptable level) I - Isolate (can we isolate individuals from the risk by using barriers or shielding) C - Control (can we control the risk by using a safe method) P - Protection (can we protect our personnel with PPE) D - Discipline (we must enforce the procedure to ensure our staff are compliant) When controlling risks, apply ERICPD principles below, if possible in the following order: Try a less risky option (e.g. switch to using another method) Prevent access to the hazard (e.g. by guarding) Organise work to reduce exposure to the hazard (e.g. put barriers between pedestrians and traffic) Issue personal protective equipment (e.g. clothing, footwear, goggles etc) Provide welfare facilities (e.g. first aid and washing facilities for removal of contamination) Ensure people are disciplined and follow instruction. Improving health and safety need not cost a lot. For instance, placing a mirror on a dangerous blind corner to help prevent vehicle accidents is a low-cost precaution considering the risks. Failure to take simple precautions can cost you a lot more if an accident does happen. Involve staff, so that you can be sure that what you propose to do will work in practice and won’t introduce any new hazards.
34 Step 3: Evaluate the risks
Step 4 Record your findings and implement them You must record your findings, putting the results of your risk assessment into practice will make a difference when looking after our staff and our business. Writing down the results of your risk assessment, and sharing them with your staff, encourages you to do this. As an employer of more than five employees we are required by law to record our findings in writing, this is also useful so that you can review it at a later date if, for example, when duties change or new procedures are introduced. When writing down your results, keep it simple, for example ‘Tripping over rubbish: bins provided, staff instructed, weekly housekeeping checks’, or ‘Slips on wet floors: wet floor signs to be placed to notify people of hazard’. Ensure you record your findings on the Dardan Risk Assessment Template.
Step 4: Record your findings 35
Step 5 Review your risk assessment and update if necessary Few workplaces stay the same. Sooner or later, you will bring in new equipment, substances and procedures that could lead to new hazards. It makes sense, therefore, to review what you are doing on an ongoing basis. Every year or so formally review where you are, to make sure you are still improving, or at least not sliding back. Look at your risk assessment again. Have there been any changes? Are there improvements you still need to make? Have your workers spotted a problem? Have you learnt anything from accidents or near misses? Make sure your risk assessment stays up to date. It’s all too easy to forget about reviewing your risk assessment – until something has gone wrong and it’s too late. Set a review date for risk assessments now, these should be reviewed annually at the time of renewing your assignment instructions, unless an event or new hazard comes to light before the review date. During the year, if there is a significant change, don’t wait. Check your risk assessment and, where necessary, amend it. If possible, it is best to think about the risk assessment when you’re planning your changes – that way you leave yourself more flexibility.
36 Step 5: Review your risk assessments
The Health and Safety Executive do not expect a risk assessment to be perfect, but it must be suitable and sufficient. You need to be able to show that: A proper check was made. You consulted those who might be affected. You dealt with all the significant hazards, taking into account the number of people who could be involved. The precautions are reasonable, and the remaining risk is low. You involved your staff or their representatives in the process.
If, you find that there are quite a lot of improvements that you could make, big and small, don’t try to do everything at once. Make a plan of action to deal with the most important things first. Health and safety inspectors acknowledge the efforts of businesses that are clearly trying to make improvements.
Remember, prioritise and tackle the most important things first. As you complete each action, tick it off your plan.
Intervention handbook 37
38 Intervention handbook
Frequently asked questions Q.
What if I share a workplace?
A.
Tell the other employees and self-employed people about any risks your work could cause them, and what precautions you are taking. Also, think about the risks to your own workforce from those who share your workplace.
Q.
Do our employees have responsibilities?
A.
Yes. Employees have legal responsibilities to co- operate with their employer’s efforts to improve health and safety (e.g. they must wear protective equipment when it is provided, they must not interfere with equipment provided for their safety), and to look out for each other.
Q.
What if an employee’s circumstances change?
A.
You’ll need to look again at the risk assessment. You are required to carry out a specific risk assessment for new or expectant mothers, as some tasks (heavy lifting or work with chemicals for example) may not be appropriate. If an employee develops a disability then you are required to make reasonable adjustments. People returning to work following major surgery may also have particular requirements.
Q.
What if I have already assessed some of the risks?
A.
If, for example, you use hazardous chemicals and you have already assessed the risks to health and the precautions you need to take under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH), you can consider them ‘checked’ and move on.
Frequently asked questions 39
Getting help For further help or information contact your Health & Safety Adviser. There is a wealth of information available to help you in relation to more information about legal requirements and standards, which can be found on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk. Different types of incident Accident An unplanned, unwanted event leading to injury damage or loss. Near Miss An unplanned, unwanted event that had potential to lead to an injury, damage or loss but did not.
40 Getting help
Near misses Incidents having no consequences for people or the environment, but which could have resulted in real accidents. An unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage – but had the potential to do so. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events prevented an injury, fatality or damage; in other words, “There by the grace of God go I.� History shows repeatedly that most accidents were preceded by; warnings, near misses, a close call or a narrow escape. Statistics tell us that for every 300 near misses, there is one serious incident.
An incident and near miss share the same risks, we own those risks. For example:
Unsafe acts e.g. improper manual handling, cutting corners on safe systems of work, not using Personal Protective Equipment (or thinking PPE makes us invincible), etc.
Unsafe conditions e.g. poor lighting, unmaintained equipment, slippery surfaces, poor housekeeping (trip hazards), etc.
Hurrying, risk taking, cutting corners (to get the job done faster).
Near misses 41
Report near misses before they become incidents Once a near miss occurs, report it immediately to your line manager using the near miss form. Help us identify the risks and prevent them becoming an incident. If an unsafe condition exists notify your line manager, do not continue if it is unsafe to do so. If the incident is the result of an unsafe act, be certain that everyone involved has been alerted and appropriate action taken before they proceed. Near Misses are a warning: Don’t ignore a near miss, report it. We are committed to a safe work environment for our staff, don’t become the next statistic. Praise and Appraise Health & Safety isn’t just about enforcing and advising our employees when a process isn’t being followed, but also recognising and acknowledging safety initiatives and best practice. The simple act of praise highlights you have taken the time to notice an individual’s efforts. These shall be recorded, not just for recognition purposes, but also to share in other working environments. Intervention Intervention is when you notice a hazard and you intervene, to prevent or modify events from becoming an accident. Share your interventions at management meetings and with your teams.
42 Report near misses
An apple a day... An apple a day keeps the doctor away, this is true of safety too. Safety issues arise on a daily basis, look for these issues and make a difference to the health and safety of our staff, clients and visitors. The following simple steps can have a positive influence on all parties and prevent people from being harmed.
Make safety a priority in your management style. Grasping the “no blame safety culture.” Include safety in your site visits, meetings with staff and customers alike. Enforce the working safely message and tool box talks. Encourage and support ideas to improve safety performance Ensure your staff are adequately trained for their duties and are aware of the risks. Encourage the reporting of near misses, incidents and accidents. Ensure all staff are aware that you will not tolerate ‘corner cutting’ with safety.
An apple a day... 43
Safety Intervention Report (SIR) The SIR can be used for recording both negative and positive safety and staff behaviours, and for recording; hazards, near misses and housekeeping issues.
Please take 2 minutes to complete an SIR whenever you observe good practice or an unsafe act, by doing so we can share best practice, rectify safety issues and acknowledge those going that extra mile. Please provide full details and contact name, so further information may be sought and feedback given where required. By taking 2 minutes we can improve our safety culture and ensure our staff remain safe at work.
44 Safety intervention report
Investigating incidents Despite our best endeavours there will be times when things go wrong. It is important to investigate and record these properly, not to proportion blame but to find the cause and prevent a reoccurrence. Incidents should be investigated at the earliest opportunity, basic incident investigation procedure is: To identify the immediate and root causes. Incidents are often caused by unsafe acts and unsafe conditions in the workplace. To identify corrective action to prevent a re-occurrence. Key motivation behind an incident investigation. To record facts of the incident. People will not recall events if information is not recorded, these records may be required for evidence. For legal reasons Accident investigations are a legal duty imposed on the employer.
For claim management If a claim for compensation is lodged the insurers may examine the accident investigation to help determine liability. For staff morale Accidents that are not investigated are detrimental effect on morale and safety culture as employees may feel that their safety is not valued. For disciplinary purposes Proportioning blame through incidents is not the priority; however there are occasions when disciplinary action is necessary when someone’s actions have been reckless. Data collection Accident statistics can be used to identify trends and this can only be achieved by investigating the facts and collecting the data.
Investigating incidents
45
Basic investigation procedure When investigating an accident or other type of incident the basic principles are: Safety of the scene Is the area safe to approach and is immediate action required to eliminate danger even before casualties are approached? Casualty Care Ensure all casualties are tended to prior to investigation. Give consideration to shock for third parties who may have observed incident. Step 1
Gather factual information about the event
Step 2
Analyse that information and draw conclusions about the immediate and root causes.
Step 3
Identify suitable control measures.
Step 4
Plan remedial actions.
When gathering information from witnesses remember to use the 5 W’s as open questions to collect information. What , Why, Where, When, Who. Keep an open mind and take notes of information given. Ask witnesses for contact information and to provide a written account of events.Remember to thank witnesses for their help. Try and use photographs and simple drawings to assist with evidence at the scene, also see if CCTV has recorded any of the incident. Make notes of conditions, time of day, lighting, terrain etc.
46 Basic investigation procedure
RIDDOR Ensure all work related accidents, incidents and injuries are reported to Control, check that an incident has been recorded and any injuries `have been recorded in the accident book. Certain types of incident have to be reported to the enforcing authorities in a set time-scale to comply with Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). These incidents include: Fatalities Where any person dies as a result of a work-related injury. Specified injuries Where a worker suffers from any of the following specified injuries: Fracture other than to digits. Amputation of an arm, hand, digit, leg or foot. Crush injuries leading to organ damage. Serious burns covering more than 10% of the body or if they cause damage to eyes, respiration or vital organs. Scalping separation of skin from the head requiring hospital treatment. Unconsciousness caused by head injury or asphyxiation. Any other injury arising from working in an enclosed space, which leads to hypothermia, heat induced illness or requires resuscitation or admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours. Over 7 day injuries Where an employee is away from work or unable to perform their normal duties for more than 7 consecutive days. Injuries to non-workers Work related injuries involving members of the public who are not at work, who were taken from the scene of the accident to hospital for treatment to that injury.
RIDDOR 47
Safety intervention report sample Location office:
Site:
Date:
Time:
Positive:
Negative:
What I observed:
Were you able to intervene?: Yes
No
N/A
Is there an outstanding action required? Yes
No
N/A
If so, please give detail:
Completed by: Recieved by: Further action:
48 Safety intervention report sample
Please take 2 minutes to complete an SIR whenever you observe good practice or an unsafe act, by doing so we can share best practice, rectify safety issues and acknowledge those going that extra mile.
Intervention handbook 49
Notes
Useful links www.hse.gov.uk Health and Safety Executive www.hazards.org Hazards Magazine www.iosh.co.uk Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) www.britsafe.org British Safety Council (BSC) www.rospa.com The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)
Brooke House, John Hyrne Way, Longwater Business Park, Costessey, Norwich, NR5 0AF. info@dardansecurity.co.uk Tel: 01603 447 000 Fax: 01603 447 001 www.dardansecurity.co.uk