ELEMENT 5

HEALTH & SAFETY MANAGEMENT

SYSTEM MEASURING, AUDIT &
REVIEW

ACTIVE MONITORING &

REACTIVE MONITORING

Active monitoring to ensure that health

and safety standards are correct in the
workplace before accidents, incidents or
ill-health are caused.

Reactive monitoring using accidents,

incidents and ill-health as indicators of
performance to highlight areas of
concern

ACTIVE MONITORING

Conformance with standards, so that good

performance is recognised and maintained.

Non-conformance with standards, so that the

reason for that non-conformance can be
identified and corrective action put in place to
remedy any shortfall.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Number and quality of risk assessments covering

work activities.

Provision of health and safety training to

schedule.

Completion of consultative committee meetings

to schedule.

Completion of workplace inspections to schedule.

Completion of safety review meetings to

schedule.

SYSTEMATIC INSPECTIONS

Plant machinery and vehicles as well as any statutory inspections and

examinations.

Premises the workplace and the working environment.

People working methods and behaviour.

Procedures safe systems of work, method statements, permits-towork, etc.

A daily inspection regime where forklift truck drivers inspect their own
vehicles at the start of each shift Plant.

A weekly inspection regime where supervisors check that forklift trucks are
being driven safely People.

A monthly inspection regime where the manager checks the entire

warehouse for housekeeping Premises.

A six-monthly thorough examination of each forklift truck by a competent

engineer to ensure safety of the load-bearing parts Plant.

An annual inspection regime for the storage racking to ensure structural

integrity Premises.

SAFETY INSPECTIONS,
SAMPLINGS, TOURS &
SURVEYS

SAFETY INSPECTIONS

ROUTINE

STAUTORY

PERIODIC

PRE USE CHECKLISTS

SAFETY SAMPLINGS

SAFETY TOURS

SAFETY SURVEYS

ARRANGEMENTS FOR
WORKPLACE INSPECTION

TYPE OF INSPECTION

FREQUENCY OF INSPECTION

ALLOCATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES

COMPETENCE AND OBJECTIVITY OF THE

INSPECTOR

USE OF CHECKLIST

ACTION PLANNING

FACTORS TO DETERMINE THE

FREQUENCY OF INSPECTION

Statutory requirements may dictate an inspection

frequency.

The activities carried out and the level of risk.

How well established the process is, e.g. new equipment

may require more frequent monitoring.

Risk assessments may suggest inspections as a control

measure.

Manufacturers may make recommendations as to

inspection frequency and content.

The presence of vulnerable workers, e.g. young and

inexperienced people.

Findings from previous inspections, which may suggest

compliance concerns.

TOPICS THAT MIGHT BE

INCLUDED IN INSPECTIONS

Fire safety including emergency escape routes, signs,

extinguishers.

Housekeeping general tidiness and cleanliness.

Environment issues such as lighting, temperature,

ventilation, noise.

Traffic routes safety of both vehicle and pedestrian routes.

Chemical safety appropriate use and storage of hazardous

substances.

Machinery safety such as correct use of machine guards

and interlocks.

Electrical safety such as portable electrical appliance

safety.

Welfare facilities the suitability and state of.

INSPECTION REPORT STRUCTURE

Executive summary a concise overview of the main

findings and recommendations.

Introduction a few sentences to outline where and

when the inspection took place, who was present and
the reasons for the inspection.

Main findings this can perhaps be divided up into

specific topic areas. For each topic the problem
highlighted can be described in a factual manner and
any relevant legal standard identified.

Recommendations the immediate, medium and longterm actions needed to remedy each of the issues
found should be identified, along with timescales and
responsible persons. Actions should be prioritised on
the basis of risk. Justification of the recommendations

OTHER ACTIVE MONITORING

TECHNIQUES

Health Surveillance

Monitoring worker health can be considered an active

monitoring measure, as carrying out measurements
of parameters such as hearing (through audiometry)
can provide a measure of effectiveness of controls.

Benchmarking

You will remember that the comparison of an

organisations performance with others in the
industry or sector is known as benchmarking. This
provides an indication of how well the organisation is
performing compared with similar companies.

REACTIVE MONITORING

INCIDENT RATE

IR = Number of accidents during a specific time X 1000

period
Average number of workers
over the same time
period

ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

CIVIL CLAIMS

AUDITING

Auditing is the systematic, objective, critical

evaluation of an organisations health and safety
management system.

Appropriate management arrangements are in

place.

Adequate risk control systems exist - that they

are implemented, and are consistent with the
hazard profile of the organisation.

Appropriate workplace precautions are in place.

AUDITING & INSPECTIONS

It examines documents such as the safety policy,

arrangements, procedures, risk assessments,
safe systems of work, method statements, etc.

It looks closely at records such as those created

to verify training, maintenance, inspections,
statutory examinations, etc.

It verifies the standards that exist within the

workplace by interview and direct observation.

AUDIT PROCESS

PRE AUDIT PREPARATION

DURING THE AUDIT

Scope, Area, Extent, Who, Information Gathring

Reference to paper work
Interviews
Direct Observations

AT THE END OF THE AUDIT

Major Non conformance

Minor Non conformance
Observations

INFORMATIONS TO BE
EXAMINED DURING AUDIT

Health and safety policy.

Risk assessments and safe systems of work.

Training records.

Minutes of safety committee meetings.

Maintenance records and details of failures.

Records of health and safety monitoring activits, e.g. tours,

inspections, surveys, etc.

Accident investigation reports and data including near miss information.

Emergency arrangements.

Inspection reports from insurance companies, etc.

Output from regulator visits, e.g. visit reports, enforcement actions, etc.

Records of worker complaints.

EXTERNAL AUDITS
ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

Independent of any internal

influence.

Fresh pair of eyes.

Already has audit experience.

Expensive.

May have wider experience of

different types of workplace.

Time-consuming.

Recommendations often carry

more weight.

May be more up-to- date with

law and best practice.

May not understand the

business so make
impractical suggestions.

May intimidate workers

so get incomplete

evidence.

May be more able to be

critical, e.g. of management.

INTERNAL AUDITS
ADVANTAGES

DIS ADVANTAGES

Less expensive.

Auditors already familiar with

the workplace and what is
practicable for the industry.

Auditors may not notice

certain issues.

Auditors may not have

good knowledge of
industry or legal
standards.

Auditors may not possess

auditing skills so may need
training.

Auditors are not

independent so may be
subject to internal
influence.

Can see changes since last

audit.

Improves ownership of issues

found.

Builds competence internally.

Workforce may be more at

ease.

Familiarity with workforce and

individuals.

INVESTIGATING
ACCIDENTS

REPORTING ACCIDENTS

To trigger the provision of first aid treatment,

etc.

To preserve the accident scene for the

investigators.

To enable the investigation to be carried out to

prevent recurrences.

To meet any legal requirements to report

incidents.

To record that an incident has occurred in the

event of subsequent civil claims.

INVESTIGATING ACCIDENTS

To identify the immediate and root causes of the incident

incidents are usually caused by unsafe acts and unsafe
conditions in the workplace, but these often arise from
underlying or root causes.

To identify corrective action to prevent a recurrence a key

motivation behind incident investigations.

To record the facts of the incident people do not have

perfect memories and accident investigation records
document factual evidence for the future.

For legal reasons accident investigations are an implicit

legal duty imposed on the employer in addition to any duty
to report incidents.

INVESTIGATING ACCIDENTS

For claim management if a claim for compensation is lodged

against the employer the insurance company will examine the
accident investigation report to help determine liability.

For staff morale non-investigation of accidents has a

detrimental effect on morale and safety culture because workers
will assume that the organisation does not value their safety.

For disciplinary purposes though blaming workers for incidents

has a negative effect on safety culture, there are occasions
when an organisation has to discipline a worker because their
behaviour has fallen short of the acceptable standard.

To enable the updating of risk assessments (an incident

suggests a deficiency with the risk assessment which should be
addressed).

To discover trends.

BASIC INVESTIGATION
PROCEDURE
1.

GATHERING INFORMATION

SECURE THE SCENE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

COLLECT WITNESS DETAILS

COLLECT FACTUAL INFORMATION FROM THE SCENE

AND RECORD IT

Photographs
Sketches
Measurements
Videos
Written description of factors like wind
speed, temperature
Taking physical evidence
Marking up existing site/location plans

BASIC INVESTIGATION
PROCEDURE
Hold the interview in a quiet room or area free from distractions
Witness
Interview Technique
and interruptions.

Introduce themselves and try to establish rapport with the

witness using appropriate verbal and body language.

Explain the purpose of the interview (perhaps emphasising that

the interview is not about blaming people).

Use open questions, such as those beginning with What?, Why?,

Where?, When?, Who?,

How?, etc. that do not put words into the witnesses mouths
and do not allow them to answer with a yes or no.

Keep an open mind.

Take notes so that the facts being discussed are not forgotten.

Ask the witness to write and sign a statement to create a record

of their testimony.

BASIC INVESTIGATION
PROCEDURE
1.

ANALYSING THE INFORMATION

Immediate Causes

Underlying or Root causes

2.

IDENTIFY SUITABLE CONTROL MEASURES

3.

PLAN THE REMEDIAL ACTION

Recommended
Priority
action

Time
Scale

Responsible
Person

CONTENTS OF INVESTIGATION
REPORT

Date and time of the incident.

Location of the incident.

Details of the injured person/persons involved (name, role, work

history).

Details of injury sustained.

Description of the activity being carried out at the time.

Drawings or photographs used to convey information on the scene.

Immediate and root causes of the incident.

Assessment of any breaches of legislation.

Details of witnesses and witness statements.

Recommended corrective action, with suggested costs,

responsibilities and timescales.

Estimation of the cost implications for the organisation.

REASONS WHY WORKERS MIGHT

NOT REPORT ACCIDENTS

Unclear organisational policy on reporting incidents.

No reporting system in place.

Culture of not reporting incidents (perhaps due to peer

pressure).

Overly-complicated reporting procedures.

Excessive paperwork.

Takes too much time.

Blame culture.

Apathy due to managements perceived response in the past.

Concern over the impact on the company or departmental

safety statistics (especially if this is linked to an incentive
scheme).

Reluctance to receive first-aid treatment.

CONTENTS OF INTERNAL
ACCIDENT RECORD

Name and address of casualty.

Date and time of accident.

Location of accident.

Details of injury.

Details of treatment given.

Description of event causing injury.

Details of any equipment or substances involved.

Witnesses names and contact details.

Details of person completing the record.

Signatures.

REPORTING TO EXTERNAL
AGENCIES

Accidents resulting in major injury, e.g. an

amputation, such as loss of a hand through
contact with machine parts.

Dangerous occurrences, e.g. the failure of an

item of lifting equipment, such as the structural
failure of a passenger lift during use.

Occupational diseases, e.g. mesothelioma, a form

of cancer of the lining of the lung, as might be
contracted by someone exposed to asbestos.

DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS

& COMMUNICATION
TREND ANALYSIS

What are the most common types of accident?

What are the most common types of injury?

Between what times of day do most accidents occur?

Which part of the body is most frequently injured?

Which department has the highest accident rate?

What is the accident rate trend for a particular part of

the organisation?

Where do most accidents occur in the workplace?

LESSON LEARNT

REVIEW OF HEALTH &

SAFETY PERFORMANCE

REVIEW

A full review of safety management might be

undertaken at the highest level of the organisation
(board of directors/senior management) on an
annual basis.

The management team may meet every quarter to

carry out a review to ensure the performance
remains on track (clearly reviewing progress only
once a year is not enough!). This information will
feed into the annual review.

A review of departmental performance might be

conducted every month, with the information in the
departmental reviews been fed into the quarterly
management team review.

REASONS FOR REVIEW

To identify whether the organisation is on target.

If not on target, why not?

What do we have to change so that we continually

improve? For example, are there risks that arent
being controlled adequately? What needs to be
done about them?

Because monitoring is an essential part of any

management system (as the saying goes: If you
arent monitoring, you arent managing!).

Because reviews are a required part of

accreditation to a management system such as
OHSAS 18001.

ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED
FOR REVIEW

Legal compliance

Accident and Incident data

Findings of safety surveys, tours and sampling and

workplace or statutory inspections

Absence and sickness data

Quality assurance reports

Audit reports

Monitoring data/records/reports

External communications and complaints

Consultation

Objectives met

Actions from previous reviews

Legal and best practice developments