While there is a variety of media channels open to individuals and companies seekingadvice, a health and safety executive actively promoting a positive mutual approach to improving the health and safety world and clear legislation emerging that relates to penalties and fines, there still appears to be a tendency not to embrace the subject as a potential plus for companies.
Why this may be the case could relate to risk assessments all too often being seen as a way of preventing effective trading, of increasing costs and of increasing the weight of paperwork to be handled in the business.
If health and safety practitioners, confident in their knowledge of the law and competent at communicating, recognised good practice and found ways to explain the positives of a practical policy then all levels in a company would benefit directly, and indirectly, from the input.
Wherever you look in a company’s hierarchy people want to enjoy coming to work. Enjoyment encourages motivation which in turn will improve people’s effectiveness and this, if nurtured, has a good chance of being reflected in better overall company performance.
Risk assessments are an essential link in the robust strategy that health and safety champions promote. However, they are only part of a successful strategy. Directors can use health and safety as a chance to demonstrate their leadership skills. As a director you need to grasp the opportunity to show staff you recognise the potential problems in the workplace.
Have regular consultative meetings, reward innovation in improving safety in the workplace and, above all, give your staff the tools to do their job well, but safely.
Working for various companies as a catalyst to improve working environments, a common statement heard is “why bother telling them what is wrong, nothing ever happens…” Boards of directors and senior managers are, sometimes unfairly, held in poor regard by their workforce because they seemingly ignore comments relating to safety. By implementing a simple incident reporting procedure, with a feedback loop built into it, confidence will quickly grow that observers are being listened to.
Those familiar with vehicle defect reporting procedures will know that a defect reporting form is not complete until the defect has been signed off as being rectified.
Analyse the accident and incident book and find out why people are getting hurt. As a result of this analysis, often a quick fix like making sure people wear personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves or boots, will go a long way to eliminating cuts and bruises.
Whatever your approach, ensure that:
-
You have a solid set of management procedures that meet the requirements of health and safety legislation.
-
Ensure all levels of management, including supervisors, have the confidence to implement these procedures
-
Provide an effective and auditable two-way safety communication process.
Miles Vartan,
