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639-IGC1 Element 8 Monitoring-V3
639-IGC1 Element 8 Monitoring-V3
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Contents
Page No
Introduction
Monitoring
Active Monitoring
Reactive Monitoring
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Performance Review
14
Auditing
15
15
Pre-Audit Preparation
16
19
References
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Introduction
Monitoring, review and audit are important steps in the management of occupational
health and safety. They constitute the feedback loop which enables the
organisation to collect data, analyse performance and implement corrective actions
to achieve continuous improvement.
Monitoring describes a range of methods used by organisations to measure what
they are doing to implement policy, to assess how effectively they are controlling
risks and how well they are developing a positive health and safety culture. This
includes both active and reactive monitoring.
Reviewing performance is a process of analysing data gathered through monitoring
techniques to make judgements about whether performance is adequate, i.e. that
risks are adequately controlled and managed.
Where performance is not adequate decisions will need to be made about how to
remedy the deficiencies.
Auditing is a critical examination of each stage of an organisations management
systems and procedures in order to establish whether or not systems exist, are
adequate and are used.
Without necessarily using these phrases, the techniques of monitoring, reviewing and
auditing are always incorporated into occupational health and safety management
systems (see Element 1), e.g.:
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the ILO Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Management System, ILOOSH 2001, includes stages of evaluation and action for improvement;
the HSE guidance, Successful Health and Safety Management, HSG 65.
Monitoring
Measuring or monitoring performance is an essential step of managing any aspect of
business to identify strengths and weaknesses and measure progress against
objectives.
Peter Drucker is a quality management expert, who has given extensive advice about
business management. He suggested:
What gets measured, gets done. (Drucker, 1942).
This is a reminder of the importance of measuring performance if objectives are to be
achieved:
What gets done should be measured.
CHSS Ltd 2006
wpc/SJ/ae/IGC Element 8 Monitoring, Review and Audit of H&S Performance
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Health and safety performance should be monitored at all levels of the organisation,
from day to day monitoring by line managers and supervisors, to periodic audits of
management systems.
Active Monitoring
Compliance with key performance
indicators (KPIs) and procedures
Benchmarking
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Active Monitoring
Workplace Inspections
A general workplace inspection is a formal, structured examination of the physical
working environment.
The purpose of a safety inspection is to identify obvious hazards that are not
controlled to a specified standard and then to eliminate or control them.
General workplace inspections, whilst providing valuable information for the safety
practitioner and the organisation, have three major limitations:
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some hazards are not visible, e.g. psychological stress, poor process
design;
unsafe practices, e.g. people behaving in a manner which may expose them
to a hazard, such as taking short cuts across a moving conveyor. These are
just as important as hazards, but may not occur when employees know an
inspection is being carried out.
The frequency of inspection will depend upon factors such as the purpose of the
inspection, the person/s carrying out the inspection, the level of risk, and conditions
observed at the last inspection, e.g.:
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lifting people;
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commissioning inspections may be carried out more frequently during the first
few months of operation to identify any unforeseen hazards or issues that
arise.
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Inspection Checklists
In many situations the use of a pre-prepared checklist of topics may be useful as a
memory aid and to prompt the inspector into examining the appropriate areas. A
checklist might include various points under headings such as:
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contractors;
electrical;
fire protection;
first-aid provision;
hazardous substances;
housekeeping / cleanliness;
lifting equipment;
lighting;
manual handling;
noise;
pressure vessels;
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welfare conditions.
The above list is not exhaustive. It is also important to note that a disadvantage of a
checklist is that an individual may fail to see any issue which is not part of the list,
e.g. ergonomics is not mentioned on the above list.
Inspection Reports
Simply identifying hazards and listing them is unlikely to improve safety. Therefore,
inspections should lead to corrective action. Following an inspection it is essential to:
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identify actions to eliminate or control the hazards now, and also to prevent
them from occurring again;
Safety Sampling
This is a regular random exercise in which unsafe acts and conditions are noted and
recorded. The workplace is divided into routes which assigned observers walk in an
allotted timescale, noting incidence of health and safety defects on pre-prepared
safety sampling sheets. The safety sampling sheets include tables of grouped and
coded retrospective and prospective unsafe conditions and practices, e.g.:
Group 1. Housekeeping
Code 1.1 slip hazard
1.2 trip hazard
1.3 fall hazard
1.4 accumulation of waste
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Safety Tours
A safety tour is a planned unscheduled examination of the workplace to assess
whether or not acceptable standards of housekeeping, safe access, fire precautions,
etc. are being maintained. Some hazards may be identified but a tour gives a
general impression rather than a thorough analysis of hazards. Tours by senior
managers can demonstrate the profile of, and commitment to, health and safety.
Safety Surveys
A safety survey focuses on specific health and safety topics, e.g. a survey of fire
precautions, and is normally carried out by a specialist. Detailed reports on the main
strengths and weaknesses, with an action plan, are normally produced as a result of
surveys.
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Active
monitoring
method
Inspection
Outline
Purpose
A formal, structured
examination of the physical
working environment taking in
the whole area.
Safety tour
Safety survey
An examination of a specific
aspect of health and safety.
Normally carried out by a
specialist.
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Reactive Monitoring
Reactive Monitoring: monitors management failures that have occurred, e.g. data
on accidents, dangerous occurrences, near misses, ill-health, complaints by the
workforce and enforcement action, etc.
Another means of reactive monitoring includes the development of, and comparison
with, external accident statistics, e.g. comparison with accident statistics published,
by country, by the ILO. The ILO Occupational Safety and Health Convention,
C155, requires:
the establishment and application of procedures for the notification of
occupational accidents and diseases, by employers and, when appropriate,
insurance institutions and others directly concerned, and the production of
annual statistics on occupational accidents and diseases.
In the UK the HSE publish annual statistics accident and ill-health incidence rates per
100,000 employees by sector (see Element 2). Organisations in the same sector can
benchmark against these figures and therefore monitor their own performance. It is
an annual calculation and the figures need to be adjusted pro-rata if they cover a
shorter period or use a different multiplying factor. Such shorter-term rates should be
compared only with rates for exactly similar periods, not the national annual rates.
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Performance Review
The purpose of performance review is to analyse data gathered through monitoring
techniques and to make judgements about whether performance is adequate. The
review will then question whether the organisation:
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Auditing
Purpose and Scope
An audit is a tool used to review the performance of the health and safety
management systems. It asks whether the system:
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Exists;
is Adequate; and
is Used.
Inspections
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Pre-Audit Preparation
Audits should be conducted according to planned arrangements. An annual plan will
identify a planned audit schedule for the entire organisation, the frequency of audits
being related to the risks associated with each area of operation, the results of
previous audits and the extent of change. Each audit will then take the following
steps:
1.
2.
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3.
Information gathering
Audits collect information using the following methods:
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5.
interviews;
observations of activities and working conditions;
examination of documents, e.g. policy, procedures, risk assessments,
training records, etc;
records, e.g. inspection and maintenance records, minutes from safety
committee meetings, previous audit reports, etc;
analysis of data, e.g. accident and near miss trends; and
physical inspection of the workplace.
Interviews
Interviews are a key part of the audit and should be adapted to the situation
and the person being interviewed. The interview may aim to confirm
evidence, to assess the understanding of employees, or to assess the
capability of managers to implement the management system requirements,
etc. The auditor should:
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N
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6.
summarise and review the results of the interview with the interviewee;
and
thank the interviewee for their co-operation.
Conclude
The auditors will then analyse the information and make conclusions. This
usually occurs away from the audited premises. However, auditors may
request clarification or further information about issues that arise.
7.
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Internal Audits
External Audits
Advantages
Disadvantages
Cheaper
More expensive
Easier to arrange
Disadvantages
Advantages
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References
ILO
2001
ILO
1981
BSI
1999
BSI
1999
BSI
2002
HSE
2003
Drucker, P. F.
1942
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Notes
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Notes
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