▰ PRINCIPLES OF PREVENTION AND CONTROL

INTRODUCTION

• The control of risks is essential to secure and maintain a healthy and safe workplace which
complies with the relevant legal requirements.

• In industry today safety is controlled through a combination of engineered measures such as

the provision of safety protection (e.g. guarding and warning systems), and operational
measures in training, safe work practices, operating procedures and method statements,
along with management supervision.

• These measures (collectively) are commonly known in health and safety terms as control
measures . Some of these more common measures will be explained in more detail later.

▰ PRINCIPLES OF PREVENTION

▰ Avoiding risks

▰ Evaluating the risks which cannot be avoided

▰ Combating the risks at source

▰ Adapting the work to the individual

▰ Adapting to technical progress

▰ Replacing the dangerous by the non-dangerous or the less dangerous

▰ Developing a coherent overall prevention policy

▰ Giving collective protective measures priority over individual protective measures

▰ Giving appropriate instruction to employees

HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS

SAFETY SIGNS

▰ All general health and safety signs used in the workplace must include a pictorial symbol
categorized by shape, colour and graphic image.

▰ All workplaces need to display safety signs of some kind but deciding what is required can be
confusing. Here are the basic requirements for the majority of small premises or sites like
small construction sites, canteens, shops, small workshop units and offices

▰ PRINCIPLES OF CONTROL

PRINCIPLES OF CONTROL

▰ Welfare

-Welfare facilities include general workplace ventilation, lighting and heating and the provision of
drinking water, sanitation and washing facilities.
 ▰ Monitoring and supervision

- All risk control measures, whether they rely on engineered or human behavioural controls, must be
monitored for their effectiveness with supervision to ensure that they have been applied correctly.

▰ Types of health risk

- The principles of control for health risks are the same as those for safety. However, the nature of health
risks can make the link between work activities and employee ill health less obvious than in the case of
injury from an accident

▰
Principles of good practice for the control of exposure to substances hazardous to health

(a.) Design and operate processes and activities to minimize emission, release and spread of
substances hazardous to health.

(b.) Take into account all relevant routes of exposure – inhalation, skin absorption and ingestion
when developing control measures.

(c) Control exposure by measures that are proportionate to the health risk.

(d) Choose the most effective and reliable control options which minimize the escape and spread of
substances hazardous to health.

▰ Principles of good practice for the control of exposure to substances hazardous to health

▰ (e) Where adequate control of exposure cannot be achieved by other means, provide, in
combination with other control measures, suitable PPE.

▰ (f) Check and review regularly all elements of control measures for their continuing
effectiveness.

▰ (g) Inform and train all employees on the hazards and risks from the substances with which
they work and the use of control measures developed to minimize the risks.

▰ Assessing exposure and health surveillance

▰ Some aspects of health exposure will need input from specialist or professional advisers, such
as occupational health hygienists, nurses and doctors. However, considerable progress can be
made by taking straightforward measures such as:

▰ consulting the workforce on the design of workplaces;

▰ Assessing exposure and health surveillance

▰ talking to manufacturers and suppliers of substances and work equipment about minimizing
exposure;

▰ enclosing machinery to cut down dust, fumes and noise; researching the use of less hazardous
substances;
▰ ensuring that employees are given appropriate information and are trained in the safe
handling of all the substances and materials to which they may be exposed.

▰ Safe systems of work

▰ The integration of personnel, articles and substances in a laid out and considered method of
working which takes proper account of the risks to employees and others who may be affected,
such as visitors and contractors, and provides a formal framework to ensure that all of the steps
necessary for safe working have been anticipated and implemented.

▰ Safe systems of work

▰ Legal requirements

▰ -The HSW Act section 2 requires employers to provide safe plant and systems of work.

▰ Assessment of what safe systems of work are required

- Requirement It is the responsibility of the management in each organization to ensure that its
operations are assessed to determine where safe systems of work need to be developed.

▰ Factors to be considered

▰ - It is recognized that each organization must have the freedom to devise systems that match
the risk potential of their operations and which are practicable in their situation

▰ Development of safe systems

▰ PREPARATION OF SAFE SYSTEMS

▰ PREPARATION OF SAFE SYSTEMS

▰ PREPARATION OF SAFE SYSTEMS

▰ Permit-to-work procedures

▰ Principles

▰ 1. Wherever possible, and especially with routine jobs, hazards should be eliminated so that the
work can be done safely without requiring a permit to work.

▰ 2. Although the Site Manager may delegate the responsibility for the operation of the permit
system, the overall responsibility for ensuring safe operation rests with him/her.

▰ 3. The permit must be recognized as the master instruction which, until it is cancelled, overrides
all other instructions.

▰ 4. The permit applies to everyone on site, including contractors.

▰ 5. Information given in a permit must be detailed and accurate. It must state:

(a) which plant/equipment has been made safe and the steps by which this has been achieved;

(b) what work may be done;

 (c) the time at which the permit comes into effect.

▰ Principles

▰ 6. The permit remains in force until the work has been completed and the permit is cancelled by
the person who issued it or by the person nominated by management to take over the
responsibility (e.g. at the end of a shift or during absence).

▰ 7. No work other than that specified is authorized. If it is found that the planned work has to be
changed, the existing permit should be cancelled and a new one issued.

▰ 8. Responsibility for the plant must be clearly defi ned at all stages.

▰ Work requiring a permit

▰ The nature of permit-to-work procedures will vary in their scope depending on the job and the
risks involved. However, a permit-to-work system is unlikely to be needed where, for example:

(a) the assessed risks are low and can be controlled

▰ (b) the system of work is very simple;

▰ c) other work being done nearby cannot affect the work concerned in say a confi ned space
entry, or a welding operation. However , where there are high risks and the system of work is
complex and other operations may interfere, a formal permit to work should be used.

▰ Responsibilities

▰ The effective operation of the permit system requires the involvement of many people. The
following specific responsibilities can be identified:

( Note : all appointments, definitions of work requiring a permit, etc. must be in writing. All the
categories of people identified should receive training in the operation of the permit system as it
affects them.)

▰ Site manager

▰ Senior authorized person

▰ Authorized persons

▰ Competent persons

▰ Operatives

▰ Specialists

▰ Engineers (and others responsible for work covered by permits)

▰ Contractors

▰ Emergency planning procedures

 ▰ Emergency procedures, however, are about control procedures and equipment to limit the
damage to people and property caused by an incident. Local fire and rescue authorities will often
be involved and are normally prepared to give advice to employers

▰ Supervisory duties

▰ Assembly and roll call

▰ FIRST AID AT WORK

▰ People at work can suffer injuries or fall ill. It does not matter whether the injury or the illness is
caused by the work they do. What is important is that they receive immediate attention and that
an ambulance is called in serious cases.

▰ Aspects to consider

▰ - The risk assessments carried out under the MHSW and COSHH Regulations should show
whether there are any specific risks in the workplace.

▰ Impact on first-aid provision

- if risks are significant First -aiders may need to be appointed.

▰ Contents of the fi rst-aid box

▰ - There is no standard list of items to put in a first-aid box. It depends on what the employer
assesses the needs to be.

▰ Appointed persons

▰ - An appointed person is someone who is appointed by management to:

▰ take charge when someone is injured or falls ill.

• This includes calling an ambulance if required;

• look after the first-aid equipment

• for example keepIng the first-aid box replenished; keeping records of treatment given.

▰ A first aider

- A first aider is someone who has undergone an HSE approved training course in administering
FAW and holds a current FAW certificate.

Sources of reference

• Successful Health and Safety Management HSG65, HSE Books 1997 ISBN 978 0 7176 1276 5.

• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 L21, HSE Books 2000 ISBN
978 0 7176 2488 1.

• First Aid at Work, The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 L74 HSE Books 1997 ISBN
978 0 7176 10501.
• (To be revised in October 2009.)

• Safe work in confi ned spaces.

• Confi ned Spaces Regulations 1997 L101 HSE Books 1997 ISBN 978 0 7176 1405 9. Safety Signs
and Signals (L64)

• HSE Books 1996 ISBN 978 0 7176 0870 6