Element 2: Setting Policy for Health and Safety.

What is a health and Safety policy?

A business plan for safety to prevent or reduce loss in an organization.

What are the objectives of a health and Safety policy?

The main objectives of a health and safety policy is to protect people from injury and ill-
health, comply with legal requirements and avoid prosecution and manage health and
safety on a cost effective basis.

What are the Elements of a policy?

1) Statement of intent:
A statement of intent establishing the importance of health and safety in the
organization and providing targets and objectives for improvement.

2) Organization:
The roles and responsibilities of everyone in the organization.

3) Arrangements:
The arrangements for effective planning, organization, control, monitoring of the
organizations health and safety.

The contents of the arrangements section should include the following information:
 Risk assessments,
 Fire policy,
 Smoking policy,
 Evacuation procedures,
 Safe systems of work,
 Permits to work,
 First aid policy,
 Display screen policy,
 Manual handling policy,
 Hazardous chemicals policy,
 Fork truck policy,
 Etc.
What is Benchmarking?

Benchmarking is the practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics

to industry bests and best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically
measured are quality, time, cost, and health and safety performance.

What are the advantages of Benchmarking?

 Identifies key performance indicators,
 Ensures monitoring procedures are effective,
 Feeds in to the continuous improvement cycle,
 Identify normal practice amongst similar business,
 Avoid making mistakes by learning from others,
 Generate management focus,
 Gains confidence of the stakeholders,
 Etc.

What are the challenges of benchmarking?

 Selecting a company with similar activities,
 Assuring accuracy of data,
 Using common definitions,
 Accessing data,
 Gaining commitment,
 Etc.

What are the Management issues to benchmark?

Health and safety policy
Staff roles and responsibility
Plans and strategies which can be measured
Risk assessments
Type of training
Monitoring, Proactive and reactive

When reviewing a health and safety policy what information should be taken into
account?
 Accidents,
 Incidents,
 New equipment,
 New staff,
  New technology,
 New premises,
 Changes in legislation,
 Accident investigation,
 Enforcement action,
 Prosecution,
 Compensation claims,
 Periodic review,
 Etc.

What are the reasons that can make ineffective policies and a useless health and
safety management system?

 No management commitment,
 No objectives set to implement policy,
 Health and safety not given priority,
 Resources not provided to implement action,
 Aims and intentions not understood by personnel,
 Too much emphasis on employee responsibilities,
 No measurement that objectives are being met,
 Management unaware of their health and safety role,
 No management training,
 Etc.