Health & Safety at Work act etc 1974

Section 2
2.1 General duty to ensure so far
Section 4
as reasonable practicable the Section 3
health & safety of employees Sharing workplace
Public contractor
2.2a Provision & maintenance of
safe plant & SSOW Visitors disclosure of information Section 5

2.2b Safe use, handling, storage and Emission

transport of materials
2.2c Information, Instruction, Section 6
Training and Supervision Manufacturers
2.2d Safe access and regress
2.2e Adequate safe facilities Health & Safety at Section 7

2.3.3Policy Work act etc 1974 Employee duty

2.2.4/5 Safety rep Section 8

2.2.6Consultation with safety reps Employees not to interfere
2.2.7Establish committee if
requested by 2 reps in writing Section 9

Section 37 Charge for PPE

Prosecution of Director / Section 33

Managers
Not to obstruct inspector
 Whistle Blowing

Employee good faith

Prescribed People Law = The Public Interest
Disclosure act 1998 Employees must have
-Union Safety rep
reasonable belief of one
-Employer or more of the following
-H&S advisor
Breach of legal obligation
-Professional body
-HSE
Whistle Blowing A criminal offence

Prescribed people Employees

protected Miscarriage of justice
against
Employee good faith -loss of job
Danger to the H&S of an
-victimisation individual
Protected disclosure -if job lost,
case for Danger to the environment
unfair
dismissal
 Domino Theory
Event 5 Heinrich / Bird Loftus
Effect - injury
Natural culmination of a
series of events leads
Event 4 to a preventable injury
occurring
Accident Domino Theory

Event 3
Chain of events
Unsafe act or condition
Remove as to prevent
accident

Event 2 Event 1
Fault of person Ancestry / social environment

Bird & Loftus developed Heinrich model to include management influence

Benefits
• Structured accident investigation
• Bird & Loftus version encourages the search for underlying causes
Limitations
• Simplistic straight chain thinking
• Heinrich model restricts the findings of underlying causes
Compensation Amounts
Compensation Amounts

Special known

Loss of earnings up to trial

Modifications of house

Travel expenses

Special care

Medical costs

Legal expenses

General not know

After care

Pain & Suffering

Impact upon family life

Loss of ability

Loss of quality of life

Loss of future earnings

 Reducing the risk of component failure
Reduce the risk of component failure
Burning in
Regular inspection
Monitoring of conductions ,e.g.. temp
Planned replacement
Information, e.g.. Life span
Component design
Life Span
Collection of failure information
Failure mode analysis
Introduction of parrelet systems
Standby systems
Planned preventative maintenance
 Factors that affect perception
Factors that affect perception
Age
Experience
Physical ability
Personality
Attitude
Intelligence
Information received
Knowledge
Design & ergonomics
Knowledge & experience
Training
Senses
Visual
Audio
Smell
Feel
Environmental factors, e.g. noise
Drugs & alcohol
Fatigue e.g.. Shifts
Nature of hazard
 Gaining Workforce Commitment
Gaining Workforce Commitment

Training

Leading from the front

Finding out reasons for resistance

Consultation with employees

Get their input

Use of step by step instructions

E.g. pilot schemes

Setting out clearly the reasons and benefits of the proposed change

Produce positive feedback

Get everyone involved

Demonstrate weakness in existing system

 Accident Interview Techniques
Finish interview on Put person at ease
a positive note – by explaining
purpose of Take notes
perhaps what
witness thinks can investigation
be done to improve May need to adjust
language for
Repeat witness
witness
account back to
them to check that
it is fully
understood Accident Interview Interview person at
the scene if
Techniques possible (props
easily available,
Listen without help memory)
interruption
Careful Question Phrasing
Invite witness to
•What happened have
•What did you see accompanying
Interview ASAP person
•What times
after the event
•Where
•When
•How
•Who
•Not why
 Benefits of staying with HSG65
Existing system HSG65 is used by
No cost for may be working the enforcing
certificates / well bodies
maintain
certification
HSG65 was
created to address
the requirements of
Reg5 MHSR99

Benefits of staying
Audits are with HSG65
generally carried
out by health &
safety specialist Organisation could
be exposed during
change over

OHSAS model may be too

sophisticated for smaller
companies Cost of change
Increased over
paperwork
 Consideration when developing an audit program
Applicable legislation Resource required
Monitoring systems to audit
for results

Training for auditor

Consideration when
feedback
developing an audit
program
Frequency of
audits

Scoring system
Aspects to be
Time required audited e.g..
Elements of
HSG65
 Benefits of OHSAS18001
External regulation
e.g.. customer
Customer demand

Clearer standard
for benchmarking

Recently
Benefits of accredited to ISO
OHSAS18001 standard (2007)

More prescriptive
system

External International
assessment recognition
 Benefits of Integrated Management Systems
Team approach
Improved and/or equal
culture for all
standards/disciplines
Equal business
priority

Benefits of
Integrated
Management
Systems
Reduction in costs
•Combined audits
•Less duplicates
•Same format used
Holistic approach •Combined
to risk information
management systems
Equal influence
 Benefits of separate management systems
Existing systems
may work well
One discipline may
require a more
Resistance to
complex system to
change
meet business needs

Benefits of
Business exposure Separate
during integration
period
Management
Systems

Customer demand Health & Safety /

Environmental
•ISO/OHSAS
have a minimum
required Potential loss of legal requirement
•Complex auditing professional
disciplines required
 Multiple causation
Benefits May be more use
than one underlying
•Thorough accident investigation Not only if happens in
cause
sequence
•Identification of all
underlying causes including
effects of managers and
management systems
•Encourages the use of a more
systematic accident analysis such
as fault tree analysis

Multiple causation

Thorough accident
investigation
requires all cause
to be identified

Failings usually
interact with each
other causing
incident, can be Look at all factors
major including culture,
management
 HSWA 74 & Disabled person considerations
Section 2
1. General duty H&S Safe access and
Welfare provisions of employees regress

Workplace circumstances
HSWA 74 &
Reasonably
Disabled person
practicable measures considerations
to ensure safe Nature of disability

Appropriate means Safe plant

of training &
providing
information Adaptation of
SSOW to suit
 Disability discrimination act 1995
Unlawful for employer to
discriminate against a
disabled person when
he employs
Not to discriminate
during recruitment
Consider
effectiveness of
modifications.
E.g. fire alarm Disability
effectiveness discrimination act &
Disabled person
considerations
Equal promotion prospects

Reasonable
Emergency adjustments
procedures
•Premises,
Workplace layout access /egress,
welfare
 Vicarious Liability

Breach of civil law

Means to pay Cases
claimant •Lister Vs Romford Ice
& Cold Storage
•Hudson Vs Ridge
manufacturing
Employers liability (competent fellow
insurance employees)
Vicarious Liability

Employee employed by
Defences employer
•Volenti non fit
injuries
•Contributory Tort of negligence
negligence committed by
•Not acting within employee
scope of Employee acting in
employment Negligent act
cause injury or loss course of
•Not employed to third party employment
•No injury or
unforeseeable
 Near miss systems
Clearly definition of
‘near Miss’
Who will report near
misses

Positive feedback
for reporters
Training required
Considerations
Define reporting lines
when developing a
to ensure actions are near miss system
implemented Consultation with
employee

Ease of reporting, Provision of

clear, straight information,
forward format instruction and
Building of a fair
blame culture training
 Purpose and Benefits of Near Miss Data
Investigation of near
Near misses have misses and carrying out
Helps get everyone the potential to improves/implementing
involved in safety become an accident’ preventative measures

Identifies
opportunities for
improvements Shows management
commitment through
Purpose & Benefits action follow up and feed
back
Identifies inadequate of near miss data
health and safety
Data analysis can
management and/or
show trends and
elements of the
reoccurring issues
management system
– indicates areas to
improve

Identifies Proactive approach

inadequate training to incident
Helps to identify management
inadequate SSOW
 Design of controls
Keep number to
Easy to use e.g.. minimum A change of system
Toggles / switches state should only
occur after operation
of a control

Space between
each control
Operating a control should
require a positive action by
Control design the operator with
immediate effect
Arrange of controls
in sequence of use

Stop controls System restarts

should be easy to should only occur
activate after operating a
Controls should be control
kept next to the
Labels & shape put
display that gives
to effective use
the reading of its
output
 Design of Displays
Digital for quantative
information
Direct relation
Emergency between readout and
displays should be control
clearly identifiable

Dials with pointers to

convey qualative
readings
Use of colours to give
Display design
clear indication of a
change in state Lights used for
status readings

Correct number of
controls, too many
will overload
operators VDU’s to show
process overview
 Characteristics Of A Positive Safety Culture
Open
communication
Management
between managers
Reporting of commitment
and shop floor
hazards by
employees

Leadership by managers
Characteristics Of A
Potentially low
Positive Safety
accident rates Culture
Availability of funds
and resources

Mutual trust Good quality of

health and safety
Strong participation training
by employees
 Strategic role of H&S profession

Ensuring
organisation is Policy development and
legally compliant setting of objectives
and keeping up to Managing enforcing
date with bodies
legislation changes

Auditing &
Strategic role of
identifying further H&S profession
opportunities for
improvement
Advising senior managers

Developing strong Formulating &

good safety culture developing
elements of the
Involvement in H&S management
Developing /
reactive monitoring systems
agreeing plans for
e.g. accident improvement, short
investigation and long term
 Employer responsible for negligent act of contract vicarious liability
Case: Mersey docks &
harbour board
Vs Coggins & Griffiths

Act caused harm or

loss to third party
Contractor under
control of employer

Employer responsible for

negligent act of contract
vicarious liability

Acting in course of Employer authorises

employment negligent act

Contractor carrying
act over which
employer has
control
 Requirement of Reg7 MHSR1999
Person competent to
advise
Exemption for
partners if one or Appoint one or more
more is competent persons

Information on Requirement of
temporary workers
Reg7 MHSR1999 Arrangements for
cooperation if more than
one

Preference is
internal
appointment Provision of Number of and
information on time available
health & safety sufficient for size,
issues to externally risk and risk
appointed distribution of the
(consultant) company
Typical client / contract for work carried out
Responsibilities for Contractor to maintain
emergency legal compliance Provision of
planning competent persons

Clients right to stop

work if unsafe
Employer liability
insurance
Typical client /
Define safety
responsibilities contract for work
between client & carried out
contractor
The requirement
that the contractor
has RAs,
SSOW,MSs

Clients right to Requirement to The contractor /

monitor safety attend site H&S client supplies
standards of induction before appropriate welfare
contractors workers start work
on site
Limitations of measuring H&S performance
by accidents / incidents
Reactive Does not reflect chronic
health issues May take long time for
data to provide trends

Absence of
incident does not
Under reporting
mean good
procedures in Limitations of particularly when targets
are set
place measuring H&S
performance by
Accident data may
be small hence not
accidents / incidents
being easy to see Data is a measure
trends of failure not
success

Data is subject to Data measures Historic

random fluctuation effectiveness of performance can
previous safety not predict future
measures not new performance
measures
 Contracts
An offer from one party
& acceptance from
Contract must not another can be verbal or
be to commit a written The intention to create
crime legal relations

Elements of legally
Not mentally
enforceable Legal considerations
incapacitated at the contract •Money
time of the contract
•Undertaking work/tasks

Parties involved
Genuine consent must have legal
gives the terms of capacity to do so
contract e.g.. No e.g.. adult
misinterpretations
 HAZOP
Create action plan Design stage of process
for improvement Define scope
•Owner
•What
•When

Team effort

Identify possible
HAZOP
preventative
measures Appropriate specialist
•Engineers
•Health & safety advisor
Assess impact of
deviations •Operators
•No flow •Managers
Identify possible
•Flow •Defined Hazop leader
deviations from
Process broken
normal running
down into sections
to analyse
 Why a PTW system may not be used
Too bureaucratic
Difficult to organise
control measures Difficult system to use

Potential hazards Poor safety culture e.g..

not fully identified Why a PTW system Routine work
may not be used

Absence of Lack of
competent person information,
to authorise instruction, training
and supervision
Permit not specific
to task
Too time consuming
Reasons to establish effective consultation
with employees
Statutory requirement
•Health and safety
(consulting with
employees reg 1996)
Improving
perception about Promotion of good
value of H&S safety culture through
employee involvement
Reasons to
establish effective
consultation with
employees

Promote employee
Identification of ownership
improvement
opportunities

Information from
shop floor
 Practicable

Where technology or knowledge

exists must be implemented

Cases
•Adsett vs K & L steel founders
(technology not known, silica dust)
Not as high a duty as Absolute but
higher duty than reasonably
practicable Practicable

Cost of precautions is not a factor

 Reasonable Practicable

Balance of cost vs risk

One factor must be grossly

disproportionate to the other

Duty not as strict as Absolute or

practicable Reasonable
Practicable
Decision is reached to implement
precaution or not after balancing

Cases
•Edwards vs National coal board
(shoring up of roadway) NCB
found liable as risk and
consequences was greater than
cost
•Marshall Vs Gotham (gypsum
mine)
 Reasons why accidents should be
investigated

Establish causes both immediate

and underlying causes
Obtain information/evidence for
any future civil claim

To ensure future preventative

actions can be defined and
Assess whether further training
implemented
and/or supervision is required

Reasons why accidents

Investigation could provide useful should be investigated
information for evaluating the Assess compliance with legal
costs of accidents requirements

Information gathered from Demonstrate management

investigation can be used to commitment
evaluate whether current
precautions are adequate, also
SSOW and existing risk
assessments are they adequate
 Accident investigation

Take photos, make sketches take

measurements of scene
Interview all parties involves
ASAP, e.g. injured party,
witnessess
Obtain and CCTV footage that
may be available
Identify immediate
causes/underlying causes

Accident investigation
Identify environmental factors that
could have contributed to the Look at any relevant procedures
accident e.g. poor light, noise, wet that are in place
conditions

Look at training records that may Look at any RA/SSOW in place

exist for people involved in
accident
 Analysing accident investigation data

Examine information objectively

i.e with a view to identify the
Existing health and safety culture
causes

Look at job factors involved e.g.

distractions
Quality of supervision

Analysing accident
Look at any organisational factors investigation data
which may have contributed Where procedures adequate e.g.
RA/SSOW

Plant/equipment factors e.g.

Assess human factors that may serviceable/inspected
have been involved e.g. fatigue,
stress, alcohol

Take into account any

environmental factors that may
Competence of person involved
have exited e.g. noise, light, air
e.g. training/supervision
condition
 Gain Support Of Workforce To Improve
Health And Safety Culture

Consultation, co-operation,
Ensure positive feedback is given participation, competence,
commitment

Show management commitment Talk to the workforce, get their

by leading from the front input

Introduce new consultation forums

Gain Support Of Workforce
To Improve Health And
Understand current employee
Safety Culture Increase employee participation
perception of health and safety
e.g. risk assessments. H & S
meetings
Set health and safety targets and
create plans for improvement,
communicate these plans to all of Demonstrate good resource for H
the workforce &S

Have informal discussion, team

meetings etc Train them, - show the benefits of
improved safety conditions

Introduce new improved safety

policy's and programmes e.g.
behavioural safety programme
 Consideration For Emergency Planning
Including COMAH Site
• Identification of roles and responsibilities of key individuals in the planning stage e.g. technical support,
engineers, safety advisors, key managers
• Consider the quantities involved e.g. flammables stored
• Provision of information to local authorities
• Possible causes of major incident e.g. fire in flammable tank farm
• Estimating the likely extent of damage e.g. dispersion analysis of a gas release/explosion
• Staff and equipment required to control the incident/minimise impact, call out arrangements
• Setting up of an incident control team
• Resources needed to deal with incident e.g. specialists
• Raising the alarm both on site and off
• Evacuation for both site and nearby residents/shelter arrangements
• Training for staff in emergency plans arrangements
• Action to minimize extent e.g. shutting of service
• Search and rescue arrangements
• Notification of emergency services and HSE
• Control and management on site including roles and responsibilities for emergencies incident team
• Provision of information for emergency service e.g. location of hazards and potential impact
• Control of spillages/pollution, toxicity/flammability and possible adverse effects
• Clean up/decontamination procedures
• Dealing with the press
• Consultation with emergency services e.g. technical advice
• Emergency plan testing arrangements
• Establishing control centres
• Site plans information
• Business continuity
 Human Failure

Human Failure

Errors Violations
Not deliberate deliberate

Skill based errors Mistakes Routine Situational Exceptional

•Normal way of •Job pressure •Emergency
work •Time situations
Doing the wrong •Rule not safe at •Something goes
Slips of action Lapses
Actions not as Memory thing believing it to time wrong
•Forget to carry be right •Incorrect •Not carry out
planned
•Steps in wrong out action equipment safely decisions
order •Lose place in taken, normally
•Too soon task due to time won’t
•Too late •Example forget to allow
•Too strong turn something on
•Too weak
•Up rather than
down Rule based Knowledge
•Remember rules based
of familiar •Unfamiliar
procedure circumstance
•Apply wrong rule •Apply knowledge
•Apply rules to •Eg mechanic
wrong situation
 European Law
Regulations
– Apply directly in member states
– Go straight into member law
– If conflict with National law European prevails
– Rarely used
Directives
– Can be applied to all members or individual members
– Lay down objectives what achievement is required
– Directives have to be implemented by member states.
Decisions
– Can be made by Council or commission
– Biding upon those they address
– Main use is to allow a member state to depart from a requirement of a EU treaty
 Articles of Treaty of Rome
Article 95
– Intended to remove barriers to trade/ensure unrestricted movement
and sale
– Harmonised product standards
– E.g. Machinery Directive

Article 137
– Setting of minimum standards of health and safety
– Harmonisation and improvement of workplace health and safety
standards
– E.g. Frame work directive 6 pack
 Procedure for making regulations under
HSWA1974

Power to make regs given to

secretary of state by section 15
HSWA

Subject matter of reg should fall

within schedule 3 of the act
If vote against they are annulled

Procedure for making regulations

under HSWA1974
Passed it no vote against
Consultation between secretary
and HSC and other relevant
government bodies must occur

Proposals must lie before both HSC could make proposal to

houses of parliament for 40 days secretary of state
 Cost vs Benefit Analysis as applies to
proposed regulation

Identify overall value to society of

proposed regulation

Comparison with cost of

implementing the regulation
Finally the calculated monetary
values are compared and a
decision is reached
Cost vs Benefit Analysis as
applies to proposed regulation

Cot and benefits both converted

into monetary values

Cost adjusted for different time Cost of benefit in terms of

scales of implementation and prevention of death, injury and ill
benefits that may occur health
 Ensuring Safety of other workers while
construction work is undertaken

Agree schedule/time frame for

Contractors informed of any site work
hazards

PTW system may be required for Provision of information on things

abnormal activities such as signing in/out procedures

Monitoring of contractor health

and safety performance
Ensuring Safety of other workers
while construction work is
Ensure all waste removed undertaken
controlled Site induction procedure

Office employees fully informed of

location and nature of work
Establish emergency procedures
for contractors and normal staff
during the work

Presence of asbestos and control

measures Barrier area of, close sections
where work carried out

Safe storage of hazardous

materials