In many incidences people can potentially make ill-considered, over the top decisions made in the name of health & safety management. These decisions often divert attention from the real risks to people at work. Real risks that lead not just to ill health, injury and suffering, but also add to business overheads and affect profitability.
Health & safety issue management
It is a legal requirement for organisations to have suitable arrangements in place for the management of health & safety. Meeting this wide-ranging requirement requires a practical approach, one that is coordinated with the other everyday practice of running a business. Health & safety should be an integral feature of your approach to business, just like any other aspect. This is the Health & Safety Authority considered position. It is an approach supported by many other professional and trade bodies including the Institute of Directors Ireland. Whatever the size or nature of a business, the considered view is that effective health & safety management requires:
- Leadership and management
- A trained and skilled workforce and
- A working environment in which people are respected, trusted and involved.
Managing for profit is a process rarely achieved by just the occasional intervention by directors and senior managers. Likewise, the successful achievement of health & safety goals cannot be obtained by one-off interventions. They both require a systematic and sustained approach supported by the attitudes and behaviours of people working within the business. In most successful businesses, whatever their management system and arrangements, the underlying approach to business activities will involve PLANNING, DOING, CHECKING and ACTING.
This commonality of management systems and arrangements can be illustrated thus:
|
Business or Process Management |
Health & Safety Management |
|
| PLAN | Set targets and goals. Identify resources required. Define and communicate acceptable or expected performance standards. | Set policy and objectives. Plan and arrange for implementation. Define and communicate acceptable or expected performance standards. |
| DO | Identify and assess business risks. Identify suitable controls. Record actions. Build a knowledge base of successful and appropriate business practices. | Assess hazards and risks. Organise to manage those hazards and risks. Implement plans. |
| CHECK | Measure performance. Make a routine check of progress against targets. Make routine checks that standards are being maintained; make specific checks before and after significant events. | Measure performance. Make routine checks that controls are in place and maintained. Investigate accidents, incidents and occupational ill-health. |
| ACT | Review performance. Act on lessons learned. | Review performance. Act on lessons learned. |
There are nationally and internationally recognised standards for safety management and quality system management, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 9001 and sector-specific standards and guidance such as is published by the Energy Institute Ireland and the Chemical Industries Association. Although the language and methodology may vary between systems, the key actions can usually be traced back to PLAN, DO, CHECK, ACT.
