Health and Safety Business Essay

Health and Safety Assignment.

Health and safety can be described as the regulations and procedures intended to prevent accidents and injury in the workplace and public environment.

Question 1:
As the advisor to the management of the centre I would suggest using the four point method of Plan, Do, Check and Act as an effective way to implement the HSG65  to all the employees working within the company in each department. The advantages of using PDCA system is how its illustrations health and safety as an fundamental part of quality management rather than being seen as an unconnected part of it. When trying to engage employees in learning good health and safety practice it is important to express that doing so is not solely to protect the business from any legal action that may follow after an accident but also to protect themselves from potentially life threatening incidents and create a better working environment for all employees. When giving employees health and safety training and introducing practices and codes to follow it is vital to remember to begin with the basics and not assume that employees will just already be aware of certain actions they must take in the workplace, act as if all employees have no previous knowledge of health and safety practice. The use of visual tools (figure 1.0) to help employees learn the correct health and safety practices required by them can be very useful, as they can see exactly what is needed in a situation instead of just being told and possibly not fully understanding. By using visual tools employees are able to refer back to them with ease and very quickly instead of having to go and read pages of information they can just view in seconds.[pic 1]

(Image from www.Archersafetysigns.co.uk)

The system of Plan, Do, Check and Act can be displayed in a simple diagram as shown

[pic 2]

(Diagram adapted from Managing health and safety HSE, 2013, p. 9).

PLAN:

Policy: Top management should define the policy of the company.  The policy adopted should set a clear direction for the company to follow and be available for all employees to view with ease. Employees should be aware of the policy and have a clear understanding of it, the policy should be written with simple language to make it easier for employees to learn. As there is a large amount of employees within the company the policy should be on display in various locations around the premises and also given to new employees when they are hired. It is vital that employees follow the policy and do not just see it as unimportant information. Top management must lead by example to show employees the importance of the policy.  Initially after the policy is written employees should be given the opportunity to suggest any amendments they feel should be added or taken out, this creates a sense that the policy is not just rules being places upon the employees but rather regulations to protect everyone involved in it.

Planning: All aspects and impacts, legal, objectives and targets should be outlined. It is important to create proper procedures to use in the case of an emergency situation, employees in each department should be consulted when doing this to guarantee the correct actions are taken in any situation that may occur in any department. When planning for implementation it should be remembered to construct ideas to keep employees attitudes towards health and safety positive. The manager should note where the company’s safety management systems are at the time when they are developing the plan and outline where they should be in a certain amount of time, create milestones and goals to be achieved. When planning it is important to prepare yourself for any situation that could arise, records of all employees must be kept within the premises containing information such as any medical conditions they have, any previous accidents they may have been in or anything else that will be relevant to know for medical services. The more information you have on your employee the better they can be treated by medical services if they are involved in any accident.

DO:

Risk profiling: The risk involved in any action that takes place in the workplace should be clearly outlined. As there is various departments within the company which will have different risks associated with them, it is important to outline the risks involved in each and rank them in order, using certain specifications such as the likeliness of it occurring, the danger associated with it, the cost of the risk to list them from most severe to least (Example shown in figure 1.1). It is important to note the different questions you must ask about a task before it is undertaken, for example if an employee must move an item from one area to another questions such as, is it heavy/light, hot/cold, bulky/solid and also about the working environment they are in at the time of them completing the task such as is the area wet/dry, spacious/restricted, bright/dark must be asked, the more questions asked about a task before it is undertaken allows the employee to be aware of more of the risks involved and help themselves to be better prepared before they go about completing the task.  After all questions are asked about a task it can be very useful to record the information and note any significant findings so other employees can refer to it in the future to help ensure they do not miss any risks that may be involved with the task. The correct actions to deal with each risk must be known to employees so they are aware how to deal with any situation that could happen. It should be made clear who and what can be affected by the risks such as the employees, customers, machinery or possibly the neighbouring school and other businesses located in the industrial estate . As some areas of the company will be considered higher hazard zones such as those which handle chemicals compared to say the call centre extra care must be taken when going about daily tasks there and the correct personal protective equipment provided. It is also important to note how often the tasks conducted in the area change, when tasks change the risks associated with them also change and employees should be prepared for any fluctuations in risks. The 80 personnel who work in the warehouse where shifts change three times over a 24 hour basis should be made aware of the risks involved when changing over especially as some will take place at night time, and create a system to make these shift changes easier and problem free.

(Figure 1.1)

[pic 3]

Organisation: According to Managing Health and safety HSE  there are four main areas that when used together promote positive health and safety outcomes. These areas are controls within the organisation, co-operation, communication and competence. (Managing health and safety HSE, 2013, page 31)

Controls within the organisation: There should be a hierarchy put in place within the organization in which accountability is managed. Ground staff such as employees in the call centre or the warehouse and the drivers must be able to voice their concerns or report any accidents  to a supervisor, who will then inform higher management about these concerns or accidents, as there is a large amount of employees within the organization it would be wise to appoint a member of staff in each department to be head of supervision. The importance of having a member of staff as a supervisor as a opposed to somebody in top management, is it will give employees a sense of ease when reporting about accidents or concerns rather than feeling they may be disciplined if they were to tell somebody in top management about them. A reward system can be very effective to encourage employees to achieve correct health and safety practice, the more motivated they are the higher the standard of good health and safety practice shown. Even using small rewards such as an enhanced Christmas bonus or staff party when employees have shown their willingness to properly engage in the correct actions in work can results in a major different. On the contrary sanctions should also be implemented when employees show recklessness or carelessness towards their safety and that of others. To help employees be aware of when they are doing well with their health and safety practices or where they may be lacking in the right actions, a performance appraisal system should be used, this can help prevent the wrong actions being taken before they are or to iron out any bad habits that employees may not be aware they do while in the work place, this appraisals can be done once every three months or for new employees after a month.