Q2: Three main reasons why an organization has to manage health &
safety.
Moral
Relates to the moral duty that one person has to another. This is
morally unacceptable that people are killed, injured or made sick
by their work.
Legal
Relates to the framework of laws, an employer has a duty to
provide a safe place of work, safe plant & equipment, safe
system of work, adequate training & supervision, and competent
employees.
Economic
Relates to the fact that accidents and ill health cost money.
When an accident occurs there will be direct & indirect costs
associated with that event.
Q3: Why might the management of an organisation not consider
health and safety to be a priority?
Competes with other business aims:
Requires time and resources.
Seen as a “cost” to business:
Q9: What are the key elements of the ILO-OSH health and safety
management system?
Policy:
• Clear statement of commitment to health and safety.
Organising:
• Roles and responsibilities for health and safety.
• At all levels in the organisation.
Planning and implementing:
• Detailed arrangements to manage H&S.
• Risk assessments!
Evaluation:
• Methods to monitor and review the effectiveness of the
arrangements.
Action for improvement:
• Steps to correct issues found in the review.
Audit:
• Independent, critical and systematic review of the
management system.
Q10: Why might the health and safety policy of two organisations be
different?
Why isn’t there a prescribed, “one size fits all” approach to
developing a policy?
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There is no one correct format or set of contents for a health & safety
policy. The hazards & risks, the size, & the complexity of the
organization may be different. For example the safety policy of a
small, low risk manufacturing company may be different from that of
a large, high risk oil & gas multinational.
b)Definition of perception: the way that people see the world or the
way that people interpret information that they take in through their
senses including sight, smell, hearing etc
c) Suggest reasons why two people may perceive hazards differently?
Sensory impairment/disability, senses impaired by PPE or
background noise, etc, illness, stress, fatigue, drugs/alcohol, previous
experience, training and education.
d) Ways of improving worker perception of hazards?
Use surveys or discussions groups
Safety awareness campaigns, toolbox talks
Training programmes
Highlighting hazards, e.g. use safety signs
Adequate lighting
Removing distractions such as noise
To Prevent:
Death and personal injury.
Other types of loss incident.
Breaches of statute law, which might lead to enforcement action
and/or prosecution.
The direct and indirect costs that follow on from accidents.
Significant changes to
Process, substances, equipment, workplace environment,
personnel, legal standard.
Reason to suspect that the assessment is not valid
Accident, near miss, ill health
Lack of experience
Physical & mental immaturity
Poor perception of risk
Peer group pressure
Eager to show a willingness to work
Less developed communication skill
Hazardous chemical
Biological agents
Manual handling
Extreme temperature
Whole body vibration
Ionising radiation
Night shift work
Stress, violence
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Q22: General hierarchy of control?
Elimination.
Substitution.
Engineering controls:
Isolation, total enclosure.
Separation, segregation.
Partial enclosure.
Safety devices.
Administrative controls:
Safe systems of work.
Reduced exposure.
Reduced time of exposure, dose.
Information, instruction, training and supervision.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Issue
Description of the work to be carried out (details of plant and
location)
Assessment of hazards associated with the job
Controls required including
Additional permits
Isolation of services and supplies
PPE
Atmospheric monitoring, etc
Emergency procedures
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Receipt
Signature of the authorised person issuing the permit
Signature of the competent person accepting the permit (known as
“signing onto the permit” or “receipt”)
Clearance
Signature of the competent person stating that the area had been made
safe (e.g. work completed) and that they were leaving the area and
isolations could be removed (known as “sign off” from the permit or
“clearance”)
Cancellation
Signature of the authorised person stating that the isolations had been
removed, the area had been accepted back and that the equipment can
be restarted (known as “cancellation” of the permit.).
Extension – may be a section allowing extension of permit.
Statutory requirement
The activities carried out & level of risk
Risk assessment may suggest inspection
Manufactures may make recommendations
Presence of vulnerable workers
Finding from previous inspections
Accident history and result of investigations
Enforcement authorities may recommend inspection
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Whether workers have voiced concerns
Type of inspection.
Frequency of inspection.
Allocation of responsibilities.
Competence of the inspector.
Objectivity of inspector.
Use of checklists.
Action planning for problems found.
Training for inspectors.
gather information
analyse information
identify controls
plan remedial actions