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WhyhealthandsafetyisimportantRoSPA

TheRoyalSocietyforthePreventionofAccidents

Health&SafetyAdvicePackforSmallerFirms
Sheet1:Whyhealthandsafetyisimportant
HazardsatWork
Whateversortofbusinessyouare,thereisalwaysthepossibilityofanaccidentordamageto
someone'shealth.Allworkexposespeopletohazards,bethey:loadswhichhavetobemanually
handleddangerousmachinerytoxicsubstanceselectricityworkingwithdisplayscreenequipment
orevenpsychologicalhazardssuchasstress.
TheCostofSafetyFailure
Thereasontherearenotevenmoreaccidentsanddiseasescausedbyworkisbecausesystemsof
preventionareinplacewhichhavebeenbuiltupovergenerations.Safetydoesnotcomeaboutby
accident:mostaccidentshappenbecausetheyhavenotbeenprevented.Yetdespiteallthe
precautionsthataretakenintheUK,therearestillover640,0001workplaceinjurieseveryyearas
wellas1.8million2casesofillhealthcausedormademorebywork.
In2011/1227millionworkingdayswerelostduetoworkrelatedillnessandworkplaceinjury.1
Evensmallbusinesseshaveaccidents.Accidentratesinsmallbusinessescanbehigherthaninlarge
operations(forinstancethefatalityrateinSMEmanufacturersistwicethatoflargeones.3
UnderlyingPrinciples
Attentiontohealthandsafetyisnotjustaboutbeingsociallyresponsible.Italsomakesgoodbusiness
senseandyoushouldregarditasjustasimportantastheachievementofanyotherkeybusiness
objective.
Ofcourse,workingoutwhatmodernhealthandsafetylawmeansforyourbusinesscanbequitea
headache.Butdon'tbeputoff.Yes,onthefaceofittheredoseemtobealotofregulationsandthere
isalotofsupportingguidance,buttheunderlyingprinciplesarereallyquitestraightforward.
Essentiallyyouhavetoensureabsenceofrisktosafetyandhealthofemployeesandothers'sofaras
isreasonablypracticable'.
SysteminplacetoManageHealth&Safety
Youhavetohaveasystem(e.g.haveapolicy,designatepeopleandhaveclearprocedures)in
placetomanagehealthandsafety(and,ifyouemploymorethanfivepeople,setthisoutina
writtenhealthandsafetypolicystatement).Youneedtobeabletoshowhowyouplan,organise,
control,monitorandreviewpreventativemeasures.Andyouneedtoappointacompetent
person(s)tohelpyoucomplywithyourlegalobligations.

Identifyhazards
Youhavetoidentifyyourmainhazards(thingsthatcouldcauseharm).
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AssessRisk
Youhavetoassessyourrisks(theprobabilitythatsignificantharmwilloccur)andagain,ifyou
employmorethanfive,recordtheresultsofyourassessment.
Riskassessmentisthekeytoworkingoutwhatneedstobedonebutdon'tmakeitover
complicated.Remember,althoughyouhavetodoitbylaw,itisreallyonlyanyuseifitcanbe
usedasaworkingtooltohelpyouprovetoyourselfandyouremployeesthatyouhave
identifiedthemainthingsinyourbusinesswhichcouldcauseharmandthatyouaredoing
everythingyoushouldtopreventthatharmfromhappening.

RiskControlMeasures
Youhavetomakesurethatyourriskcontrolmeasuresareadequateandthattheyareusedand
maintainedandthattheycontinuetowork.(Youalsohavetoputinplaceanybackupmeasures
thatmaybeneededlikehealthsurveillanceoremergencyprocedures).Andyouhavetoinform,
trainandsuperviseemployees.
Forthemostpartthelawsetsoutcertainhealthandsafetygoalstobeachievedandindicates
appropriate'benchmarks'tohelpyouworkoutwhetheryourcontrolsareupto'reasonably
practicable'standards.Thereisanunderlyingrequirementtoreduceoreliminatehazardsat
source,orisolatepeoplefromthem(forexample,byguardingmachinery)beforeusingother
formsofcontrol.Relyingontheuseofpersonalprotectiveequipmentlikerespiratorsor
protectivefootwearisalastresortandisonlyacceptablewhenallotheroptionshavefailed.

Youalsohaveto:
reportandrecordaccidents
providecertainbasicworkplace,firstaidandwelfarefacilities
haveemployers'liabilityinsurance
notifytheHealthandSafetyExecutive(HSE)andtheLocalAuthorityofyourexistence
consultyourworkforceandtheirrepresentativesandsoon.
RiskControlMeasures
Forthemostpartthelawsetsoutcertainhealthandsafetygoalstobeachievedandindicates
appropriate'benchmarks'tohelpyouworkoutwhetheryourcontrolsareupto'reasonablypracticable'
standards.Thereisanunderlyingrequirementtoreduceoreliminatehazardsatsource,orisolate
peoplefromthem(forexample,byguardingmachinery)beforeusingotherformsofcontrol.Relying
ontheuseofpersonalprotectiveequipmentlikerespiratorsorprotectivefootwearisalastresort
andisonlyacceptablewhenallotheroptionshavefailed.
GettingStarted
Ifallthisisnewtoyou,wheredoyoustart?
Well,firstofall,youneedtogetagoodoverviewofthesubject.Startwithsomebasicreadingsuchas
freeHSEleaflets(http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/leaflets.htm)ordownloadafreecopyofHSE's
'EssentialsofHealthandSafetyatWork'(http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/essentials.pdf).Youcan
visittheHSEwebsite"HealthandsafetymadesimpleThebasicsforyourbusiness"whichisfor
employersandthosewhowantsomebasicinformationonwhattheymustdotomakesuretheir
businessescomplywithhealthandsafetylaw.
ContactRoSPA(Tel+44(0)1212482233)andconsidergoingonabasictrainingcourse.RoSPAcan
alsohelpwithits'HealthandSafetyReview'servicesforsmallerbusinesseswhichcanprovidea
comprehensivediagnosisofstrengthsandweaknessesinyourmanagementofhealthandsafety
(moreinformationonSheet9).
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YoumightalsoconsiderbecomingamemberofRoSPAorjoiningalocalRoSPAaffiliatedhealthand
safetygroup(seeSheet10).
'WhereAreYouNow?'
Armedwiththeknowledgeyouhavegained,trytoanswerthefollowingquestions:"Whenitcomesto
healthandsafety,wherearewenowasacompany?"and"Wheredowewanttobethistimenext
year?"
Startbylookingatyourfirm'shealthandsafetypolicystatement.Itshouldbethebasisofyour
firm'shealthandsafetyactionplan.
Askyourselfwhetheryouhaveaneffectivehealthandsafetymanagementsysteminplacein
otherwords,aplannedwayoftacklingproblems.
Haveyougotclearpoliciesandobjectivesforhealthandsafety?
Haveyouorganisedkeypeopletoachievethem?
Whattrainingdotheyneed?
Haveyouappointedacompetentpersontohelpyoucomplywithyourduties?
Haveyouidentifiedyourmainhazardsandassessedtherisksinvolved?
Haveyouselectedtherightcontrolmeasurestotacklethesemainrisks
Aretheyadequateordoyouneedtodomore?
Aretheyactuallybeingappliedinpractice?
Areyoumonitoringprogressforexample,byinspectingtheworkplaceregularlyorinvestigating
accidentsand'nearmisses'tolearnfromyourmistakes?
Haveyousetadatetoreviewyourhealthandsafetyperformanceagainstyourplans?
WorkingTogether
Althoughifyouarethepersoninoverallcontrolofyourbusiness,'thebuckstopswithyou',you
cannotachieveasafeandhealthyworkingenvironmentonyourown.Ithastobeateameffortand
youneedtoconsultyouremployeesand,whereappointed,theirsafetyrepresentatives.Youneedto
getproperhealthandsafetycoordinationgoingwithotherbusinesseswithwhichyoucomeinto
contactsuchasclients,customers,suppliersorcontractors.Youneedtobuildownershipand
commitmenttosafetythroughoutyourworkforce.
Don'tDelayGetStartedToday!
Aboveall,youneedtorememberthatbesidesprotectingpeopleandtheenvironment,actionon
healthandsafetycanalsomakeamajorcontributiontobusinesssuccess.Notonlywillithelpstop
accidentsandworkrelatedillhealthamongyourstaff,butitwillreduceyouraccidentlosses,improve
yourprofitandlossstatementandhelpyoubecomemoreefficient.Don'tthinkaccidentsand
occupationalillhealthcan'thappeninyourcompany.Abovealldon'twaitforthingstogowrongand
thengoforthe'quickfix'.Buildhealthandsafetyinfromthestart.Don'tdelaymaketimeandspace
togetstartedtoday!

References
1.AtaglanceguidetoHealthandSafetyStatistics2012/13,HSE
(http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/ataglance.pdf)
2.HealthandSafetyExecutiveAnnualStatisticsReport2012/13
http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/overall/hssh1213.pdf
3.MakinganimpactonSMEcompliancebehaviour:Anevaluationoftheeffectofinterventions
uponcompliancewithhealthandsafetylegislationinSMEs,PreparedbyKingsCollegeLondon
forthe
HealthandSafetyExecutive2005http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr366.pdf
RoSPAcannotbeheldresponsiblefortheaccuracyorcompletenessofanypagesonlinkedwebsites.
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