Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Contents
Introduction, Objectives
Measuring Performance
(1) Inspecting Hazardous Conditions
(2) Investigating Accidents and Incidents
(3) Safety Audit and Safety Review
Periodic Review
Action Plan, Conclusion
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Introduction
Occupational safety and health has recently become an important issue in many countries.
The Hong Kong SAR Government is actively involved in promoting a new strategy, that of
encouraging self-regulation as a means for organisations to manage safety and health in
the workplace. The main objective of self-regulation is for organisations to develop safety
management systems (SMS) that suit their needs, no matter what business they are in.
Moreover, an effective SMS can be used to manage and control both existing and potential
hazards.
Objectives
The effectiveness of a SMS reaches its peak when an organisation is able to combine
occupational safety and health issues into its business strategy. An effective SMS can also
help you to:
. reduce the risks to your employees and other people
. increase the efficiency of your
business operations
. help your organisation
to build a responsible
image
1
The Advantage of Implementing a Safety Management System
Whether as an idea or in full implementation, safety management systems are not new to
Hong Kong. Various local construction enterprises, public utilities and large-scale industrial
undertakings have already put these into place. Some of the government projects which
have already adopted a SMS have much better safety performance records than their
peers. These include:
. Airport Core Project .Housing Authority contracts .Works Bureau contracts
Other large enterprises such as electricity and gas companies, railways, some major
contractors, cargo container companies, hospitals, universities and government
departments have also started to develop their own safety management systems. In the
long run, a SMS which emphasises self-regulation will be more cost-effective in monitoring
and promoting safety and health in your organisation than a traditional system which
depends on law enforcement.
2
Occupational Safety Charter
The occupational safety charter is a document which highlights the
commitment of both employers and employees to create and maintain
a safe and healthy work environment. It spells out your safety goals and
states the responsibilities of various parties within your organisation.
We encourage employers to establish a safety charter and use it as a
basis for building a safety management system.
The occupational safety charter provides guidelines for both employers and employees
and encourages them to promote and implement occupational safety and health. It covers
the following areas:
. Policy . Inspections
The policy defines your commitment to Inspections ensure that you monitor
communicating, implementing any hazardous conditions. Besides
and maintaining inspections you must establish
a safe workplace. procedures to control
potential hazards
in the workplace by
adopting remedial
actions.
. Planning
Planning ensures that you review . Investigations
projects at the design stage so as to By analysing the causes of accidents and
minimise future risks. It also incidents in the workplace, you can
ensures that you have plans draw conclusions and
in place to deal take appropriate
with emergencies actions to avoid
safely and further instances.
effectively.
. Sub-contracting
. Procedures By addressing the responsibilities of
Procedures ensure that your employees
your contractors, you can ensure that
clearly understand
they are both fully aware of and
the in-house safety
capable of meeting
rules and regulations,
their safety
and their obligations.
management
obligations.
3
Integrating Occupational Safety Management into Other Management Functions
British Standard BS8800 is an important guideline for occupational safety management
systems. The standard has adopted two approaches. The first approach is based on the
Successful Health and Safety Management HS(G) 65 published by the British Health and
Safety Executive (HSE). An alternative approach is based on the environmental standard
BS EN ISO 14001. Basically, both are the same. By providing content in the form of guidelines
and recommendations, they suggest how you can integrate occupational safety
management into your other business management functions.
Policy
Audit Organizing
Measuring Performance
Continual Improvement
4
Establishing an Occupational Safety Management Model Suitable for Hong Kong
Organisations who are not truly committed to occupational safety and health (OS&H)
matters do not usually devote adequate resources to establish effective OS&H programmes.
Therefore, the most important step you can take is to establish a safety policy and the
related major elements of a safety management system. Referring to the existing status of
occupational safety and health management systems in Hong Kong, and based on BS8800,
we suggest you apply the occupational safety management model outlined below. It suits
local needs and can be applied to any organisation, whether for reference or for
implementation.
Measuring Safety
Performance Organizing
Planning and
Implementing
5
Initial Status Review
The first step is to review your existing OS&H management system. This initial status review
will provide you with information that will influence your decisions on the scope, adequacy
and implementation of your existing system. It will also give you a baseline for measuring
safety performance. After carrying out an initial status review, you will have a better
appreciation of your existing OS&H
status.
Safety Policy
The safety policy states in clear and unambiguous terms your management's approach
and commitment to safety and health. It documents procedures for communicating,
implementing and maintaining the policy at all levels of your organisation. You should
review the policy periodically and amend it when necessary. Refer to the example Safety
Policy of ABC Department.
6
Organising for Safety
(1) Safety Organisation
Your safety organisation clearly defines the safety and health responsibilities of all
levels of staff to ensure that safety and health commitments are being implemented
within your organisation. It will also help to ensure that sufficient manpower resources
are provided to implement management's commitments and that external assistance
is acquired if necessary. Refer to the examples, Safety Organisation Chart and the
Description of Safety Responsibilities.
General Manager
Marketing and Sales Manager Administrative Manager Project Manager Safety Officer
Safety Organization
8
Planning and Implementing
After you have established a safety policy and safety goals for
your organisation, you must develop a number of programmes in
order to reach your goal. You should outline these programmes
in your safety plan. The content of a safety plan should include
the following:
9
Planning and Implementing
(3) Personal Protection Programme
After considering other control
methods, protective equipment is Examples of Different Types of PPE
the last line of defence. As part
of your personal protection
programme, you should identify
actual or potential exposure to
hazards; select suitable equipment
to prevent or reduce the hazard;
and ensure the proper use of such
equipment. You must also maintain
records, enforce compliance and
regularly monitor personnel to
ensure they abide by the
programme.
10
Planning and Implementing
(5) Programme for Protecting Occupational Health
This programme should include regular monitoring; reducing exposure through
technological and administrative control measures; selecting, providing and
maintaining suitable personal protective equipment and supervising use; pre-
employment and periodic medical examinations of exposed workers; and training
and education of workers.
11
Planning and Implementing
(6) Programme for Controlling Accidents and Eliminating Hazards
This programme's goal is controlling accidents and eliminating hazards before workers
are exposed to any adverse work environment. It includes setting policy for reviewing
engineering projects at the conception and design stages, setting parameters for
processes and materials to take account of any changes, and developing a regular
monitoring mechanism.
12
Measuring Performance
After implementing your safety plan, you should use the following methods to measure
your current safety and health performance to check whether your objectives have been
met.
13
Measuring Performance
(3) Safety Audit and Safety Review
Periodically you must conduct a safety audit of your safety management system to deter-
mine whether it is meeting the objectives of your safety plan. Your safety audit should be
both systematic and documented and the results should be reviewed by the management
level.
14
Periodic Review
To ensure your occupational safety management system is effective and in operation
throughout your organisation, senior management should conduct a periodic review. The
scope should include:
. Overall performance of the safety management system
. Performance of individual elements of the safety management system
. Results and recommendations of the safety audit or safety review
. Internal and external factors such as changes of legislation, organisation and technology
(refer to table of Internal and External Environmental Factors)
. Established action plan
Periodic Review
Performance measurement and
improvement
Internal External
factor factors
Change in
safety policy
15
Action Plan
Establish an action plan for your organisation to define the rights and responsibilities of
your staff when carrying out improvement measures. Your action plan should also set
deadlines for completing improvement measures and prevention work, etc. Refer to the
example Action Plan Form.
Conclusion
Within the framework of a safety management
system, you can establish safety policy and
measures which suit your specific working
environment. Encourage both management
a n d n o n - m a n a g e m e n t s t a ff t o p a r t i c i p a t e
frequently in safety management activities.
Frequent participation will enhance the
occupational safety and health awareness of
all employees and remind them to follow safety
regulations. In the long run, your safety
management system will play an important role
in reducing your accident rate.
16
Initial Occupational Safety and Health Status Review
During our day-to-day work, we should make every effort to minimise accidents and risks in the
workplace. To this end, adding safety and health elements to our management system is essential.
Nevertheless, it is important to know what your initial safety and health status is before enhancing
it. The following is a safety and health programme check which will help you to assess the
performance of your organisation in various aspects of safety and health.
Simply answer each of the questions by placing a check mark in the appropriate box. Assign
yourself 1 point for 'Yes', 1/2 point for 'Partly', and 0 points for 'No'. When you have completed all
of the questions use the scale at the bottom of the check-list to determine the level of your safety
programme.
Name of Organisation :
Workplace :
Total: Score :
Total: Score :
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Initial Occupational Safety and Health Status Review
Total: Score :
Total: Score :
Total: Score :
18
Initial Occupational Safety and Health Status Review
Total: Score :
Total: Score :
Total: Score :
19
Initial Occupational Safety and Health Status Review
Total: Score :
Total: Score :
Total: Score :
20
Initial Occupational Safety and Health Status Review
Total: Score :
Total: Score :
21
Initial Occupational Safety and Health Status Review
Total: Score :
Total: Score :
Total Score :
Only part of the safety management system meets the initial requirement. It
50 - 63 still needs improvement.
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Copyright 2000 by Occupational Safety & Health Council 3/2000 (01)