Element 3.2 (Improving Health and Safety Culture)
Management Commitment and Leadership
- Senior management set policy.
- They also set priorities and targets.
- They must inspire and motivate.
- Their leadership cascades through the organisation.
- Visible leadership:
- Behaving safely.
- Involvement in, e.g., safety meetings.
- Doing safety tours and audits.
- Promoting changes to improve safety.
- Enforcing rules through use of discipline.
Competent Workers
A competent person is someone who has sufficient:
- Training,
- Skills,
- Experience, and
- Knowledge,
and perhaps other attributes such as attitude or physical ability to be able to carry out their job safely.
Group Exercise
Identify a few examples of workplace communication from the following categories:
- Verbal communication.
- Written communication.
- Graphic communication.
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Verbal Communication
Benefits:
- Personal.
- Quick.
- Direct.
- Check understanding.
- Feedback.
- Share views.
- Additional information (body language).
Limitations:
- Language barrier.
- Jargon.
- Strong accent/dialect.
- Background noise.
- Poor hearing.
- Ambiguity.
- Missing information.
- Forgetting information.
- No record.
- Poor quality (telephone or PA).
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Written Communication
Benefits:
- Permanent record.
- Reference.
- Can be written carefully for clarity.
- Wide distribution relatively cheaply.
Limitations:
- Indirect.
- Time.
- Jargon/abbreviations.
- Impersonal.
- Ambiguous.
- May not be read.
- Language barriers.
- Recipient may not be able to read.
- No immediate feedback.
- Cannot question.
- Impaired vision.
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Graphic Communication
Benefits:
- Eye-catching.
- Visual.
- Quick to interpret.
- No language barrier.
- Jargon-free.
- Conveys a message to a wide audience.
Limitations:
- Simple messages.
- Expensive.
- May not be looked at.
- Symbols or pictograms may be unknown.
- Feedback.
- No questions.
- Impaired vision.
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Broadcasting Methods
- Noticeboards.
- Posters and videos.
- Digital media.
- Toolbox talks.
- Memos and e-mails.
- Worker handbooks.
Group Exercise
What are the merits and limitations of using safety posters as a form of propaganda?
Just For Recording
Benefits:
- Eye-catching.
- Visual.
- Quick to interpret.
- No language barrier.
- Jargon-free.
- Conveys a message to a wide audience.
Limitations:
- Simple messages.
- Expensive.
- May not be looked at.
- Symbols or pictograms may be unknown.
- Feedback.
- No questions.
- Impaired vision.
Co-operation and Consultation
What is the difference between consulting and informing workers?
Consulting:
Two-way exchange of information and opinion between the employer and employee.
Informing:
One-way flow of information to the employee.
Typical Issues to Consult On
- Introduction of new measures affecting health and safety.
- Appointment of new advisers.
- Health and safety training plans.
- Introduction of new technology.
Methods of Consultation
Direct consultation:
- Employer talks to each worker and resolves issues.
Through worker representatives:
- Committee is formed to represent workers.
- Regular meetings to discuss and resolve issues.
- Members may have rights in law.
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Group Exercise
What makes an effective committee?
Health and Safety Committee/Forum
Effective committees will depend on:
- Who is on the committee.
- How often the committee meets.
- Who will act as chairperson.
- What authority the committee will have.
- What will be discussed.
- How the discussions will be recorded.
- How issues will be followed up.
Health and Safety Committee/Forum
Issues that may be considered:
- Study of accident and disease statistics.
- Review of reports from active monitoring.
- Examination of safety audit reports.
- Consideration of reports and information from HSE.
- Consideration of reports submitted by safety reps.
- Provide assistance in development of procedures and policy.
- Monitor the effectiveness of training.
- Monitor and improve safety communications.
Training
H&S training is the planned, formal process of acquiring and practising knowledge and skills in a relatively safe environment.
Training has a dramatic effect on safety-related behaviour.
Without training, workers try to do their jobs by:
- Copying others.
- Doing the job, the way they think is best.
Training
Training helps workers to understand:
- Hazards and risks.
- Rules and precautions.
- Emergency procedures.
- Who to contact with concerns.
- Limitations and restrictions.
- Personal safety responsibilities.
- Consequences of breaking rules including disciplinary procedures.
Training Opportunities
- Induction training – New employees
- Job change – New hazards following a change in job
- Process change – New hazards associated with new ways of working
- New technology – New hazards associated with plant and machinery
- New legislation – Implications of new legislation
Induction Training
- Health and safety policy.
- Emergency procedures.
- First aid.
- Specific site hazards and controls.
- Welfare facilities.
- Safe movement.
- Accident and incident reporting.
- Consultation arrangements.
- Safety rules.
- Personal protective equipment.
- Safe working and permits.
- Risk assessment.
- Responsibilities of individuals.
- Disciplinary procedures.