Monitoring
Health and Safety
Monitoring and reporting are vital
parts of a health and safety culture.
Effective management systems provide both specific (eg incident-led) and
routine reports on the performance of a Company’s Health and Safety Policy.
If your Company holds a formal review
of performance in Health and Safety, much of the day-to-day health and safety
information can be reported at this time.
However, a strong system of monitoring can ensure that a successful
formal review of Policy can take place, and that incidents and events can be
picked up in the period between formal reviews.
Core
Actions
To ensure that:-
·
Appropriate attention is given to
reporting both preventative information, such as progress of training and
maintenance programmes, and incident data such as accident and sickness absence
rates;
·
Periodic audits of the effectiveness
of management structures and risk controls for health and safety are carried
out;
·
The impact of any changes, such as
the introduction of new procedures, work processes or products, or any major
health and safety failure, is reported as soon as possible;
·
There are procedures in place to
implement new and changed legal requirements and to consider any other external
developments and events.
Good
Practice
·
Effective monitoring of sickness
absence and workplace health can alert management to any underlying problems
that could seriously damage performance or result in accidents and long-term
illness;
·
The collection of workplace health
and safety data can allow management to benchmark the Company’s performance
against others in the same business sector;
·
Appraisals of senior managers can
include an assessment of their contribution to health and safety performance;
·
Management can receive regular
reports on the health and safety performance and actions of contractors;
·
Involving the workforce in monitoring
can result in greater support for health and safety for the Company.
There can be other benefits to carry
out regular monitoring and reviews, for example a Company may see a reduction
in absence from work as a result of sickness or injury, which in turn, may lead
to a reduction in insurance premiums.
Any monitoring, reporting, reviews or
audits should be seen as a positive management tool which enables a Company to
progress and improve their working practices.
HSE prosecution round up:
Company fined after the death of worker
A North East based contractor Pyeroy Ltd has been fined due to
failings in their work at height rescue planning.
Plymouth Magistrates Court heard that on 21 October 2013 Mr
Keith Stevens, aged 57, was helping to dismantle temporary roofing at Devonport
Naval Base using a mobile elevated work platform (MEWP). His colleagues found
him trapped between a roof beam and the controls of the MEWP. There was a delay
in Mr Stevens being lowered to ground. Mr Stevens died of a pre-existing
heart condition.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found
that Pyeroy had not properly planned the work on a MEWP in restricted overhead
areas. It was also found that other Pyeroy employees had not received suitable
training in the emergency lowering procedure of the elevated platforms and no
practice drills had been carried out.
Pyeroy Ltd of St Omers Road, Western Riverside Route, Gateshead,
has pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 (1) of the Work at Height
Regulations 2005. The company has been fined £130,000 and ordered to pay costs
of £14,388.36.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Helena Allum said:
“If Pyeroy had trained other employees to use the mobile
elevated work platform in emergency situations, Mr Stevens would have been lowered
to the ground more swiftly.
This case highlights the need for duty holders to properly plan
all work at height beforehand, including emergency planning and rescue
situations.”
Company fined after
uncontrolled fire
Vertellus Specialties UK Limited has today been fined after an
uncontrolled fire at the company’s Seal Sands premises in Middlesbrough.
Teesside Crown Court heard the large fire occurred at the
premises in the early hours of 14 May 2014. The fire involved large quantities
of dangerous substances including Vitride, which led to this fire being
declared a major incident. The Vitride was in drums and each one burst open
causing a large fireball.
No one was injured as a result of this fire, but police declared
a major emergency and the road was closed for several hours.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE),
Environment Agency (EA) and Cleveland Fire Brigade (CFB) found that Vertellus
failed to adequately maintain its equipment; and failed to ensure the equipment
was suitable to control temperature or prevent ignition to an uncontrolled
release.
Vertellus Specialties UK Limited of St Anns Wharf, Newcastle
upon Tyne, has pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4 of the Control of Major
Accident Hazards Regulations 1999.
The company has been fined £135,000 and ordered to pay costs of
£37,653.12.
Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Stephen Britton said:
“Luckily no one was injured as a result of this uncontrolled
fire. Duty holders, particularly those
who could be subject to a major incident, need to carry out robust planning to
prevent and control major accidents. All engineering disciplines should be
used, using outside assistance if needed. Here, there was a failure to
recognise how a leak could develop into a larger problem.”
