Policy and Management Procedure on the Health and Safety

							Safety, Health & Welfare
at Work - Overview

             Reality check
             Why bother?

         Provisions of the law

              The H.S.A

   Managing safety, health & welfare
 ZOE Developments
Safety record – shocking heedlessness

1990   –   worker crushed to death
1994   –   worker seriously injured
1995   –   two seriously injured
1996   –   Worker falls & dies
1997   –   James Masterson dies
   High Court Judge
You are entitled to make money on the
 sweat of your workforce but you are
 not entitled to make money on their
 blood & lives.

- Health & Safety plan agreed.
- £100,000 to charity.
- 12 previous convictions for breach of
  regulations.
  H.S.A Annual Report 1998
The aim of the law is to provide a
framework to make work safe.

Health should not be affected by work.

At the end of a working day a person
should be able to enjoy a full, active,
social and family life.
Maximum fine:
• 1,500 District Court
• Unlimited in Circuit/High Court
Jail:
• Maximum 2yrs Circuit/High Court

    No employer has ever been jailed
 Safety at Work

Important in terms of..
• Human Cost

• Financial Cost

• Legal Obligations
   Human Cost
Every year people are injured, become ill, or
  are killed as a result of their work.
        Muscular-skeletal problems
           Respiratory disease
                Dermatitis
               Hearing loss

            Many go unreported
            Many un-measurable
Financial Cost:
            WIDER COSTS
                Down time
    Business recovery/interruption costs
       Property damage & clean-up
        Lost business opportunities
             Repair & recovery
           Increased insurance
             Legal proceedings
            Staff dissatisfaction
               P.R. damage
  U.K. estimate 5-10% gross profits
   Safety, Health & Welfare
   at Work Act, 1989
- First attempt to codify law on H&S in
  >25 years
- Covers all types of workers &
  employment
- Established NAOSH (H.S.A)
- Introduces employee representation &
  consultation
- Emphasises proactive policy making
- Changes emphasis punitive to
  facilitative
- Broadens scope from safety to
  occupational health & welfare
     Duties Imposed:
1.   To ensure the health, safety & welfare at
     work of all staff
2.   To ensure that those not in their
     employment are not exposed to risks
3.   To prepare a safety statement
4.   To consult employees
5.   To take account of employees views
    Health & Safety Consultation
Act doesn‟t dictate mechanism
Agreed between employer & workers.

Eg. Joint Safety Committees
    Partnership Process
     Employer Obligations
•    Design & maintain safe place of work
•    Provide safe means of access & egress
•    Provide & maintain safe plant & equipment
•    Provide necessary; information, instruction,
    training & supervision
More Obligations
• Provide & maintain protective clothing
  & equipment
• Prepare adequate emergency plans
• Prevent risks in relation to use of
  substances
• Provide welfare facilities
  Employee obligations
- Take reasonable care
- Co-operate with employer
- Use P.P.E.
- Report potential risks
 Health & Safety Authority
1989 Act        framework
Supplemented by regulations & codes of
practice from HSA

HSA responsible for:
                 - Enforcing
                  - Advising
                - Promoting
                 - Research
H.S.A Staff Are Responsible For;

    promoting good standards of health and
    safety at work

    inspecting all places of work and ensuring
    compliance with the law

    investigating accidents and causes of ill health

    carrying out and sponsor research

    publishing guidance notes and advice

    providing an information service

    developing new laws and standards.
Enforcement Measures
            •  Prosecution
                   
             • Prohibition

                   
        • Improvement Notices

                   
  •   Improvement direction & plans
      Safety Statement
•   Specify how health, safety & welfare will be
    secured
•   Based on identification of hazards &
    assessment of risks
•   Include arrangements & resources
•   Specify co-operation required from
    employees
•   Name people responsible
Safety Representatives
 Elected by peers a safety representative
        may consult with, and make
    representations to, the employer on
      Safety, Health & Welfare matters
  relating to the employees in their place
                   of work.
     Safety Representative
   Make representations to employers
   Investigate accidents/dangerous
    occurrences
   Liase with inspectors
   Carry out inspections
   Investigate potential hazards
   Have paid time off for training & duties
   Do you have a problem?
- Stats re. frequency & severity of accidents
- Reporting of all accidents & “near-misses”
- Legal requirement:

Must notify H.S.A of all reportable accidents
i.e. 3/> days absence or dangerous
  occurrences
FREQUENCY:

          Number of accidents
       Average number employees
               (per year)


SEVERITY:
             Work days lost
       Average number employees
               (per year)
 Safety Inspections
• Safety Tour
• Safety Sampling
 -specific dangerous activities, areas or
 processes
• Safety Surveys
  -general inspection of specific dangerous
 activities, areas or processes
  Risk Assessment
STEP 1   Identify hazards
STEP 2   Decide who might be harmed & how
STEP 3   Evaluate risks & produce control
         measures
STEP 4   Record your findings
STEP 5   Review your assessment
           THE PREVENTION
     of accidents & ill health by using
A 5 STEP RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS
                     and
            CONSULTATION
               to prepare a
          SAFETY STATEMENT
           which details how to
ENSURE HEALTH & SAFETY AT WORK
                 utilising a
    SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Safety Management System
                Policy

            Organisation

     Planning & Implementation
        (Audit, audit, audit…..)


      Measuring Performance

      Reviewing Performance
Enforcement Measures Used
                           2002
Court Orders               4
Prosecutions (initiated)   95
Prohibition Notices        684
Improvement Notices        944
Improvement direction      16
    & plans
(Inspections               12,896)
     H.S.A Annual Reports
Number accidents reported:
1995         4,988(78 fatalities)
2002         7,746(61 fatalities)
1,441,000 days lost in 2002
1.  Injured while handling, lifting or carrying
2.  Slips, trips or falls
3.  Injured by hand tools

Considerable under – reporting
Safety Statements
2000 – 49% of companies visited had one
Only half of these adequate
Only one third of companies had
  adequate Safety Statements.

2002 – 62% had safety statement
Safety Representatives
2000 - 17% of companies visited had a
  Safety Representative
2002 – 22%
Health & Safety Matters
(Jan 2004)
   „H.S.A. Targets Farm Safety With
    National €250k Awareness Campaign‟
   DPP v AIBP Limited T/A Munster
    Proteins
   NAOSH v Timothy Joseph O Donovan
   „New Safety Plan Launched For
    Construction‟