Module 00

Introduction

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Module 01
Why Manage Health & Safety

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Why Manage Health & Safety?

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Costs (Financial Loss)

Humanitarian and Moral reasons

To Avoid Prosecution

Reason 1 - Cost

Workplace accidents cost between

23% of GDP (about the same as the
cost of all
of defence)
30 Million days lost each year
Cost of failure is not easy to
includes:

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calculate, but

accident investigation, replacement

labour,
loss of reputation, compensation, insurance.

The Costs of Accidents at Work

HS(G)96

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HSE APAU - studied and costed in

depth accidents and incidents at 5
selected organisations
they came up with surprising findings
Losses as high as 37% of profits,
8.5% of the tender price, 5% of
running costs

Employers Liability Insurance

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Insurance is
expensive

Claims have increased at

about twice the rate of
premium increases

8 - 36

Limited liability which

may be linked to performance

Compulsory in most
cases

increasingly

Employers Liability Insurance

Insurers now selective

No longer how much to insure, but can we insure

?
Only well managed risks will obtain cover

Litigious climate
escalating claim cost, 12% p.a. last 5 years

Increased claims frequency

Increased awareness and ease of access

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Example of cost - Stress

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In November 1994 the High Court found

Northumberland County Council liable for
psychiatric damage Walker suffered as
a result of work related stress.

Walker settled for 175,000 (less

asked for).

than

Existing legal principles apply to psychiatric

as well as the physical health of employees.

Influence of Trades Unions

UNISON helped members claim more

than 6.5 million pounds in
compensation during the three month period January to March 1997.
185,000 awarded to a charge nurse who injured

his back lifting a 17 stone patient.

100,000 awarded to an auxiliary nurse who was

left unable to iron, hold a phone or write in comfort

and was a chronic insomniac for two years.

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500m bill for miners vibration

white finger injuries

In August 1998 three Court of Appeal Judges

dismissed an appeal by British Coal, 20,000
cases are currently pending.

British Coal should have known about the

problems by 1st January 1973 and should have
taken preventative action within two years.
Current awards range from 50,546 to 5465

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The Safety and Health Practitioner March 1999

Costs - Fines

Heathrow tunnel collapse

Following the collapse of a section of the Heathrow
Express rail link on 21 October 1994

Balfour Beatty - fined 700,000 + 100,000 costs

tunnelling sub-contractor - 500,000 +100,000 costs

consultant continually ignored warning signs preceding the

collapse and it was alleged the self monitoring system between
the parties involved was flawed - during the hearing they were
described as the watchdogs who failed to bark.

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Reason 2 - Humanitarian

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2000/01 Total fatalities to members

of the public = 447

New cases reported in 1996/97

Reason 2 - Humanitarian

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Professor Julian Peto.

The Safety and Health Practitioner March 1999

250,000 asbestos deaths

Over the next 25 years 250,000 employees
are expected to die following asbestos
exposure.

The peak is expected around 2018 - 2020

with 9000 per year compared to 5000 in 1998.
1 in 150 of all men born between 1945 and
will die of mesothelioma.
The risk for those born after 1955 is not yet

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1950
known.

Reason 3 - Law

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The Director and Production

Manager of Calder Felts Ltd, a
major textile company in
Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire
were sent to prison for
eight months.
A 21 Year old employee lost
an
arm during a machinery
cleaning operation & the
men
ignored a prohibition
notice
served by the HSE.
The Company was also fined.

Director Imprisoned.

In 1997 Company director James Hodgson of

Jackson Transport (Ossett) Ltd, was been
imprisoned for 12 months and fined 1500 for
the
manslaughter of a 21 year old employee,
who
was sprayed in the face with toxic
chemicals.

Hodgsons conviction was in addition to a

conviction for corporate manslaughter which resulted
in his company being fined 22,000.

April 1997 HSIB

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The capsize of the Herald of Free

Enterprise

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"All concerned in
management, from the
members of the Board of
Directors down to the
junior superintendents,
were guilty of fault

From the top to the bottom

the body corporate was
infected with the disease
of sloppiness."

What Law Enforcers Look For

Managers who manage.

Effective communication and consultation.

Evidence of monitoring and continuous

improvement.

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Records of effective risk assessment.

Plans, strategies and robust management
systems for dealing with
risk.
Well organised employees who know
responsibilities.

their

Plan - Do - Check - Act

P

D
Step 1
Establish standards
for health & safetyl
management based
on risk assessment
and legal
requirements
Step 4
Review against
objectives and
standards and take
appropriate action

A
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Step 2
Implement plans to
achieve objectives
and standards

Step 3
Measure progress
with plans and
compliance with
standards

HS(G)65
POLICY

ORGANISING

AUDIT AND
REVIEW

REVIEWING
PERFORMANCE

CONTROL LINK
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Organisational
development

PLANNING &
IMPLEMENTING

MEASURING
PERFORMANCE

Information link

Policy
development

Developing
techniques of
planning, measuring
and reviewing

Feedback loop to
improve performance

Policy
Sets the Organisation & Arrangements for
identifying hazards, assessing risks &
preventing or controlling them.

Are staff aware, do they understand it?

Does it indicate to Directors and Managers

to assess risks and allocate resources?

Is it a working document?

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Is it compatible with the overall Company policy?

Is responsibility delegated to competent
individuals?
how

Organising
Control.
Directors and Managers must accept and demonstrate a

commitment to the management of Health and Safety.

Co-operation.
Consultation demonstrates commitment which leads to co-

operation.

Communication.
Needs to flow in all directions.

Competency.
needs to exist for recruitment, transfer & training.

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Planning and Implementing

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Generate SMART objectives.

Identify hazards, assess risks and set
standards.

performance

Establish priorities according to risk.

Plans for non routine, new work and serious

risks.

Monitoring arrangements to ensure

standards are met.

Implement plans based on suitable

Assessment

and sufficient Risk

Monitoring

Directors and Managers may not be aware

work practices occurring within their
Departments.

Monitoring needs to be both Proactive and

Reactive.

HSE Recommend that monitoring systems

introduced in each Department.

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of

be

Audit and Review

Assessment against health and safety

performance standards including law
and company procedures.

Assessment against specific SMART

Identification of areas where standards
are poor or inadequate.

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Analysis of incident, accident and ill health data.

Formal review against performance to allocate
resources and implement further changes

objectives.