Health and Safety Consultants

When with old pals I tend to get plenty of stick regarding what I do for a living – i.e. managing a health and safety consultancy.  There’s always someone mockingly asking me if it’s safe to do this or that and I frequently get reminded about some ludicrous story that has appeared in the press during the week.

Earlier this month David Cameron was on television with a major speech about the plethora of bureaucratic nonsense associated with health and safety which is holding back society at large.  This was followed by a feature on Newsnight where Jeremy Paxman was goading John Holden, President of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health into some sort of conflict with Professor Frank Furedi from Kent University who was supposed to be ‘anti’ health and safety.  Curiously enough, the two supposedly opposing factions agreed that we need a sensible approach to managing risk and organisations should concentrate on minimising serious risks. 

The whole debate really does divide the general public between those that mock the subject of health and safety and industry bosses who are encouraged to take it seriously.  Our view is as follows.

Whether anybody likes it or not, all employers are legally obliged to manage health and safety. This means having written policies, procedures and systems in place, which can be examined and verified. The popular press attempts to ridicule the overabundance of health and safety rules and regulations, and  it would be fair to say that the papers are full of stories that trivialise the issue. Children being asked to wear goggles while playing conkers, hairdressers being prevented from using scissors during training (on the Health and Safety Executive’s website – www.hse.gov.uk – is an excellent feature called Myth of the Month where you can check out such stories) – these border on nanny state absurdity. 

To tar all health and safety regulations with the same brush is equally absurd – many of these reported stories are untrue or distorted. Health and safety is the easy target to cover for other management deficiencies. When it comes to health and safety in the workplace, the regulations are as far removed from absurdity as possible.

 Protect your employees. Protect your business.

Approximately 200 people are killed at work every year (not including driving). Thousands of people incur injuries or develop conditions that prevent them working, both temporarily, and in many cases, permanently. The HSE reported that over 29 million working days were lost due to work related ill health and workplace injury during 2008/9. These injuries cost employers millions of pounds, despite the fact that the UK has the best health and safety record in the European Union.

Employers are often faced with court action from their employees (and visitors), attempting to prove that they were not properly protected whilst on company business. Even low risk work routines, such as using computers, can result in employees requiring time off work and prosecuting the employer.

Employers must have an effective health and safety regime in place, to protect themselves from serious accident and insurance claims. They simply can’t afford not to.

To manage an effective health and safety regime all employers must understand that health and safety is a process, not a short one-off project. To protect the business and its employees, employers must ensure they are keeping pace with regularly changing health and safety requirements. The employer should ensure its documentation is current and valid, all risks are measured and controlled and staff are properly trained in any aspect of health and safety which presents a risk.

Data Sound’s approach is to keep health and safety simple.

Poole Council has spent £14,000 on a fake cone shaped Christmas tree because of fears that a traditional fir tree would fall over in high winds and would be a danger to the public. The ‘cone tree’ is reported to be much safer and sturdier and doesn’t even need to be cordoned off.  It doesn’t have any branches or decorations and has been described by one shopper as ‘something that has landed from out of space’.

New Look, a top high street clothing chain was fined a record £400,000 for breaching fire safety law after a fire started at their Oxford Street, London, branch. Allegedly, inadequate emergency exits and poor staff training led to staff failing to react to the fire alarm and allowing customers to continue shopping as the fire spread through the building.

It was reported that the fire alarm went off intermittently, but it was only when people walking passed the store shouted warnings, staff realised the seriousness of the problem and ordered everyone to leave. The emergency services were contacted by the store manager of the store opposite.

Joanne Weaver, one of the shoppers in the store when the fire started said “Staff within the shop did not seem to have a plan to evacuate people. They went from no cause for alarm, to panic”.

This is the biggest fine a company has received since the new fire safety legislation came into force in 2006.

Recent research among small businesses has shown that a significant number of driving offences are committed by employees.  According to the finding almost a third (31%) of employees using a vehicle for work committed an offence while driving on the road.

Speeding is the biggest offence (51%) followed by driving under the influence of drink and drugs (24%).  Other offences included a failure to pay a fixed-penalty notice (16%) and inappropriate insurance (10%).

Such offences could financially penalise employers through fines, administration costs and increased insurance premiums each year.

The Enterprise Rent-A-Car report states that 35% of workers use their own car for business purposes.  Employers have a responsibility to ensure that people are not put at risk by work related driving actions.  This includes company cars and private cars used for work related purposes. It is important to note that Health and Safety law covers work related driving, but does not apply to commuting unless the employee is travelling to a destination which is not their normal working address.

The driver, the condition of the vehicle and the task required should all be checked to make sure everything is in order. All organisations should have a standard safety policy which applies to all drivers using a car for work related purposes.  Management responsibility also covers ensuring that the driver has a valid driving licence and is fully insured to drive the vehicle for business purposes.  Safe driving practices should be encouraged, especially not drinking and driving which can be a temptation at this time of year.