UNIT IGC1: MANAGEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Element 1: Foundations in Health and Safety
1.
Replacement or repair of damaged
plant and equipment is a cost that an organization may face following a
workplace accident.
List EIGHT possible costs to the organization following a
workplace accident (or) (8)
Identify the possible cost to an
organization following an accident in the workplace. (or) (8) Identify possible costs to an
organization resulting from inadequate health and safety standards. (8)
(1-5) Direct Costs:
·
Fines in the criminal courts.
·
First- aid or medical cost.
·
Workers sick pay.
·
Overtime to make up for the lost time.
·
Lost production time whilst dealing
with the injury.
·
Compensation payable to the victim.
·
Increase in insurance premium and
indemnity payment.
Indirect Costs:
·
Loss of staff morale in the organization.
·
Damage to public image and business reputation.
·
Cost of recruiting and training
temporary or replacement of labour.
·
Cost of remedial action following an investigation.
·
General difficulties in recruiting
and retaining staff.
·
Compliance with any enforcement
notice served.
2.
Explain the three good
reasons for preventing accident in the workplace (or) (8)
Explain the reasons for maintaining
and promoting good standards of health and safety in the workplace. (8)
The reason for maintaining the
work place from preventing the accidents should be structured aroundthe moral,
social and economic reasons within the organization.
Moral:
The moral reason is to provide a reasonable standard of care and
reduce the injuries, pain to workers suffering
from workplace accidents and ill-health.
Legal:
The legal reason is that to avoid any enforcement action and civil claims.
Economical:
The economic benefits include but not limited to, more motivated
workforce, increase in production rates, and reduce in premium rates and to
avoid any costs associated with work place accidents.
Also by maintaining the work place by preventing accidents shall
increase the company reputation and maintaining the image and reputation of the
company with its various stakeholders, Improve
the good safety culture in the organization.
3.
Give the
meaning of the following term: (10)
(a) Health:
Health
is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely
the absence of disease or infirmity.
(b) Safety:
The
condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury.
(c) Welfare:
Statutory
procedure or social effort designed to promote the basic physical and material well-being of workers in need.
Ex:
Provision of portable drinking water, Restroom
etc.
(d) Environmental Protection:
Environmental protection refers to any activity to maintain or
restore the quality of environmental media through preventing the emission of
pollutants or reducing the presence of polluting substances in environmental media.
Ex:
changes in production techniques.
(e) Near
Misses:
A near miss is an unplanned
event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage – but had the potential
to do so.
Example: A stone falls from height and close to your body but there
is no accident or damage to the property.
(f) Commuting Accidents
Every accident is referred to as commuting accident, which an
insured person suffers on the way to or from
the place of the insured activity. These are mainly road accidents, which
represent more than half of the
commuting accidents.
Or
A commuting accident is an accident an employee suffers while
travelling to or from his place of work.
(g) Hazard
Something that has the potential
to cause harm including ill health, injury, loss of product and/or damage to
plant and property e.g. substances, machines, methods of work etc.
For example:
Loud noise is a hazard because it can cause hearing loss.
(h)
Risk
The likelihood of harm occurring
and its severity. (Severity x likelihood)
For example:
Cement there is a risk that it may cause harm but the level of risk
depend on the circumstances
4. Outline:
1. Workers responsibility
2.
Outline the health and
safety responsibilities of workers. (4)
(1-8)
-
Take responsible care of their own
safety and that of other people who
might be affected by the things that they do and the things that they fail to do.
-
Comply with Organization safety
instruction and procedures.
-
Report any situation which they
believe could be a hazard and which
they cannot themselves correct.
-
Report any work-related accident or
ill health.
-
Use all safety equipment properly and
not tamper with it.
3.
Employers responsibility
4.
Outline the health and
safety responsibilities of employers towards workers at work. (4) (1-8)
-
To Provide and maintain workplaces,
machinery and equipment and use working methods
that are safe.
-
Give necessary instruction, training
and supervision in application and use of health and safety measures.
-
Introduce organisational arrangements
relevant to activities and size of undertaking
-
Provide PPE and clothing without
charge to workers.
-
Ensure that work organisation,
particularly working hours and rest breaks, does not adversely affect
occupational safety and health.
-
Take reasonably practical measures
with a view to eliminating excessive physical and mental fatigue.
-
Keep up-to-date of scientific and technical
knowledge to comply with the above.
5.
Outline why it is
important that all the persons in an organization are aware of their roles and
responsibilities for health and safety. (8)
-
By knowing their responsibilities is
the right education and will preserve the employee free from ill health.
-
The awareness shall protect
themselves and those around them from harm.
-
The employees shall cooperate with
employer including reporting any situation that present imminent risk.
-
The employee shall actively
participate and exercise all health and safety related matters and committees.
-
The employee shall work towards and
achieve the health and safety standards set by the employer.
-
The employee to be familiar with
occupational health and safety legislation compliance while at work.
-
It will ensure them to keep the work
place and the equipments are well maintained without risk.
-
To avoid any misuse of workplace
welfare facilities provided.
6.
Outline the insured and
uninsured cost by the employer. (8)
Insured costs are,
-
Employers liability
-
Public / Third party liability
-
Contractors all risk
-
Plant and building damage
-
Tool and equipment Uninsured costs
-
Product and material damage
-
Emergency supplies
-
Production delays
-
Overtime and temporary labour
-
Investigation time
-
Supervisors time diverted
7.
Explain Employers Liability Insurance. (3)
-
Employers’ liability insurance is designed to protect workers who have
suffered a personal loss.
-
The purpose of employers’ liability insurance is to satisfy
requirements for employers to carry appropriate insurance so that a worker, who
is harmed due to the fault of their employer, is assured of receiving
compensation even though the employer might have insufficient resources to pay
compensation directly.
-
This form of insurance also enables
to pay any legal fees and court fines.
Element 2: Health and Safety Management systems 1- Policy
1.
Outline the purpose of
an organizations health and safety policy.
-
The purpose of the health and safety
policy of an organization is to create a structure and its approach to health
and safety.
-
Protecting the safety and health of
all members of the organization by preventing work related injuries, ill health.
-
Complying with relevant occupational
safety and health national and international
laws.
-
The policy providing frame work for
setting and reviewing OSH objectives.
-
Ensuring that workers and their
representatives are consulted and encouraged to participate.
-
Allows the organization to improve
the health and safety standards continuously.
-
It demonstrates management commitment
to the policy objective.
-
To ensure clear definition of the
organizations goals, set our responsibilities for health and safety matters.
2.
Outline the issues that
are typically included in the health and safety arrangements section of a policy
(2-7)
-
Carrying out risk assessment
(Planning and organizing for health and safety).
-
Identifying and supplying health and
safety information, instruction and training.
-
Accident and near miss reporting as
per the internal reporting procedure, recording and investigation.
-
Consultation with workers on
occupational health and safety matters.
-
Developing safe system of work and
permit to work system to control hazards in the workplace.
-
Details of specific hazards to the
organisation, e.g. hazardous substances or lone working.
-
Carrying out specialist risk
assessment such as those on hazardous substances.
-
Control of contractors and visitors.
-
Provision of personal protective
equipment and safety related training.
-
Identify and take appropriate control
measures against specific type of hazards (e.g. Machinery, Hazardous Substance,
Manual Handling, Fire etc.,)
-
Compliance monitoring, including
auditing of system but also the measuring of workplace parameters, e.g. noise,
to assess the effectiveness of the arrangements.
-
Communication of health and safety
matters including hazards and control measures.
3.
Explain the purpose of the following sections of health and safety policy Or
Identify the three main sections of an organization’s health and safety
policy AND Outline the purpose of EACH
(2-4)
-
Statement of
Intent: Demonstrates management commitment towards health and safety and
sets goals and objectives of the organization.
-
Organization: The purpose to
which is to allocate the health and safety responsibilities within the company
and reporting lines.
-
Arrangements: Set out in detail the systems and procedures to show how the policy is
being implemented. (General arrangements are Planning, Organizing, 4C’s,
Accident and reporting and Specific arrangements are fire, electricity, manual
handling, work at height)
4.
Outline the main
components of a health & Safety management
system. (or) (8)
Outline the key elements of a health and
safety management system. (8)
(2-1)
-
Policy: The Company
should have health and safety policies which contributes the company business
performance. This would allow the companies to satisfy the expectation of
shareholders, workers and customers. The
policy must be cost effective and aimed to achieve the health and safety
standards. The health and safety policies influence all the work activities and
decisions of the company.
-
Organizing: Organization
those are successful in achieving high standards of health and safety are
structured and operated so as to put their health and safety policies into
effective practice. It must be organized by putting effective communication and
promotes the competency of workers which would enable the workers to contribute
their effort.
-
Planning and
Implementation: The successful organizations adopt a planned and systematic
approach to implement the policy as per their planned action. Health and safety
performance standards are established in each level and measured periodically
to ensure the implementation and the standards are achieved as per the company
policy and the action plan.
-
Evaluation
(Monitoring, Review, Measurement, Investigation): Proper
recording and monitoring system / mechanism to be established to measure and
record health and safety performance on a regular basis. Responsibility,
accountability and authority for monitoring at different levels in the management structure should be
allocated. Health and safety performance in organizations that manage health
and safety successful is measured against pre-determined standards. Best health
and safety practices to be applied in all the levels of management system.
Continuous review of health and safety management system is essential and this
will provide to achieve better health and safety standards.
-
Audit: The formal
process is specifically designed to determine the extent to which the health
and safety management system, or elements of it, are compliant with standards
(in place, adequate and effective)
-
Action for
improvement: Health and safety management system audits and management reviews
should be established to ensure the management system continues to be
effective. Arrangements should be established to aid the continual improvement
of health and safety management system.
5.
Outline the
circumstances that may require a health and safety policy to be reviewed. (8) (2-7)
§ Technological
changes, e.g. introduction of new plant or processes.
§
Organisational changes, e.g. changes
to key personnel, such as a new CEO or MD, or changes to the management
structure of the organisation.
§ Legal changes,
such as the introduction of new legislation applicable to the organisation.
§ Changes to the
type of work that the organisation does.
§ Where an audit,
investigation or risk assessment suggests the policy is no longer effective.
§
When requested by a third party, such
as an insurance company or client.
§
Following enforcement action.
§ Following
consultation with the workforce.
§ After the
passage of time (e.g. an annual review is a common practice).
Element 3: Health and Safety Management systems 2- Organising
1.
Outline the health and
safety roles and responsibilities of: (3-2)
(a)
Directors and senior managers; (6)
-
To make sure that the company is
complying with the moral and legal requirements for health and safety.
-
Ensure effective implementation of
health and safety policy within the company.
-
To make employees understand that the
management is not only responsible but also accountable for health and safety matters.
-
To ensure that the effective OSH
training plans are in place for all employees.
-
To ensure that the company is giving
health and safety as one of the top priority.
-
To ensure that the workers may feel
at ease in raising the health and safety issues to them and an effective method
of employees consultation is in place.
-
Leads by example by showing
commitment by getting involved in all OSH campaigns
/ events.
-
Carry out regular H & S meetings
so that the issues can be addressed timely manner.
-
Involve and to be a part of health
and safety committee to provide the platform to resolve health and safety issues.
-
To carry out safety tours to meet
workers and compare the theory with the reality.
-
To ensure that organization’s motivation activities are there in place.
(b)
Supervisors; (6)
-
To implement the safe system of work
e.g. works to be carried out as per approved system work.
-
To provide escorts to the visitors
coming to the site.
-
To take reasonable care for all OSH
matters of the employees working under his supervision.
-
To make sure that the employees with
special risks like young workers, disabled and pregnant ladies.
-
Conduct regular tool box talks and to
communicate all the health and safety issues to the workers.
-
To take initiatives in carrying out
the jobs safely in consultation with the workers.
-
To be a part of team conducting risk
assessments so that his knowledge and experience will be helpful in foreseeing
the risks associated with the activities.
-
To take disciplinary actions for all
the breach of health and safety issues by the
workers.
-
To assist in solving issues regarding
the safety of equipment at workplace.
-
Issue and ensure all personal
protective equipment are used while at work and are maintained.
(c)
Person(s) with primary health and
safety functions, eg health and safety officer. (4)
-
To advise on health and safety issues
implementation to the site
management, supervisors and health and safety
manager
-
To play his role in implementing
health and safety policy, procedures within the company
-
To carry out induction trainings for
the workers/visitors coming at the workplace
-
To carry out daily inspection of
plant and premises in order to highlight the issues that require urgent
attention and can lead to accidents at workplace
-
To keep record of accident, incident
and near miss and other health and safety records
-
To prepare health and safety reports
for the company on monthly, weekly basis according to the requirement
-
To monitor the welfare facilities provided
to the employees and provide recommendations for improvement
-
To notify company and
legal/regulatory authorities about the accidents/dangerous occurrences in the workplace
-
To carry out safety surveys and
safety tours in coordination with health and safety manager and top management
-
To notify the supervisors about any
changes in the applicable health and safety legislation so that the supervisor
can implement the same within his group of employees
-
To carry out health and safety audits
for effective implementation of health and safety management system
-
To carry out health and safety trainings
2.
Identify precautions
that could be taken to help to ensure the health and safety of visitors
to a work place. (8)
-
Identify visitors by signing in and out.
-
Provision of badges.
-
Provide escorts to supervise visitors
throughout the site.
-
Restrict access to areas where higher
risk activities take place.
-
Provide training related fire
emergency procedure.
-
Provide suitable PPE to the visitors
while they are inside the site visit.
-
Provide different reflective jacket
to identify visitors clearly on site.
3. Identify a range of
methods that an employer can use to provide health and safety
information directly
to individual workers (8)
(3-16)
-
Notice boards;
-
Team
Briefings;
-
Training Sessions (including
induction training);
-
Tool box talks;
-
News
letter;
-
Safety Campaign;
-
Posters;
-
Competition and signs;
-
One to One briefing such as in
appraisal session.
4.
Outline why it is
important that all persons are aware of their roles and responsibilities
for health and safety
in an organization (8)
(3-16)
-
By knowing their responsibilities is
the right education and will preserve the employee free from ill health.
-
The awareness shall protect
themselves and those around them from harm.
-
The employees shall cooperate with
employer including reporting any situation that present imminent risk.
-
The employee shall actively
participate and exercise all health and safety related matters and committees.
-
The employee shall work towards and
achieve the health and safety standards set by the employer.
-
The employee to be familiar with
occupational health and safety legislation compliance while at work.
-
It will ensure them to keep the work
place and the equipments are well maintained without risk.
-
To avoid any misuse of workplace
welfare facilities provided.
5.
Two Organizations share the same worksite.
Outline
how the organizations could work together to help
ensure the workplace is safe and healthy.
-
The organization should take as far
as reasonably practicable to ensure competency
of its employees and is satisfied with the works that are being carried
out properly.
-
Ensure there is full cooperation in
order to discharge their duties under good practiceor
where appropriate relevant statutory
provisions.
-
Proper risk assessment to be
conducted and provision for serious and imminent danger.
-
All the contractors should coordinate
and cooperate where they have common workplace to satisfy themselves that
arrangements are adequate.
-
Organization should ensure that all
relevant workers and in particular, competent workers appointed are aware and
fully take part.
-
To ensure the contractors must take reasonable steps to inform other
employers concerned of risks to their workers’ health or safety that may arise
out of their scope of work.
-
Organize and ensure that required
first aid materials and first aider in place.
-
All the workers are trained for
emergency procedure and hazardous present at
site.
-
Ensure that quality of supervision is in place and the works
which are carried out are as
per the allowed system of work.
6.
Give the meaning of the term ‘Perception’ (2)
(3-13)
-
The meaning of the term ‘Perception’ is the way that a person views a
situation (or)
-
The ability to see, hear, or become
aware of something through the senses.
7. Identify ways in which workers’ perceptions of
hazards in the work place might be
improved. (6)
(3-15)
-
Providing appropriate information to workers.
-
By providing training
-
Instruction
-
By conducting Drills
-
Disciplinary actions
-
By providing Incentives
8.
A serious accident has occurred.
During the investigation it is found that an inspection
of the work site had taken place before the accident.
Outline possible reasons why the inspection did not lead to an unsafe
situation being corrected. (8 marks)
The possible reasons are
- Inspection was
done by an incompetent person.
- Inspection did
not identify the hazards which could have lead to the incident.
- Inspection must
have done using an outdated checklist.
- The result of
the inspection was not communicated
to the management.
- Lack of
management commitment to take necessary action to implement the control
measures identified in the inspection.
-
Poor employees health and safety
culture towards the identified control measures.
-
The control measures recommended are
not enough to eliminate the hazards
- Poor health and
safety culture within the organization
9.
Outline ways in which
the health and safety culture of an organization might be improved. (8) (3-15)
-
Establishing and implementing a good
health and safety policy;
-
Securing the commitment of management
and ensuring that managers lead by example;
-
Involving and consulting with
employees on matters affecting their health and safety;
-
Providing effective supervision and training;
-
Providing a pleasant working
environment with good welfare facilities;
-
Procedure and standards for all
aspects of critical work and mechanisms for reviewing;
-
Effective monitoring systems to check
the implementation of the procedure and standards;
-
Incident investigation and the
effective use of information drawn from such
investigations
-
Adequate and effective supervision
with the authority to remedy deficiencies when
found
10.
Outline ways in which
an organization could encourage workers to be involved in setting
and maintaining high standards of health and safety. (8)
-
Good levels of supervision, health and safety information’s and
training which may affect the health and safety awareness and therefore culture
-
No blame culture for reporting incidents
-
Good levels of communication,
cooperation and control. Consultation and involvement of the work force in
health and safety matters.
-
Management commitment to health and
safety, including formal aspects such as health and safety policy,
organizational structure and job descriptions
-
Clarification of responsibilities.
-
Adequate resources ( budget, people
and facilities) made available for the effective management of health and safety
-
Compliance with relevant health and
safety law and the safety rules and procedures of the organization.
-
Involving workers in health and
safety decisions (by consultation, team meetings, for example)
11.
An organization needs to review its
provision of health and safety training for its workers.
a.
Identify factors that
should be considered when developing an extensive programme of health and
safety training. (In Test book go to page 3-20) (8)
§ Type and
function of the organisation.
§ Hazard and risk
profile of the organisation, e.g. if woodworking machinery is used, training in
its safe use should be provided.
§
Accident history of the organisation,
which may indicate areas where awareness is lacking or training is needed.
§ Any statutory
training requirements, e.g. for first aiders.
§
Level of training previously
provided, together with the details of which employees have been trained and
when.
§
The type of chemicals or any other
kind of hazardous chemicals in use.
§ Need for a
third party training if required.
§ Legal
requirements as well as statutory obligations in place.
b. Identify measures that
might be used to assess the effectiveness of health and safety training. (In Test book go to page
3-20) (4)
§
Reduction in accident and absence rates.
§
Increased awareness of the topic
covered, e.g. an increased number of worker comments/concerns highlighted.
§ Improved
compliance to safe systems of work.
§ Post-training
evaluation by trainers, the trainees themselves and their supervisors;
§ Levels of
compliance with laid-down procedures (e.g. wearing PPE);
§ The results of
attitude surveys;
§
Number of quality suggestion made,
concerns raised by employees with respect to health and safety.
c.
Identify checks that
could be made to help to assess
whether a person is competent. (4)
(1-4 Jargon buster)
-
Knowledge
-
Ability
-
Training
-
Experience
-
Fitness records;
-
Legislation awareness;
-
Knowledge about health and safety
compliance that may required for work;
-
Awareness about safe system of work;
d. Give reasons why it
is important for an employer to keep a record of the training
provided to each worker. (4)
(3-20)
§
It is important to keep records of
any training given, not only to record who
has been trained but also to update and show progress against the training plan.
§
Training records should detail the
level of competence achieved
§ The date of the
training and highlight when any refresher training is required.
§ These records
may be used to demonstrate to regulators that adequate training was provided
§
To prove in a civil claim or an
accident investigation that an employee had received training.
§
To provide it to clients to conform
competency of the staffs.
12.
Identify factors that
could have contributed to the deterioration of the health and safety
culture within the organization. (In Test book go to page
3-6) (6)
§ Lack of
leadership from management.
§
Presence of a blame culture.
§
Lack of management commitment to
safety (e.g. saying one thing and
doing another).
§ Health and
safety receiving lower priority than other business issues.
§ Organizational
changes (frequent or poorly communicated change can result in uncertainty).
§ High staff
turnover rates.
§ Lack of
resources, e.g. too few workers due to downsizing.
§ Lack of worker consultation.
§
Interpersonal issues, e.g. peer group
pressure, bullying or harassment.
§
Poor management systems and procedures.
§ External
influences, e.g. economic climate resulting in difficult operating conditions.
13.
Identify how induction
training programmes for new workers can help to reduce the
number of accidents in the work place. (8)
§
Better understanding and involvement
raises all workers job satisfaction resulting
in reduced accidents in work place.
§
Training would benefit the new
workers to understand the system of work and controls needed to reduce risk.
§
Training will help the new workers to
understand the welfare arrangements aids health, safety and hygiene.
§ Induction
training allows workers to reach experienced workers standard more quickly.
§
Increases the flexibility of staff.
§
Induction training will help them to
understand and evacuate the premises in case of emergencies.
§ Will help them
to comply with health and safety requirements;
§
Induction training helps the new
workers to understand the legislation requirements and to avoid any legal or
court fines.
§ Will help to
increase the moral of the workforce.
14.
Identify the barriers to
effective verbal communication. (In Test book go
to page 3-16) (6)
§ Language
barrier may exist.
§ Jargon may not
be understood.
§ Strong accent
or dialect may interfere.
§ Background
noise may interfere.
§
Recipient may have poor hearing.
§
Message may be ambiguous.
§ Recipient may
miss information.
§ Recipient may
forget information.
§ No written
record as proof.
§ Poor
transmission quality if by telephone or PA system.
15. (a) Identify FOUR types of health and
safety information that could be displayed on
a
board within a workplace. (page no:3-17) (4)
§ Emergency procedures
§ Employers
liability insurance
§ Health and safety policy
§ Safety representatives
§
First aiders
§ Minutes of
safety committee meeting
§ First aid
information
§
Accident statistics
§
Specific site hazards and controls
(b) Identify how the
effectiveness of notice boards as a method of communicating health
and safety information can be increased. (4)
§ Notice board
information must be up to date and maintained in legitimate condition;
§ Notice board
information should be written in appropriate language where the employees can
read and understand;
- Where possible provide pictures to
describe the information which would make easy to understand the issues correctly;
§ Information
should be bold, clear and concise and easy to read and understand;
§ Provide work
place incident / accident information with pictures;
§ Training
schedule (both internal and external).
16.
(a) Identify two main purpose of first aid treatment. (In Test book go
to page
3-23) (2)
§ Preserve life.
§ Prevent deterioration.
§ Promote recovery.
(b) Outline factors to be
considered when carrying out an assessment of first aid
requirements in work place.
(In Test book go to page
3-24) (6)
§ General risk
level of the workplace.
§ Hazards present
in the workplace.
§ Accident history.
§
Specific procedures required, e.g.
some toxic materials have specific antidotes or first-aid protocols.
§ Presence of
vulnerable persons.
§
Number of workers in the workplace.
§
Work patterns and shift systems of workers.
§ Geographic
location of the workplace.
§ Spread of the workplace.
Element 4: Health and Safety
Management systems 3- Planning
1.
Outline the key stages of general risk assessment process, AND identify the issues
that would need to be considered at EACH stage. (In
Test book go to page 4-10) (8)
§ Identify the Hazards (Mechanical hazards,
Electrical hazards, Thermal hazards, noise and vibration, radiation,)
§ Decide who may
be harmed and how (operatives/ workers, maintenance staff, cleaners,
contractors, visitors/public)
§ Evaluate the risks and decide whether
precautions are adequate or whether
more should be done (Likelihood* consequence)
§ Record the findings
§ Review the assessment and revise it if necessary
2.
Outline the factors to be considered when assessing the
risk of long distance
transport vehicle
driver. (8)
The factors to be considered
when assessing the risk of long
distance transport vehicle driver are,
§ Duration of the journey
§ The demands of
the road (complexity, road conditions
etc.)
§ Means of communication
and security issues
§ Physical fitness & health condition
§ Level of training provided
§ Valid driving
license
§ Work Experience
§ Location & route map awareness
§ Vehicle physical fitness certificate
§ Vehicle - No near due for maintenance
§ Ergonomic factors (e.g. tail lifts)
§ Sufficient fuel availability
3.
(a) Explain, using the
examples, the meaning of the term
‘risk'. (4-7) (2) Risk is the likelihood of
the hazard will cause harm in combination with severity of injury, damage or loss that might foreseeably
occur.
Eg; the chances of someone are being killed by coming in
to contact with electricity.
(b) Outline the factors that should be considered when selecting
individuals to assist
in carrying out risk assessment in the workplace. (6)
The factors to be considered are
§ The level of
training in health and safety generally, and in carrying out risk
assessments in particular.
§ Experience of the process/ activity.
§ The possession of technical knowledge of the
plant or equipment involved
§ The ability to interpret standards, regulations
and guidance.
§ Communication and reporting skills
§ Commitment to the task and attention to detail.
§ Awareness of the individual’s owns limitations and the
occasions when specialist assistance might be
required.
§ Accessing sources of information such as organizational or legislation, codes of practice and in- house information, including accidents records.
§ Interpretation of any local regulations and standards.
4.
Outline the
criteria which must be met for the assessment to be ‘suitable and sufficient’.
(4) (4-9)
It should be good enough to fulfill legal
requirements and prevent foreseeable injuries and ill health from happening. In
particular it should:
§ State the name and competence of the assessor
§ Identify the significant hazards and risks
arising out of or connected with the
work, i.e those which are most likely
to occur and result in harm being at an acceptable low level
§ Identify all those persons who could be at
risk, including workers and others such as visitors. Vulnerable people such as
young people should also be identified.
§ Evaluate the effectiveness of current controls.
§ Identify other protective measures that are
required to control the risk to an acceptable
level.
§ Record the significant findings of the risk assessment.
§
Be appropriate to the nature
of the work and remain proportionate to the
risks.
§ State the period of time for which it is likely to remain valid.
5.
(a) Identify work activities that may present a particular risk to
pregnant women at
work AND
give an example of EACH type of activity. (In the test book page no 4-16) (6)
§ Certain hazardous chemical (eg. Lead)
§ Certain biological agents (eg. The rubella virus)
§ Manual handling (eg. Carrying heavy objects)
§ Extreme of temperature
(eg. Working under sunlight)
§ Night shift work (eg. Call centres)
§ Lone working (eg. Kitchen work)
§ Violence
§ stress
(b)
Outline the actions that an employer may take when a risk to a new
or expectant
mother
cannot be avoided. (In
the test book page no 4-16) (2)
§ Change the type of work- regular job rotation
should be done to avoid boredom in
their work
§ Change the hours of work-the shift hours should be reduced to avoid tiredness
§ Suspend the pregnant women from the
workplace-suspend them for maternity leave for some period of time
§ Rest time-provide enough rest / break times to
reduce the stress due to their work.
6.
Give the meaning of the term ‘safe system of work’. (In the
test book page no 4-25) (2)
A safe system of work is a formal procedure
based on a systematic examination of work
in order to identify the hazards. It defines
safe methods of working which eliminate
those hazards or minimize the risks
associated with them.
7.
Outline sources of information that could be consulted
when developing a safe system of work. (In the
test book page no- 4-24) (6)
Internal information sources include:
• Accident records.
• Medical records.
• Absence records.
•
Risk assessments.
• Maintenance reports.
• Safety representative inspections.
•
Audit reports.
•
Safety committee meeting minutes. External information sources include:
• National legislation (e.g. regulations).
•
Material safety data sheets from manufacturers.
• National codes of practice and guidance notes.
• National and international regulatory bodies, e.g. HSE in the UK, OSHA in Europe
•
Manufacturers’ operating instructions.
• Trade associations.
• Safety journals and magazines.
8.
Outline information that
should be given to employees in a training session on a safe system of work.
(In the test book page no : 4-27) (8)
Type of task being undertaken:
Analysis can be provided through job safety
analysis (the SREDIM method mentioned earlier). Select the task to be analyzed.
Record the steps or stages of the task. Evaluate the risks associated
with each step. Develop the safe working method. Implement the safe working
method. Monitor to ensure it is effective.
What equipment and materials are required for the task:
The equipments which we are using for that
process present some hazards naturally, we want
to identify those hazards and implement some control measures in order
to avoid those hazards.
Who will be carrying out the work:
Who will carry out this task and how many of them are involving in that task.
What is their experience/knowledge level. Are
there vulnerable persons involved or not.
What are the hazards associated with the job:
The type of
hazards associated with the work and whether the worker has undergone
any training in identifying those hazards.
What controls are recommended by the manufacturer:
For the above identified hazards what is the
control measure taken in order to minimize the hazards or some control measure that can be given by the manufacturer.
§ What emergency provision is in place Are the
control measures adequate or are
additional controls needed.
• How will the system of work be monitored.
9.
An organization has had an
increase in the number of manual
handling accidents and associated ill health.
Identify the sources of
information that may be available to help to reduce the risks to the workers.
OR
The number
of absences due to work-related upper limb disorders in an organization
is increasing. Identify possible
sources of information that could be
used when investigating the increase in absences.
§ Statutory instruments
§ ACOPs and HSE
guidelines
§ Manufacturers
information
§ European and international official standards
§ Industry or
trade literature
§ Result of risk
assessments
§ Accident statistics and health/medical
surveillance records
§ The employees
involved
§ Enforcement agencies and other experts.
10. With respect to the management of risk within
the workplace:
(a)
Explain the
meaning of the term ‘hierarchy of
control’. (In the test book page no: 4-19) (2)
The “hierarchy of control” is a
concept used a great deal in health
and safety. It is a list of options
in order of importance,
effectiveness or priority, written
so that the most extreme and
effective method of control is at
the top of the hierarchy, with the
least effective at the bottom.
(b) Outline, with examples, the standard hierarchy that
should be applied with respect to controlling H & S risks in the workplace.
The
general hierarchy of control:
• Elimination.
•
Substitution.
• Engineering
controls.
• Administrative
controls.
• Personal protective equipment.
Elimination
If a hazard can be eliminated then the risk
created by that hazard disappears. For example,
an assembly workshop could stop welding steel in order to avoid the
risks inherent in welding operations, and could buy in pre-fabricated metal components.
Substitution
Sometimes
hazard elimination cannot be achieved, but it is possible to substitute one
hazard with another that creates less risk. For example, one hazardous
substance classified as “toxic” (i.e. lethal in small doses) is substituted
with one that is “irritant”.
Engineering Controls
Engineering controls involve
the use of an engineering solution to prevent exposure to the hazard.
This
might be done by:
•
Isolation or total enclosure - the aim here is to
isolate the hazard physically so that
nobody is exposed to it. This might be done by total enclosure or containment of the hazard, e.g. total
enclosure of a process which generates dust to prevent its
acoustic enclosure of a noisy machine to reduce
the noise exposure of those nearby
•
Separation or segregation - simply placing the hazard
in an inaccessible location. An example would be overhead wires where an
electrical conductor has been placed
out of reach. In this case,
precautions have to be taken to ensure that safe distances are maintained at
all times (e.g. the use of goalposts to warn
plant operators on a construction
site of the safety distances for
live electrical overheads).
•
Partial enclosure – e.g. a hazardous
substance might be handled in a fume
hood or partial enclosure which the
worker can reach into for handling purposes. Air is extracted from the top or back of
this partial enclosure so that any airborne contaminants is extracted
from the enclosure away from the worker. Administrative Controls
Administrative controls are those
that rely on procedures and behaviour, such
as:
• Safe Systems of Work:
A
safe system of work is a formal procedure which defines a method of working that eliminates hazards or
minimizes the risks associated with them. Safe systems of work are necessary whenever hazards cannot be physically eliminated and some
element of risk remains.
Reduce time of exposure - many health hazards in the workplace cause a
degree of harm that is entirely dependent on the dose that a worker receives,
e.g. the harm caused by noise, vibration, radiation and most hazardous chemicals (such as lead).
–– Time of exposure.
For
example, the harm to hearing caused by exposure to loud noise is entirely
determined by the noise intensity
(measured in decibels) and the duration of exposure:
Personal Protective Equipments:
There are instances where none of the above control measures can be used
and there are times when some of them
can, but residual risk still remains. If this is the case then it may be
necessary to use personal protective equipment (PPE). Many different types of
PPE are available, such as:
• Ear defenders for
noise.
• Gloves to prevent contact with substances
hazardous to the skin.
•
Respiratory protection
against substances hazardous by inhalation (breathing in).
• Eye protection against splashes of chemicals and molten metals, mists,
sprays and dusts, projectiles and
radiation including bright lights.
14.
Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) should only be considered after other control measures have been found to
be ineffective or not practicable.
Give reasons why PPE should be considered only after
other control measures. (In the test
book page no: 4-22)
§ It does not
remove the hazard so should be used when other control measures have been
exhausted.
§ It only protects one person – the wearer. Also its correct
use relies on the wearer so training in correct use is necessary.
§ It may not
protect adequately if it is not fitted correctly or the wrong PPE is selected.
§ It may not be
comfortable and may interfere with
the wearer’s ability to do the job.
§ It may increase
overall risk by impairing the senses (e.g. goggles
that mist up, hearing
protection that masks sounds like
fire alarms).
§ It may not
be compatible with other items that have to be worn or used. Fit is also affected by personal features such as
beards and spectacles. If it fails it fails to danger. It may be contaminated if not stored correctly.
§ People often do not like wearing PPE so it may not be worn. PPE may be more expensive than addressing the
hazard at source.
15.
(a) Give the meaning of the term ‘permit to work’. (In the
test book page no: 4-31)
A
permit-to-work (PTW) system is a formal, documented
safety procedure, forming part of a
safe system of work, which ensures
that all necessary actions are taken before, during and after particularly high
risk work.
(b) Identify THREE types of work
that may require a permit to work AND Give/Outline the reasons why in each case. (In the test book page no: 4-33)
Hot Work:
Permit systems are commonly used to control hot
work where naked flames will be used
(e.g. propane, butane or oxy-acetylene
torches) or where a significant
ignition source will be created (e.g. welding or
grinding operations).
Typical precautions for control of hot work:
•
Flammable materials are
removed from the work area.
• Items that cannot be removed are covered with fire
retardant blankets.
• Floor is swept
clean.
• A suitable fire extinguisher is at hand.
•
A “fire-watcher” is present in the area
• Wooden floor is damped down.
Work on Live Electrical Systems:
The high risk associated with
working on or near live electrical
systems means that this type of work is usually subject to permit control. In
particular, permits are usual for work
on or near high voltage systems.
A permit system is used to ensure
that:
• Working live is justified (i.e. it is not
possible to work with the power off).
• All precautions are in place.
• The workers are competent to do the work.
Machinery Maintenance:
Maintenance work often involves the removal or disabling of safeguards and control systems. For large, complex industrial
machinery more than one person may be involved in the work and they may be
required to work inside the machinery. This can generate high risk that might
be best controlled using a permit system.
A permit system is used to ensure
that:
• Work is carefully planned, assessed and controlled.
•
The nature of the work is communicated to those who
need to know about it.
• Power sources are isolated and locked off.
• Stored energy is released or secured.
• The workers are competent to do the work
Confined Spaces:
Entry into confined spaces can be extremely
hazardous, so should always be under the control of a permit to work system. This will require a competent person
to carry out a risk assessment and
then develop a safe system of work which identifies all the necessary precautions for entry and the emergency arrangements that must be put in place.
16.
Identify FOUR categories of
workplace safety signs AND give
an example of EACH. (In the test
book page no: 4-21)
Prohibition - directed
at stopping dangerous behavior, e.g. “No
Smoking”. The signs are circular with a black pictogram on a white background with a red border and red diagonal cross bar.
Warning -
tell people to be careful of a
particular hazard, e.g. “Fork Lift
Trucks Operating In The Area”. The signs are triangular with a black pictogram
on a yellow background with a black border.
Mandatory - instruct people to take a specific action,
often relating to wearing personal protective
Equipment,
e.g. “Eye Protection Must Be Worn”. They are circular with a solid blue
background with a white pictogram.
Safe condition
- identify safe behavior or places of safety, e.g. “First Aid Station”. They are rectangular or square with a white pictogram on a
green background.
Fire-fighting equipment -
identify particular items of equipment,
e.g. “Hose Reels”. They are
rectangular or square with a white
symbol or pictogram on a red
background.
17. Describe why it is important to involve workers in the
development of a safe system of
work. (In the test book page no: 4-25)
The competent person must work closely with the workers who will be doing the work.
The workers involved should take an active part in all stages of both the
development and review of safe systems
of work. Their practical knowledge
and skills provide a valuable source of information about the nature of the risks, including unusual ones, and methods of working. They can also
contribute by assessing plans and
written documentation, and provide feedback on the effectiveness of the system
in practice.
Involvement in this way enables workers to gain
a deeper understanding of the hazards and risks, and of the way in which the safe system of work will minimize those risks. This
helps to give ownership and
commitment to the safe working methods to workers. As management have also involved and engaged the workforce
(rather than simply enforcing a procedure they have developed) this can help to
develop a positive safety culture.
18.
Identify the factors to be considered to help reduce the
risk to workers required to work alone. (In the
test book page no 4-29)
Various control measures may
have to be implemented in the safe
system of work:
§ No lone working for certain high risk activities (such as confined space entry).
§ Arrangements for
remote supervision.
§ Procedures for logging
workers’ locations when lone working.
§ The use of mobile
phones or radios to ensure good communications.
§ The issue of
lone worker alarm systems to raise the alarm and pin-point the worker.
§ Procedures to be adopted by workers when lone working.
§ Emergency procedures.
§ Training for
workers in those procedures.
Element 5: Health and Safety Management systems
4- Measuring, Audit and Review
1.
(a) Outline the key features of:
i.
A health and safety
inspection; (In the test book page no: 5-2) (4)
The key features of health and safety inspections are; the
straightforward observation of a
work place, and/or the activities or requirement
within it. A general safety inspection, usually carried out by a manager or employee representative and often aided by the use of a checklist, may be carried out
routinely and has the aim of identifying hazards and assessing the use and
effectiveness of control measures.
ii.
A health
and safety audit. (In
the test book page no: 5-8) (4)
The features of safety audits are; a
thorough, critical examination of an organization’s safety management systems
and procedures. An audit is normally a lengthy process carried out by a trained
auditor, often someone from outside the organization, it is a structured way of assessing the health and safety
performance of any organization by
supplying answers with the serious of preset
questions, and often involves a scoring system such that improvements can be measured.
(b) Explain
how the findings of audit may used to improve health and safety
performance. (In the test book page no: 5-8) (12)
An
audit is a tool that can be used to assess compliance in the workplace. An
audit involves a survey to:
·
Identify what regulations
apply to a company or facility.
·
Determine whether
environmental and workplace safety requirements, and corporate policies and
procedures regarding compliance, are being followed.
·
Assess management systems
currently in place to ensure compliance. An audit may also look at and evaluate the methods used to achieve compliance.
When properly conducted, an audit can help to
identify and correct regulatory deficiencies, which, in turn, can improve workplace safety and help reduce liability.
Audits can serve to increase employee awareness and understanding of environmental and safety regulations,
and the audit process can also be an opportunity to demonstrate your company's
commitment to compliance.
Workplace
audits may be viewed favorably by
regulatory agencies. A thoroughly completed audit with proper follow-up can
signal that the company is making a good-faith effort to comply with applicable
regulatory requirements. This also increases
the moral of the workforce. By doing
an audit lapses in the exiting polices and procedures could be identified and make necessary
changes to the existing system.
It will also help to decide whether a change is also required in the
current risk assessments or not.
2. Identify the:
(a)
Active (proactive); (In the test book page no: 5-2) (4)
§ Safety inspection
§ Safety sampling
§ Safety tour
§ Safety survey
§ Safety audit
(b)
Reactive measures (In the test book page no: 5-6) (4)
§ Review of Accidents and incident Records
§ Review of Ill-health records
§ Review of legal actions against the company.
§ Review of Dangerous occurrences and near-misses.
§ Complaints from the workforce
§ Review of statistics and trends of accidents.
§ Analyzing patterns of certain types of events.
3.
Outline the meaning of
the terms.
(a)
‘Active’ (Proactive)
Monitoring. (In the test book page no: 5-1) (2)
Active monitoring is about checking to ensure that standards are met and that the workplace is in fact safe
and free of health risks before any
untoward event takes place.
(b)
‘Reactive’ Monitoring. (2)
Reactive monitoring is about
measuring safety performance by reference to accidents,
incidents and ill-health that have already occurred. Reactive measures therefore include measures of incident types and frequency rates,
sickness absence rates, number of
reported near miss events and property damage incidents, etc.
4. Identify documents
that could be examined when reviewing an organization’s health and safety
audit. (8) (In the test book page no: 5-9)
• Health and safety policy.
• Risk assessments and safe systems of work.
•
Training records.
• Minutes of safety
committee meetings.
• Maintenance records and details of failures.
•
Records of health and safety monitoring
activities, e.g. tours, inspections, surveys,
etc.
• Accident investigation reports and data
including near miss information.
• Emergency arrangements.
• Inspection reports from insurance companies, etc.
•
Output from regulator visits,
e.g. visit reports, enforcement
actions, etc.
• Records of worker complaints.
5. Identify the
advantages AND disadvantages of carrying out a health and safety audit of an organization’s activities by:
(i)
An internal auditor. (4) (In
the test book page no: 5-10)
Advantages:
·
Less expensive.
·
Auditors already familiar with the workplace and what is practicable
for the industry.
·
Can see changes since last audit.
·
Improves ownership of issues
found.
·
Builds competence internally
·
Familiarity with the
workforce and individuals.
Disadvantages:
·
Auditors may not notice
certain issues.
·
Auditors may not have good
knowledge of industry or legal
standards.
·
Auditors may not possess
auditing skills so may need training.
·
Auditors are not independent
so may be subject to internal influence.
(ii) An external auditor. (4)
Advantages
·
Independent of any internal influence.
·
Fresh pair of eyes.
·
Already has audit experience.
·
May have wider experience of different types of workplace.
·
Recommendations often carry
more weight.
·
May be more up-to-date with
law and best practice.
Disadvantages
§ External auditors are expensive.
§ Time-consuming.
§
May not understand the business so make impractical suggestions.
§
May intimidate workers so get incomplete evidence.
6.
Give two strengths of
using a checklist when carrying
out an inspection. (Test book page no: 5-4) (2)
§ It does not
require particular expertise for the
user since normally it contains the tick boxes to fill
§ It is ready to use recipe rather than wasting
time in getting the site known where it can be used
§ It gives a
generic view of the processes
happening at the site
7. Give two weaknesses of using a checklist when
carrying out an inspection. (2)
§ It needs to be updated especially after the
introduction of new technology,
process etc
§ Irrelevant information sometimes in the checklist
§ Sometimes not covering the grey areas which can
lead to major accident
8. A Worker has been seriously injured after being
struck by a reversing vehicle in a loading bay
a.
Give four reasons why the accident should be investigated by the
person’s employer. (4) The main reasons for investigating the accidents are,
§
Facilitating compliance with
legal obligations.
§ In order to find the root cause and prevent it
from happening again.
§
Collecting evidence to defend
a civil claim, where applicable.
§
Determining economic loss.
§
Demonstrating management
commitment to occupational health and safety.
b.
Outline information that should be included in the investigation report. (8)
§ Date and type of
the incident.
§ Location of the incident.
§ Details of the
injured person (Name, role, work etc)
§ Details of injury sustained.
§ Description of
the activity being carried out at the
time.
§ Drawings or
photographs used to convey information on the scene.
§ Immediate and root cause of the incident.
§ Assessment of
any breaches of legislation
§ Details of witness
and witness statement.
§ Recommended corrective actions, with suggested
costs, responsibilities and time scale.
§ Estimation of
the cost implications for the organization.
c.
Outline:
i.
Four possible immediate
causes (In the test book page no:
5-14) Possible immediate causes are;
·
Human error or failure to comply with procedures.
·
Mechanical failure.
·
Poor visibility in the
loading bay (e.g. absence of lighting)
·
Restricted view for the driver.
·
Environmental conditions such
as high noise levels.
ii.
Four possible underlying causes
Possible underlying causes are,
·
Lack of driver and/or other employee
training.
·
Lack of supervision.
·
Absence of site rules or procedures for the control of
reversing vehicles.
·
Failure to separate vehicular
and pedestrian traffic.
·
Lack of maintenance of vehicles
and/or the workplace.
9.
(a) Outline why an organization should have a system for internal reporting of accidents. (page no: 5- 12) (4)
§ The compilation of accident statistics and identifying trends
§ To meet the
requirements of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous
Occurrences Regulations 1995
§ Investigations may be carried out to prevent future occurrences
§ Use in civil claims or to satisfy insurance requirements
§ Help in the identification and reduction of loss
§ Inform the review of risk assessments
(b) Identify why workers might not
report accidents at work. (page no : 5-17)
(4)
§ Unclear organizational policy on reporting incidents.
§ No reporting system in place.
§ Culture of not
reporting incidents (perhaps due to peer pressure).
§ Overly-complicated reporting procedures.
§ Excessive paperwork.
§
Takes too much time.
§ Blame culture.
§ Apathy due to management’s
perceived response in the past.
§ Concern over the impact on the company or departmental safety statistics
(especially if this is linked to an
incentive scheme).
§ Reluctance to
receive first-aid treatment
10.
Identify the immediate AND
longer term actions that should be taken following an accident at work
that has caused serious injury to worker.
The actions that may required after an accident such as:
·
Providing first-aid and
medical treatment.
·
Informing the next kin and
preserving the scene of the accident.
·
Action that may require satisfying statutory
requirements.
·
Determine immediate and root causes. Longer term actions are,
·
Reporting the accident to the
enforcement authority.
·
Identifying witnesses.
·
Undertaking an investigation.
·
The basis of the findings.
·
Revising work procedures.