HEALTH, SAFETY AND

ENVIRONMENT
BASIC DEFINITIONS

Health – The protection of the bodies and minds of people from illness resulting from the materials,
processes or procedures used in the workplace.
Safety – The protection of people from physical injury. The borderline between health and safety is
ill defined and the two words are normally used together to indicate concern for the physical and
mental well-being of the individual at the place of work.
Welfare – The provision of facilities to maintain the health and well-being of individuals at the
workplace. Welfare facilities include washing and sanitation arrangements, the provision of drinking
water, heating, lighting, accommodation for clothing, seating (when required by the work activity or
for rest), eating and rest rooms. First-aid arrangements are also considered as welfare facilities.
Occupational or work-related ill health – This is concerned with those illnesses or physical and
mental disorders that are either caused or triggered by workplace activities. Such conditions may be
induced by the particular work activity of the individual, or by activities of others in the workplace.
The time interval between exposure and the onset of the illness may be short (e.g. asthma attacks) or
long (e.g. deafness or cancer).
Environmental protection – These are the arrangements to cover those activities in the workplace
which affect the environment (in the form of flora, fauna, water, air and soil) and, possibly, the
health and safety of employees and others. Such activities include waste and effluent disposal and
atmospheric pollution.
Accident – Any unplanned event that results in injury or ill health of people, or damage or loss to
property, plant, materials or the environment or a loss of a business opportunity’. Other authorities
define an accident more narrowly by excluding events that do not involve injury or ill health.
Near miss – This is any incident that could have resulted in an accident. Knowledge of near misses
is very important as research has shown that, approximately, for every 10 ‘near miss’ events at a
particular location in the workplace, a minor accident will occur.
Dangerous occurrence – This is a ‘near miss’ which could have led to serious injury or loss of life.
Dangerous occurrences are defined in the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous
Occurrences Regulations (often known as RIDDOR) and are always reportable to the enforcement
authorities. Examples include the collapse of a scaffold or a crane or the failure of any passenger-
carrying equipment.
Hazard– A hazard is the potential of a substance, person, activity or process to cause harm.
Hazards take many forms including, for example, chemicals, electricity and working from a
ladder.
Risk- the product of likelihood and consequence.
REASONS TO MANAGE HSE

Moral reason
Legal reason
Financial reason
H&S Management System:
Definition

“The means by which an organisation controls risk

through the management process”.

Health & Safety Executive

Safety Programmes
• Traditional approach is the use of safety programmes.
• Programmes are focused on compliance with
standards/regulations
• Programmes do not have strong or any feedback
mechanisms
• The performance of a programme is measured using
(reactive) indicators such as the number of accidents,
injuries etc.
 Systems Approach
• Four elements common to general systems theories are
input, process, output and feedback.
• Systems are also classed as being either open or closed.
• Open systems interacts with the external environment and is
subject to external influences.
• Closed systems do not interact with the environment and so their
ability to adapt or respond to changing internal conditions is
limited.
Systems Approach

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

FEEDBACK

Organisation

External Environment
 Key Elements of a H&S Management
System (1)
HSE Model
Policy
(HSG65) Policy development

Organisational
Organising development

Planning &
Audit
Implementing

Developing
techniques of
Measuring planning,
Performance measuring and
reviewing

Reviewing
Performance
KEY ELEMENTS OF A H&S
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Policy

Policy
Organising Effective health and safety
policies set a clear direction
Audit
Planning &
Implementing
for the organisation to
follow.
Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance
 Key Elements of a H&S
Management System
Policy

Organising
Organising
An effective management structure
and arrangements are in place for
Audit
Planning & delivering the policy.
Implementing

Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance
KEY ELEMENTS OF A H&S
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Policy Planning
There is a planned and
Organising
systematic approach to
implementing the health and
safety policy through an
Planning &
Audit
Implementing effective health and safety
management system.
Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance
 Key Elements of a H&S
Management System
Policy

Measuring
Organising Performance
Planning & Performance is measured against
Audit
Implementing agreed standards to reveal when
and where improvement is needed.
Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance
KEY ELEMENTS OF A H&S
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Policy
Auditing and Reviewing of

Organising
Performance
The organisation learns from
Audit
Planning &
Implementing
all relevant experience and
applies the lessons.
Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance
STANDARDISATION

A standard is defined by the BSI as:

“A document, established by consensus and approved by a recognised body,
that provides for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, or
characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the
optimum degree of order in a given context”
 Recent International Standards

ISO 9000 Series: Quality Management Systems

ISO 14000 Series: Environmental Management

Systems
 Policy

Organising

Planning &
Audit
Implementing

Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance
PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF A H&S
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The Health & Safety Policy (1)
An OH&S policy establishes an overall sense of direction and sets the
principles of action for an organisation.
It sets goals for the level of OHS responsibility and performance required
from the mine.
It demonstrates the formal commitment towards good OH&S management,
particularly that of the organisation’s top management.
THE HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY (2)

BS8800 sets out nine specific commitments that must be included

to develop a comprehensive policy statement.

Recognising that OH&S is an integral particle of its business

performance.
Achieving a high level of OH&S performance, with
compliance to legal requirements as a minimum, and to
continual cost-effective improvement in performance.
Provide adequate and appropriate resources to implement the
policy.
THE HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY (2A)
The setting and publishing of OH&S objectives, even if only
by internal notification.

Place the management of OH&S as a prime responsibility of

line management, from the most senior executive to first line
supervisory level.

To ensure that the policy statement is understood,

implemented and maintained at all levels in the organisation.
THE HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY (2B)

Employee involvement and consultation to gain commitment to the policy and

its implementation.

Periodic review of the policy, the management system and audit of

compliance to policy.

Ensure that employees at all levels receive appropriate training and are
competent to carry out their duties and responsibilities.
 Policy

Organising

Planning &
Audit
Implementing

Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance
PLANNING FOR HEALTH &
SAFETY MANAGEMENT
Planning for OH&S involves:

Identifying requirements for the system -

what needs to be done
Setting clear performance criteria -
what is to be done
Identifying who is responsible -
who gets it done
Setting time scales -
when it should be done by
Identifying the desired outcome -
what should be the result
Both BS8800 and OHSAS 18001 identify three key areas which
need to be addressed during the planning stage.

(1) Risk Assessment and Management

The intent of this requirement is so that the organisation can
appreciate all significant OH&S hazards facing it using the
process of risk management.
(2) Legal requirements
The organisation should identify all legal requirements applicable to it as well
as any other industry or company specific requirements to which it
subscribes.
(3) Health & Safety Objectives and Programmes
Health and safety objectives are defined as “the goals in
terms of H&S performance that an organisation sets itself to
achieve and should be quantified wherever practicable”.
 Examples of Types of OH&S objective

The introduction of additional features into the OH&S

management system (e.g. permit to work systems for specific
tasks, strategic OH&S safety training for supervisors etc.).
The improvement of existing features, or the constancy of
their application across the Quarry (e.g. accident reporting,
communication of standard procedures etc.).
The elimination or the reduction in frequency of particular
undesired incidents (e.g. reduce accidents by 20%, remove all
hazardous material etc.)
IMPLEMENTING OBJECTIVES

Suitable indicators should be defined for each objective to allow

for the monitoring of the implementation of the objectives.
Formal action plans should be drawn up for each OH&S objective
that has been identified. These should identify the:
 Individuals who are responsible for the deliverance of the objectives
across the quarry and/or within each operation.
 Various tasks that need to be undertaken in order to meet each objective.
IMPLEMENTATION &
OPERATION
Roles and Responsibilities
At all levels within the organisation, people need to be aware of
their roles and responsibilities.
Individual OH&S responsibilities should be clearly defined.
All personnel should be given the authority and resources
necessary to carry out their responsibilities.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES CONT’D

Appropriate arrangements should exist whereby people are held

accountable for discharging their responsibilities.
Reporting relationships should be clear and unambiguous.
Where personnel appraisal systems exist OH&S responsibilities
should be included.
 Training & Competence

The organisation should have effective procedures for

ensuring the competence of personnel to carry out their
designated functions.
Systematic identification of the competencies required by
each employee.
Provision of training identified as being necessary.
Assessment of individuals to ensure that they have acquired
and maintain the knowledge and skills necessary for the level
of competence required.
The maintenance of appropriate training/skills records.
IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION
(2)
Consultation & Communication
The organisation should encourage participation in a process of
consultation and communication. This involves:

Identifying and receiving relevant OH&S information from outside

the organisation including:
New, or amendments to legislation;
Information necessary for the identification of hazards and evaluation and control of risks;
Information and developments in OH&S management practice.
Ensuring that pertinent OH&S information is communicated to all people in the organisation who
need it. This requires arrangements to:
Ensure that information does not just flow from the top down, but also from the bottom up.
Avoiding restricting OH&S items to dedicated OH&S meetings.
Report hazards and shortcomings in OH&S arrangements.
Ensuring that relevant information is communicated to people outside the organisation who require
it.
Encouraging feed-back and suggestions from employees on OH&S matters.
 IMPLEMENTATION AND
OPERATION (2)

Documentation
The organisation should document, and maintain up-to-date sufficient
documentation on its OH&S management system.

This requirement is analogous to Regulation 7 of the Quarries Regulations,

1999 which require the production of a health and safety document.
 Operational Control
The organisation should establish and maintain arrangements
to ensure that activities are carried out safely.

These arrangements should be based on the results of the risk

assessment, and any health and safety objectives that have
been defined.

The organisation should also plan and prepare for all

foreseeable accident, incident and emergency situations.
 Policy

Organising

Planning &
Audit
Implementing

Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance
MEASURING PERFORMANCE (1)

The key purposes of measuring performance are to:

Determine whether OH&S plans have been implemented and objectives achieved;
Check that risk control measures are in place and are effective;
Learn from system failures such as areas of non-compliance, accidents and incidents.
Promote the implementation of plans and risk controls by providing feedback to all parties
Provide information that can be used to review, and if necessary to improve aspects of an OH&S
management system.
An organisation’s performance measurement system should incorporate both active
and reactive monitoring data.
MEASURING PERFORMANCE (2)
Active measuring systems
Used to check compliance with the organisations OH&S activities.
Examples of active monitoring data are:
The extent to which plans and objectives have been set and achieved.
Whether a director for OH&S has been appointed.
Whether a safety policy has been published.
The numbers trained in OH&S.
Number of risk assessments completed.
Extent of compliance with risk controls.
Active Measuring systems cont’d
Extent of compliance with statutory requirements Frequency of OH&S audits.
Frequency and effectiveness of OH&S committee meetings.
OH&S specialist reports.
Health Surveillance reports.
Workplace exposure levels.
Personal protective equipment use.
Reactive monitoring Systems
Should be used to investigate, analyse and record OH&S
management system failures including:
Unsafe Acts
Unsafe conditions
Lost time accidents
Major accidents & fatalities
Sickness absences
Criticisms made by regulatory agency staff
Complaints made by members of the public.
MEASURING PERFORMANCE (3)

Investigating Accidents and Incidents

Organisations should have procedures for both the reporting and investigating
of accidents and incidents.

The prime purpose of these procedures should be to prevent further

occurrence of the situation by identifying and dealing with the root causes.
 Policy

Organising

Planning &
Audit
Implementing

Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance
Auditing

OH&S auditing is a process whereby an organisation can

review and continuously evaluate the effectiveness of their
OH&S management system.

Safety auditing is a positive and proactive means of checking

the safety performance of an organisation.
 KEY REQUIREMENTS OF AUDITING
(1)

Scheduling
An annual plan should be prepared for carrying out internal safety audits.

Management Support
To be of value, senior management should be fully committed to the concept
of auditing and its effective implementation within the organisation.
Audits
Audits provide a comprehensive and formal assessment of the
organisation’s compliance with OH&S procedures and
practices.
The end result of an audit should include a detailed written
assessment of OH&S procedures, the levels of compliance
with procedures and practices and should where necessary
identify corrective actions.

Auditors
One or more persons may undertake audits. A team approach
may widen the involvement and improve co-operation. They
should be independent of the part of the organisation or the
activity that is to be audited.
KEY REQUIREMENTS OF AUDITING
(2)
Data collection and interpretation
Relevant documentation should be examined. This may include.
OH&S management system documentation.
OH&S policy statement.
OH&S emergency procedures.
Permit to work systems and procedures.
Minutes of OH&S meetings.
Accident/Incident reports and records.
Training records.
Reports or communication with the enforcing authority.
Audit results

At the end of the audit, and before submitting their report, the
auditor or the Audit team should hold a meeting with the
responsible manager of the audited area.

The main purpose of such a meeting is to communicate the

results of the audit to the responsible manager in order to
ensure that it is understood and agreement is reached.
 KEY REQUIREMENTS OF AUDITING
(2)

Content of the Report

The content of the final audit report should, depending on the case, contain the
following elements:
The audit objectives and scope
The particulars of the audit plan, identification of the members of the auditing team and the audited representative, dates of
audit and identification of the area subject to audit;
CONTENT OF THE REPORT CONT’D

The identification of reference handbooks used to conduct the audit;

The cases of non conformance.
The auditors assessment of the degree of conformity to OHSAS 18001
The ability of the OH&S management system to achieve the stated OH&S objectives