IOSH Syllabus Contents
1. Module one: Introducing managing safely
2. Module two: Assessing risks
3. Module three: Controlling risks
4. Module four: Understanding responsibilities
5. Module five: Understanding hazards
6. Module six: Investigating incidents
7. Module seven: Measuring performance
IOSH Module: One
Introducing managing safely
Key learning points
1. Why is it important to manage safely?
2. What is your role in influencing managing safely?
Why is it important to manage safely?
Just for a moment, think about a serious accident happening in your organisation. What would it mean to you and your organisation?
Think about the injured workers, their personal costs, pain and suffering and the effect on their colleagues, friends and families. Workers may have long hospital stays and may never work again.
If it's shown that the accident happened because of a failure to manage health and safety risks in the organisation, the regulator may take action, which in turn may lead to prosecutions, fines and imprisonment.
There may also be a personal injury claim from the injured person. Maybe that doesn't alarm you too much - you're a reasonably comfortable organisation in financial terms, and the costs aren't going to hit you too hard.
But what about the replacement labour, accident investigation, fees charged by the Regulator-for example in Great Britain there is also a fee for intervention (FFI) downtime and increased insurance premiums? These are much greater than the costs of fines and worker compensation. Remember also that insurance won't pay the costs of criminal fines.
And what happens when the local or even the national press and television get hold of the story about the accident? What's the large multinational company that's recently placed an order with your organisation going to think? What will other potential customers, clients, employees, contractors and the local and national community think about your organisation?
You'll probably find your loss of reputation will cost a lot more than those fines.
Case Study
A worker was using an unguarded drilling machine in a small engineering company employing 15 workers. The sleeve of his jumper caught on the rotating drill, entangling his arm. Both bones in his lower arm were broken and he suffered extensive tissue and muscle injury. He spent 12 days in hospital undergoing major surgery and was off work for three months. On his return he was placed on administrative duties for five months and he was unable to operate machinery for eight months. The managing director was prosecuted following the incident and the total costs to the business were around £45,000/$64,500. Another cost was that two employees not involved in the accident were made redundant to prevent the company from going out of business.
Consequently, there are three key reasons to manage safely:
AMBULANCE
Moral: It's not acceptable for workers to suffer injury and ill health as a result of doing their job. Demonstrating that the organisation cares about the health and safety of its staff will lead to a happier and more productive workforce.
Case Study
The pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca started a 'Well-being' programme for employees, which focused on home-work balance, rehabilitation and treatment, and health promotion. The company benefited tremendously from this strategy; in the UK alone, absence levels are 31 per cent lower than the UK average, saving an estimated £5 million per year. There was a 53 per cent reduction in the number of ergonomic-related health and safety cases per million hours worked by the firm's UK employees in the first six months, and a reduction in the number of work-related stress cases.
Legal: Countries with safety and health laws in place usually require responsible people in organisations to assess reasonably foreseeable risks from the company's activities and to put in place control measures that will reduce the risks - so far as is reasonably practicable. This is quite fair; after all it's the companies that create the risks!
Financial: As well as reducing the likelihood of fines and personal injury claims, managing health and safety can save money through reduced insurance premiums and safer and more effective ways of working. A reputation as a health and safety conscious employer can also open doors for you in gaining new business, retaining and recruiting new staff.
What is your role in influencing managing safely?
Okay, so we've talked about 'the company' so far - now let's talk about you. You should already know that you have health and safety responsibilities.
You are in the front line of safety. As the representative of the employer, you will make decisions about local safety practice. You are in control of what really happens and that means you are the duty holder.
Responsibility leads to accountability - you can delegate responsibility but you can't give away your accountability - you're ultimately accountable.
Let's go back to our opening scenario, where we asked you to think about a serious accident happening in your organisation. Put yourself in the position of the manager of the worker who's had the accident:
. you are accountable for assessing and managing the risks the employee is exposed to
. you will have to arrange replacement labour, carry out the accident investigation, report to customers that their orders have been delayed, and potentially liaise with enforcement officers, your insurance company and the media
. you will have to tell your worker's family that they won't be coming home tonight.
This course will help you identify your responsibilities and accountabilities.
You need to know when you need to act, how to act, when not to act, when to pass things on to more senior managers, and when you're out of your depth and need to call for help.
When you return to your company, make a list of your responsibilities and accountabilities.
Case Study
In December 1984 forty tonnes of a toxin called Methyl Isocyanate leaked from a pesticide factory and settled over Bhopal, India. Almost 600,000 people were affected by the toxin; 3500 people died within days of it settling and more than 15,000 have died in the years since. Twenty years ago, the company responsible paid $470m (£282m) in compensation to the Indian government. The case took several years and eight former employees of the plant including the company chairman, managing director, vice-president, works manager and plant superintendant, were convicted in 2010 of causing death by negligence. One of the former employees has since died, the others each received a two year prison sentence and were also ordered to pay fines of 100,000 Indian rupees (£1,467 or $2,125). Whilst this may seem a relatively small amount for a fine, wages in India are significantly lower than many countries and it is not unusual for a worker to earn less than 150 rupees per day which is around £1.70/$2.2. This makes the fine around 2 years salary
Quiz
You will now do a quiz to help demonstrate why you need to manage safely.
1. Globally, approximately how many people die every year from a work related accident or disease?
a. 5.6 million
b. 1.5 million
c. 2.3 million
2. Approximately, how many fatal accidents occur each year on construction sites around the world?
a. 60,000
b. 48,000
c. 25,000
3. Across the world, how many people die from work related cancer each year?
a. 275,000
b. 556,000
c. 666,000
4. In Europe alone, how many cancer deaths are linked to occupational diesel exhaust exposure?
a. 2500
b. 3500
c. 4500
5. How many lives will Asbestos have claimed globally before it's fully controlled?
a. 15 million.
b. 10 million
c. 5 million
6. Which of the following does the International Labour Organizations (ILO) say is key to tackling the growing number of work-related diseases?
a. Preventing them occurring
b. Finding a cure
7. Approximately what is the percentage of workers worldwide that do not have any worker insurance to compensate them in case of occupational diseases and injuries?
a. 80%
b. 70%
c. 60%
8. Organisations that establish worker safety programmes can reduce injury and workplace illness costs by how much?
a. 5 to 10%
b. 50%
c. 20 to 40%
9. Workplace health initiatives can help to reduce sick leave absenteeism by what percentage?
a. 27%
b. 15%
c. 5%
10. What percentage of workplace accidents could be prevented by good management?
a. 70%
b. 60%
c. 50%
Getting it right?
So health and safety is another thing on your list, along with budgets, discipline, communications, legal matters, HR matters, sick leave, annual leave, resources and targets, to name but a few....
But think about it... managing health and safety can give you a helping hand with managing all the other things that you have to deal with. Good health and safety management can:
- enhance your reputation
- increase your profits
- reduce wastage and insurance premiums
- maintain a happy and healthy team.
In fact, managing health and safety is key to your business. Integrate health and safety into everything your business does. Treat health and safety matters with the respect they deserve, just like other risks to your business.
It's all well and good to say you agree with this, but you also have to live up to what you say your actions must match your words. So:
- think about health and safety when planning work
- talk about health and safety with your team
- demonstrate safe and healthy behaviour.
Summary
1. It's important to manage safely because...
2. Your role and responsibilities are...
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