Some pivotal and probing questions are being put by the HSE to the top-tier leadership of our UK organisations asking them to consider some important issues … of course, business is moving through some fairly unique and bizarre times lately and, although I do understand that the CEOs and leaders of industry have a lot of priorities to fill their minds and thoughts on other ‘pressing’ issues, are they really taking their role seriously enough in terms of properly ensuring their company organisations are actually performing true health and safety management? … …
- How do you demonstrate the board's commitment to health and safety?
- What do you do to ensure appropriate board-level review of health and safety?
- What have you done to ensure your organisation, at all levels including the board, receives competent health and safety advice?
In June 2000 the Revitalising Health and Safety Strategy statement was published by DETR and HSC setting out how the Government and the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) at that time will work together to revitalise health and safety, and included the following targets for Great Britain's health and safety system:
- to reduce the working days lost per 100,000 workers from work related injury and ill health by 30% by 2010;
- to reduce the incidence rate of cases of work-related ill health by 20% by 2010;
- to reduce the incidence rate of fatalities and major injuries by 10% by 2010;
- to achieve half the improvement under each target by 2004.
Okay, so here we are, ten years on and now within a year of those targets … what values have changed? What has been achieved?
I often think about that pivotal infamous case in Barrow where seven members of the public became fatal statistics and around another 170 others could have become added to that, all because of the proven failures in the leadership and management of competent health and safety systems to properly manage a fairly basic process … how different it could have been for the families who have lost their loved relatives … that’s the real value of effective H&S leadership …
So, tell me, how do your CEO and organisational leadership actually shape up against these questions?
- How are you ensuring all staff – including the board – are sufficiently trained and competent in their health and safety responsibilities?
- How confident is your leader that the workforce, particularly safety representatives, are consulted properly on health and safety matters, and that their concerns are reaching the appropriate level including, as necessary, the board?
- What systems are in place to ensure your organisation’s risks are assessed, and that sensible control measures are established and maintained?
What sort of answers would you be able to give about your leader to these questions ...
- How well does your leader know what is happening on the ground, and what audits or assessments are undertaken to inform them about what the organisation and contractors actually do?
- What information does the board receive regularly about health and safety – e.g. performance data and reports on injuries and work-related ill health?
- What targets have been set to improve health and safety and does your organisation actually benchmark its performance against others in its sector or beyond?
Then, how about changes ... and we've certainly seen some of those lately eh? ... many can have severe impact upon resourcing issues
- Where changes in working arrangements have significant implications for health and safety, how are these brought to the attention of the board?
It's absolutely useless for leaders to bury their heads in the sand ... in that position it's all too easy to have a nasty rear-end intervention! ... so, talk to me and share your views, experiences and ideas ...
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