This article follows the piece issued with the Business Safety newsletter,
Issue 2. The previous article (Part 1) is available here.
Emergency Plans and Procedures
Purpose
Organisations need to make sure that if something goes wrong that a) the
number of persons injured is kept to a minimum and b) persons who are
injured are given primary care (1st Aid) and proper medical attention as soon
as possible.
Pitfalls
Emergency plans and procedures may omit certain details such as
responsibilities, post-emergency roll calls, liaison with emergency services
and securing of emergency zones. Emergency plans may also omit to specify
training to be given to nominated persons or may not state what frequency
and degree of practice (drill) is to be utilised.
Perhaps most importantly, the plans and procedures for emergencies may
take no heed of past experiences, particularly with regard to the outcomes of
emergency drills.
Solutions
Make a list and examine the types of emergencies which could arise and what
could go wrong. identify key roles and responsibilities for minimising the
number of persons to danger and ensuring injured parties receive appropriate
care (1st aid and follow-on care). Ask yourself what could go wrong during an
evacuation and devise appropriate controls. Speak with your local fire service
and ask them to visit your workplace for advice on emergency planning.
Conduct regular drills and make notes on errors or shortcomings which show
up. Update your procedures and plans and make sure these changes are
communicated to all concerned.
Duties of Employees:
Purpose
By stating the duties of employees in the Safety Statement, each person
knows what it is they must do and what is expected of them. The duties
assigned to each member of staff should be specific, but if particular duties
are assigned under procedures which exist outside the Safety Statement,
then the Safety Statement may just refer to them instead. It would not be
practical to include scores or maybe hundreds of individual rules in the Safety
Statement as this may render the statement unreadable and lead to its
eventual side-lining.
Note: Under the 2005 Act, the definition of employees includes nonmanagerial staff, fixed term, temporary and permanent staff, managers and
directors. Everyone in the business has a role to play and as such, everyone
should have duties and responsibilities set against their position.
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Pitfalls
Ask yourself what function managers, supervisors, buyers, drivers and others
have to play. Since you will have various expectations of each position and
function, ask yourself if these are adequately covered under each title. If
there is an organisational chart, you may spot that there is someone on it who
is not assigned duties and responsibilities.
Also, look out for legislation being quoted as the duties of employees. Ask
yourself if this is all you expect of your employees. Most organisations will
have staff rules which are not covered in the 2005 Act or 2007 General
Application Regulations and it is particularly important that these are referred
to if not included in the Safety Statement.
Solutions
Identify the possible impact (negative or positive) that each employee may
have on the health and safety of workers or others. Devise appropriate duties
and responsibilities to reflect this impacts and to ensure workers and others
are not exposed to harm. Avoid quoting legislation as the duties of individuals
or groups but devise duties and responsibilities which reflect your
expectations of them.
NB: Consultation is key here in ensuring you end up with practical and
realistic expectations of your staff.
Names & Titles
Purpose
Section 20(2)(e) states that the names as well as the titles of persons with
particular responsibilities must be included in the Safety Statement.
Check if either names or titles are missing. Simply having the "Purchasing
Manager" is not sufficient, nor titles without names such as "The Manager".
Pitfalls
n/a
Solutions
n/a
Arrangements for the Appointment of Safety Representatives
Purpose
Section 20(2)(f) of the 2005 Act requires employers to include the
arrangements regarding
• the selection of Safety Representatives
• consultation with employees and Safety Representatives, and
• participation by employees and Safety Representatives
The same Section also requires employers to state the names of Safety
Representatives and members of the Safety Committee.
Pitfalls
You should review the Safety Statement to see whether it explicitly states how
staff are informed of their right to select a Safety Representative and how they
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are actively engaged in the selection process. If you have a safety
committee, you should check to see if its members are listed in the Safety
Statement and if the list of committee members is up to date.
Solutions
Include details of how staff are informed of their right to select a Safety
Representative as well as the processes used in their selection. State the
mechanisms used to demonstrate how you engage your staff in the
consultation process and list the names of Safety Representatives and
members of any Safety Committee (if any).
NB: If your business is construction-based, you may also need to include how
you comply with the requirements of Safety Representatives under the 2006
Construction Regulations.
NB: You are not obliged to have a Safety Representative (unless your
business is construction based – see above) but you are required to make
employees aware of their rights in this regard and to assist them in fulfilling
this function.
BusinessSafety.ie provide expert advice in compliance matters and can assist
your organisation in putting together a compliant Safety Statement or other
documentation which will assist you in managing health and safety. For
further information, please call us on 0818 333 212 or log onto:
www.BusinessSafety.ie
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