201

5
ANALYSING THE IMPORTANCE
OF IMPLEMENTING HEALTH
AND SAFETY TECHNIQUES AT
BAY LTD
Module: Research methods I

SUBMITTED
WOOZEEAR
SEEPAUL
CUTTAREE
SUBMITTED
BHEEKARRY

BY:

BEVERLEY

MOONESH
ARJUNA
TO:

MRS.

CLASS: HRM2.1/2.2
1/1/2015

TABLE OF CONTENT

List of abbreviations
CSO Central Statistics Office
HR Human Resources
HRM Human Resource Management
HSE Health and Safety Executive
ILO International Labour Organisation
KPI Key Performance Indicator
OSHA 2005 Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005

1. INTRODUCTION
1. Overview
The Occupational Safety and Health Act in Mauritius provide a framework of health and safety
for organisations in order to prevent accidents, injuries as well as diseases at the workplace. It
also highlights the consequences an organisation has to bear in case of non-compliance of the
regulations set by the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005 (OSHA 2005). Organisations
may even phase out if they do not abide by health and safety regulation which makes it becomes
primordial for organisations to protect the health and safety of their employees at the workplace.
Apart from legal issues, it is becoming increasingly important for organisations to provide a
healthy and safe environment.

1.1 Description of the organisation

BAY Ltd; Beverley Crusher Ltd, Arjuna Mix Ltd and Yash Construction Ltd are the three
integrated companies in the Construction Industry owned and controlled by WOOZEEAR
Beverley, CUTTAREE Arjuna, SEEPAUL Moonesh, involved in the production and selling of
different types of aggregates, rock sand, crusher run, hardcore, soil and blocks, ready-mix
concrete and building and civil engineering works.
The three companies have experienced a rapid expansion of activities within the 10 years of
existence. The three companies altogether employ 200 people. This has necessitated a Human
Resource Department to deal with HR issues pertaining to the three companies which has been
implemented since 2010 which has otherwise controlled by one of the Director, Mr. Jayash
Rooney.

1.2. Importance of Health and Safety at work: A business case perspective

Essentially, Ellyard (2009), in his article Importance of Health and Safety highlights that an
organisation enjoys certain benefits when complying with health and safety provisions. These
can be in financial terms, for example, rise in production levels as accidents do not disrupt
production line as well as low compensation benefits that need to be paid to employees in case of
accidents.
Liaudanskien (2010) highlighted by reducing health and safety budgets, organisations fail to
implement occupational risk assessment and employee training measures as well as purchase of
collective and personal protective equipment. However, the companys revenue is not saved or
increased, since in case of an accident or occupational illness construction work is stopped;
worker productivity and job satisfaction decrease. The company does not make a profit instead it
can face financial and reputation losses.
Liaudanskien (2010) also claimed that health and safety of workers are important in ensuring
high productivity and good quality work. The latter was also of the opinion that the costs
incurred due to accidents and illnesses are very high which necessitates the prevention of workrelated accidents and occupational illnesses in construction companies.

2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

2.1. Problem Statement
Central Statistics Office (CSO) reveals that the highest rate of accidents at the workplace is in the
Stone-crushing, Block-making and Construction Industry1. In 2008, more than one-quarter of the
accidents caused at work in Mauritius was in the Construction Industry. This fact is very
alarming and necessitates immediate actions to be taken. Coleman (2004) highlighted that
construction activity constantly involves change by comparison with other industries. Sites
develop with progress of work hence the working environment is altering hour by hour. Change
is known to be one of the prime conditions which induces unsafe behaviour and can preclude
straightforward defensive measures.

2.2. Rationale of study

The highest numbers of accidents caused are in the Construction Industry, which is why, BAY
Ltd being in the Construction Industry suit best the purpose of this research.

2.3. Research aim

The aim of this research is to implement health and safety issues at BAY Ltd and the role of HR
in ensuring a healthy and safe working environment.

2.4. Research Objectives

1. To determine the extent to which BAY Ltd complies with OSHA 2005.
2. To highlight the importance of Human Resource Management in ensuring health and safety at
the workplace.
3. To introduce a Health and Safety management system and Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
format that will help BAY Ltd to monitor health and safety issues.

2.5. Research questions

1. To what extent OSHA 2005 are enforced at BAY Ltd?
2. To what extent Human Resource Manager is responsible in Health and Safety?
3. To what extent employees are exposed to risks at the workplace?

3. LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1. Health and Safety at Work: an overview
There has been progress on many fronts in the world of work. But work-related
deaths, accidents and diseases, are still major causes for concern. Decent work
must also be safe work.
Juan Somavia, ILO Director-General (2005)

3.1.1. Definition of health and safety

In simple terms, Health and Safety is about preventing people from being harmed or becoming ill
by taking the right precautions and providing a satisfactory working environment.
A more comprehensive definition of Health and Safety has been given by Heery E. and Noon, M.
(2001), who asserted that Health and Safety is that aspect of human resource management
concerned with identifying hazards and risks to health within work processes and taking steps to
minimize or remove those risks.

3.2. Occupational Health

A wide range of factors in our work such as incorrect working methods, environmental hazards,
toxic substances or hazardous equipment can all have negative effects on the human body. An
unhealthy body can affect work and productivity. Therefore occupational health examines the
correlation between work and health.

"Occupational health should aim at the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of
physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention among
workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of
workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; and the
placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his
physiological and psychological ability.
From the literature review of Abdallah et al (2009), occupational health can be described as a
sound state of the body and mind of people from illness resulting from the materials, processes
or procedures used in the workplace. While occupational safety is the protection of people from
physical injury. According to Mathis and Jacksons (2004) occupational health refers to a general
state of physical, mental and emotional well-being of a worker. Therefore according to these
writers, it can be said that they all agree on the point that a healthy worker is the one who is free
from illness, injury, mental and emotional problems that may impair his normal work activity or
routine. Premier Occupational Healthcare (2010) also gave their views about what is meant by
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), they see it as processes or strategies to protect and
promote the health and safety of workers. That is, to eliminate all factors, behaviours and
conditions hazardous to human health and safety at work. Occupational Health and Safety
enhances the physical, mental and social well-being of workers and supports the development
and maintenance of their working capacity, as well as their professionalism at work. Hence
organisations which are committed to health and safety have policies that guide both
management and employees in ensuring that the working environment is injury free for workers.
In order for the policies to be fully implemented and become successful, Armstrong (2006) says
that it is necessary for the organisation to involve its employees in the development. Alli (2001)
argues that Occupational Health and Safety plays an important role in reducing accidents and
injuries at work. A good practice of OHS management in an organisation should demonstrate

better task performance and ameliorated behaviour which will result in increase in productivity.
The use of OHS management systems in each department can offer employees with a clear
accepted code system of rules and procedures about the safe operations of machinery and
appropriate behaviours to adopt. Again with Lim (2012), in his views he says that when workers
understand the health and safety rules and procedures of their job and the tools use for working,
it helps them to work effectively and efficiently which results in better performance of
employees. Hudson (2012) also sees that occupational health and safety management practices
would help to build a positive workplace culture and enhance performance of everyone. To him,
it also gives room for high employee performance that encourages creativity and innovation. A
research provided by Ward et al. (2008), supports all views that consider that organisation is
enjoying direct benefit in promoting occupational health and safety. To then in an organisation
where employees within feel that management cares for them, there is an indication of positive
management of occupational health and safety system and as such results in safer working
practices as well as positive impact on employee outcomes like for example, job motivation, job
involvement, safety climate, organisational commitment, job satisfaction, mental health and
well-being.

3.2.2. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAMS

1. Anticipating and identifying health hazards
Consideration should be given to work processes, tools and equipment at the design stage
so as to make every effort to avoid hazards and ensure the health of employees. For work
already underway, we must identify and evaluate hazards. Methods used can include
conducting workplace inspections, referring to occupational safety and health
publications, interviewing with employees.
2. Evaluating health risk
After identifying the health hazards, the next step is to evaluate the level of risk. Different
evaluation methods should be used to analyse the degree of risk of different health
hazards, for example, measuring air contaminant levels, measuring work frequencies and
physical demands, analysing survey results and evaluating existing control measures, etc.
Results should be compared with the relevant standards.
3. Developing control measures
When the assessment reveals unacceptable occupational health risk levels, control
measures should be adopted.

3.3. EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

An approach which can be considered to effective management of occupational health to

help to reduce sickness absences will be:
Excellent leadership from managers at the top level.
Without leadership an organisation will not be motivated to take action. Institutions
where it is clear that managing occupational health, safety and sickness absence is a key
priority will be the institutions that really get things done.
A good occupational health service.
Investing in improved and more proactive occupational health arrangements can deliver
efficiency savings in a relatively short timescale. A proactive occupational health service
and a healthy and supportive working environment play an important part in preventing
both work-related ill health and in proactively managing common health problems in
order to help employees remain in work.
Training and support for line managers
Because line managers relationships they have with their teams are what can make a real
difference.
Regular, supportive contact with those absent due to sickness.
This can have a major impact on an individuals motivation to get back to work.
The right system and data to support better absence management.
To effectively manage occupational health and safety, and reduce the time lost to sickness
absence, institutions will need to have systems for recording up-to-date and accurate
sickness absence data that operate in real time, and allow sickness to be broken down by
area and cause on a regular basis. This real-time reporting enables you to proactively
target specific action to problem areas, and is the best way to measure progress towards
tackling sickness absence.

3.4. The Law and Health and Safety Legislations

Health and safety legislation was introduced with the Industrial Revolution in Europe between
the 18th and 19th centuries when workers were being exploited and were exposed to unsafe
working conditions. Accidents and injuries were very frequent and no provisions were made to
overcome them. In the early 1800s, measures were started to be taken to preserve the health and
safety of workers in the UK which was later followed by other European countries such as
Germany and France. This was actually the source of occupational safety, health and welfare
regulation being introduced.

3.4.1. Health and Safety in Mauritius

In Mauritius, the evolution of the world of work due to the rapid industrialization process has
brought about changes in the Occupational safety and health as well which became inadequate
and inconsistent. There were various laws that were enacted which became obsolete very
quickly.
In October 2005, the OSHA 2005 was introduced to meet the dynamic nature of the world of
work which aims at consolidating and widening the scope of legislation on safety, health and
welfare of employees at work. This Act encompasses both the private and public sector.

3.4.2. The Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005 (OSHA 2005)
OSHA 2005 provides a legal framework for both the employer and the employees to guide their
action.

Duties of employer according to OSHA 2005

The most effective OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) programs are developed jointly by
management and staff. The purpose is to help everyone understand their own roles and the roles
of others so they can work toward common health and safety goals.
Employers have both general and specific responsibilities related to hazard control and worker
health and safety. In carrying out these duties, management can demonstrate their commitment to
health and safety in the workplace.
OSHA 2005 emphasized the role of employers to do all the necessary arrangements to ensure
safety, health and welfare of all his employees. Moreover, every employer employing 50 or more
employees need to have a written safety and health policy statement and take appropriate actions
to enforce it.
Essentially, a health and safety policy statement has found to be very important to show that the
organization is very caring. The policy should state the management's commitment to ensure a
safe and healthy workplace and should clearly define the roles and responsibilities of people
responsible for health and safety and explain how they are accountable (Safe Work SA, 2007).
OSHA 2005 makes it mandatory for the employer to make provisions for the safety of employees
such as providing them the necessary resources. There need to be appropriate procedures to be
followed in case of a fire, explosion or accidental release of substances hazardous to health or a
dangerous occurrence.

Hon. Shakeel Mohamed, Ex Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment (2007),
elaborated further on risk assessment to ensure that risks at work are eliminated or minimized
through tightening of control measures.
HSE (2011) affirmed that providing health and safety information and training an organization to
ensure the safety of the employees and promote health and safety culture, as well as meet its
legal duty to protect the health and safety of its employees.

Duties of employees according to OSHA 2005

The responsibility of health and safety at work does not rest only on the shoulder of the
employer. OSHA 2005 binds the employees as well to contribute to health and safety and stated
that every employee need to take reasonable care for the safety and health of himself and of other
persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work. The employee needs to abide by
the rules and regulations in place concerning health and safety, for example, wearing or using
protective clothing and equipments.
Employee contribution is very crucial in building a safety culture at the workplace. An HR
manager can help in coordinating safety programs, making employees aware about the health
and safety policy of the company, conduct formal safety training, etc. The supervisors and
departmental heads are responsible for maintaining safe working conditions (Anon, 2007).

3.5. HR Safety Practices

Safety has been one of the major concerns of Human Resource Management. Lauver (2004)
research based on the link between organizational HR practices and organizational safety
outcomes has, in a way, highlighted the importance of Human Resource Management in
establishing safety at work. Lauver has examined some of the key HR practices and how these
impact on safety outcomes.

3.5.1. Selection
According to Lauvers research, the selection process helps to identify candidates that are not
suited for a particular work and ensure that candidates possess the required skill for certain job
posts. It has been further argued that the characteristics of individuals as well as experience of

candidates and their physical abilities impact on safety and highlights the importance of physical
examinations in the selection process.
Essentially, the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work (2008) emphasized that young
and inexperienced people are more likely to be harmed at work since they are unawareness of
risks, and lack skills. Therefore, person-to-job fit is very important and the latter have to be
placed in safe and suitable jobs that are matched to their skills and mental and physical abilities
and given adequate training and supervision.

3.5.2. Training
Lauver claimed that training is one of the HR practices used to improve employee safety.
Training impacts employees by improving their skills and abilities, as well as by communicating
what is important to the organization. Lauver cited Pfeffers (1999) words on training who states
that training is an essential component because organizations rely on frontline employee skill
and initiative to identify and resolve problems, to initiate changes in work methods, and to take
responsibility for quality (Pfeffer & Veiga, 1999, p. 43).
Armstrong (2006) highlights that health and safety training is very important to prevent accidents
at work which should be a part of induction training as well as if an employee is transferred to a
new working environment.

3.5.3. Performance management

Lauver asserted that safety is an important criterion in performance appraisals and it should be
communicated to employees. Lauver highlighted some previous research that examined the
effectiveness of positive reinforcement and feedback finding that both written and oral feedback
to employees on safety was important to employees, especially frequent feedback and that the
criteria emphasized by performance evaluations influence what safety behaviors employees will
follow.
HSE (2008) highlights the importance of systematic review of performance based on data from
health and safety audits.

3.5.4. Compensation
Lauver highlighted that linking compensation or rewards to safety would encourage safety
behaviours. It should however not discourage employees not reporting injury rather than
promoting safe behavior. Nevertheless, Lauver concluded that incentives or rewards actually
improved safety performance whereby employees were prone to use safety equipments and
lower numbers of injuries were reported.
PsychaLogica (2006) further added that organizations that aim to attain high safety performance
levels need to integrate reward and recognition together. This has also been supported by the
Reinforcement Theory where the underlying hypothesis is that positive consequences make
behaviour more likely, negative consequences make behaviour less likely.

3.6. Causes of accidents at the workplace

The most likely causes of accidents are due to bad work organization, lack of supervision and
control, as well as failure to assess operational risks. In addition, a high level of work-related
injuries were also caused to due failure of organization to comply with health and safety
requirements as well as a poor state of safety culture whereby employees themselves are
irresponsible concerning their safety at the workplace.(Liaudanskien et al. 2010).
Hunter (2011) highlights top six construction site hazards listed by OSHA which included
electrical, excavation and trenching, falls, stairways and ladder, scaffolding and heavy
equipment.
HSE (2003) claimed that the biggest single cause of construction accidents is simply getting to
the workface, that is, employees often hurt themselves on site while moving around and
handling materials and equipments. It has been further added that lack of supervision and
communication as well as training were major causes of accidents.

3.7. Implementation of health and safety unit

Appointment of an Occupational Safety and Health Officer/Manager on either a part-time or full

time basis as required by Law. A clear and realistic definition of the Occupational Safety and
Health Policy should lead and command the role and function of a Safety and Health Committee
in which employer's and employee's representatives participate to achieve and meet legal
obligations for safety, health and welfare of everyone in a work environment.

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Shuttleworth (2008), defined research as includes any gathering of data, information
and facts for the advancement of knowledge.
The methodology for this research has been adapted from the following steps developed
by Kotler ( 2003):
Definition of research problem and objectives
Developing the research plan for collecting information
Implementing the research plan, which is, collecting and analyzing the data
Interpreting and reporting the findings

4.1. Research Context

The highest numbers of accidents caused are in the Construction Industry, that is why BAY LTD
being in the Construction Industry suit best the purpose of this research.

4.2. Research design

For the purpose of this research, a combination of explorative and descriptive research was used
to investigate the health and safety issues at BAY Company.

4.2.1. Data Sources

There are two types of data used for this research which are primary sources and secondary
sources. Forshaw M (2000) describes primary data as data collected at first hand to solve the
current problem and secondary data as data that already exist and which has been collected for
another purpose.
Primary Data
Specific primary data was gained from the employees and management of BAY
Company

Secondary Data
Secondary data that was used was in terms of a literature search. Journal articles, books,
magazines and Universite Des Mascareignes dissertations were consulted. Some
secondary data was also available from BAY Company.

4.3. Data Collection Method

Survey research approaches have been used for this project. Trochim (2006) highlighted that
survey involves gathering primary data from people about their attitudes, behaviour, knowledge
preferences and perceptions about a particular issue or problem.

4.3.1. Research Instruments

Questionnaires
Saunders et al. (2009) defines questionnaire as a general term including all data collection
techniques in which each person is asked to respond to the same set of questions in a
predetermined order.
Advantages of Questionnaire:
The advantages of using questionnaires as research instruments are that questionnaires are
relatively more objective, quicker and cheaper than interview (Milne, 1996).

Interviews
Mc Nammra (1997) argues that interview can be specifically used for gaining in-depth
information about a subject matter.

4.4. Data Collection Forms design

4.4.1. Questionnaire design
So as not to breach any ethical considerations, the questionnaire will be accompanied by a
covering letter, which explains the purpose of the survey, so that respondents could make a
decision of participation or non-participation.
The design of the questionnaire was mainly based on the different variables identified in the
literature review and aimed at answering the research objectives.
The questions were framed using simple and straight-word terms to the questions
comprehensible as possible to all respondents. Mostly close-ended questions were used which
includes dichotomous questions, list questions and scaled questions. The questionnaire will
consist of 17 questions.
A pilot test was done with 10 employees of BAY Company which revealed some important
changes to be made in the questionnaire.

4.5. Target Population

The target population is the 50 employees of BAY Company Time and resources constraints does
not allow for administering questionnaire to all the employees. A sampling plan has been
designed to overcome this problem.

4.6 Sampling Unit

The population for this research will be the all the employees of BAY Company, the Health and
Safety Officer and the Human Resource Manager.

4.6.1. Sample Size

For this research, questionnaire will be administered to 30 employees from various sections since
it is a more reasonable and manageable size as well as representative of the whole BAY
Company.

4.7. Data Collection and Analysis

Data will be collected from the designated sample elements over 30 days. I will use
spreadsheets (Ms Excel 2007) to better graphically represent the information .

4.8. Limitations of study

Overall, the research work on Health and Safety at BAY Company will have to cope with some
limitations such as;

Chasing the employees to return the questionnaire back.

A small sample of the population was chosen due to time constraints and the cost of

questionnaires else a larger population could have been targeted for a more reliable result.
It was noticed that some employees tended to give the same answer as their colleagues.
This may lead to bias information.

4.9 Analysing the data and writing up

After all the steps mentioned above completed and after distributing the questionnaires and
collecting them, the Microsoft Office excel has been used to explore data. The writing up was
done by using the Microsoft office Word and the use of English language.

Conclusion
This chapter defines the research process with the research design, sampling technique,
questionnaire construction and the limitations of the study. The next chapter sheds light on the
findings in graphic forms and data analysis.

A. Employee Profile
Cross tabulation
1. Job title
2. Gender
5. Length of service in years
The data collection was mainly focused on job posts involving high risks and ranges from
mason, helper, Volvo operator, Quantity surveyor, Foreman, supervisor, painter, carpenter, lab
technician, plant operator, storekeeper, bar bender, driver, lorry helper, site agent, IT technician,
welder, diesel controller, electrician and other operators.

The respondents were all men which was not a surprise though. The age group and experience of
the employees has been depicted in the diagram below. At BAY Company LTD, we can see 83%
of the workforce interviewed was aged between 18-30 years which indicates a young workforce
and 66% of them had been working there for less than a year. This may have a direct relationship
with accidents occurred at work as it has been found that that young and inexperienced people
are more likely to be harmed at work since they are unaware of risks, and lack skills.

B. General Comments regarding the job

6. What are the risks you are exposed to?

The chart above depicts the risks employees are exposed to, which however is not exhaustive and
respondents revealed some important job-oriented risks such as risk of fire, risk of hazardous
acids and equipments, violence at sites and public harassment.

C. The concept of Health and Safety

9. To what extent do you consider health and safety to be important in the work you do?

The concept of Health and safety is known to everyone at BAY Company LTD. They had their
own definitions of health and safety. Health AND Safety though two different terms, were
inextricably linked together and were considered as being security, protections, precautions or
avoiding accidents for layman. Many employees also linked this concept with working
conditions. It was clear that employees were very much aware of health and safety and its
importance at the workplace which can be illustrated as above.

D.The Law and Health and Safety regulations

10. Do you make use of safety equipments provided to you?

The OSHA 2005 requires employer to provide employees with safety equipments and at the
same time employees should be equally responsible for their health and safety. It becomes
mandatory for them to wear appropriate safety equipments wherever required.
From the table below, it can be deduced that the employees of BAY Company LTD are taking up
their part of responsibility in ensuring their safety at the workplace by making proper of the
safety equipments at their disposal.
11. Are you satisfied with the equipments at your disposal?

The employee satisfaction levels regarding the safety equipments at their disposal and in the use
of those equipments at BAY Company LTD of Companies. It has been noticed that, the more
employees are satisfied with the equipments that has been provided, the more they use them.
11(b) Supervision at work

The employees of BAY Company LTD seemed to be rather satisfied with the supervision they
get at work as clearly illustrated by Chart above. Supervision is very crucial in enforcing a safety
culture since it helps to minimize risks of accidents and injuries. This implies that BAY
Company LTD complies with the OSHA 2005 which requires organizations to provide

information, instruction, and supervision as is necessary to ensure the safety and health at work
of his employees.
12. a) Do you know what you have to do in case of fire?

Another important factor highlighted in OSHA 2005 is to ensure organizations make provision
for safety training which should include educate employees of the appropriate procedures to be
followed in case of a fire, explosion or accidental release of substances hazardous to health or a
dangerous occurrence. The table below shows the response of employees in event of a fire
breakout at BAY Company Ltd.
The majority of respondents affirmed that they know what they need to do in case of fire which
has been enlisted in the table below. However, 30% of employees did not know what they ought
to do in case of fire. This is quite a high percentage and represents a threat to the health and
safety of employees.
b) If yes, please specify
Procedure in case of

Key words mentioned by

fire

employees (In order

Yes

of mostly said)
1. Fire extinguisher

66%

2. Assembly point

3. Fire alarm
4. Securing Fire exit
5. Sprinkling Water
6. Fire brigade
7. Ambulance if case of
serious burn cases
No
34%

E. HR Safety Practices

HR contribution in health and safety begins at the recruitment and selection stage. In the
construction industry, the physical fitness of a person is very crucial. This is one of the major

criteria of that the job demands. The physical fitness of employees is very much satisfactory at
BAY Company LTD of Companies.
Nevertheless, as the Chart above shows some small percentage of employees who do not
consider themselves physically fit for the job should not have existed since safety issues must
never be compromised.

Cross tabulation
15. a) Have you followed any training courses on health and safety since you joined work?
b) If yes, to what extent has the training been relevant to your job?

Moreover, to comply with the legal obligations of the OSHA 2005, safety training must be given
to employees. However, more than 50% of the employees said they have not followed any
training course at BAY Company LTD. Human Resource practices must make provision for
training and conduct a training needs analysis to ensure that safety training given are relevant to
the job done by the employees. The charts above illustrate the findings.

5. RECOMMENDATION
Based on the survey results, there are many improvements that need to be done at BAY Company
Ltd. There need to be a safety framework to ensure effective health and safety management.
BAY Company Ltd need to take a proactive approach to health and safety unlike any other
companies who act upon after the damage has been done. The underlying concepts BAY can
make use is adopting ISO 9000 Quality Systems Standards Plan-Do-Check-Act and apply it to
health and safety which can be illustrated as below (Adapted from Successful Health and Safety
Management - HSE, 2008):
Figure 2

 plan- Establish standards for health and safety based on risk assessments and legal

requirements
Do - Implement plan to achieve objectives (SMART) and standards
Check - Review against objectives and take appropriate action
Act - Measure progress with plans and compliance with standards

Based on the above, there need to be clear objectives and standards besides having just a Health
and Safety Policy. There is a need to identify variables that will act as parameters as the
maximum what gets measured, get managed applies. There must be some basis of
measurement to better assess how BAY Group is controlling threats to employees safety and
building a safety culture. Essentially, there is a need to identify Key Performance Indicators
(KPI) regarding safety issues which based on the findings can be summed up in the three main
KPI as follows:
Figure 3

BAY Group need to regularly monitor these KPIs, and therefore a Health and Safety officer on a
full-time basis rather than part-time is pivotal. This will allow risks assessments should be done
on a continuous basis. Eventually, rather than investigating causes of accidents, BAY Group of
Companies need to focus more on how to eliminate risks.
The Human Resource Management has a cardinal role to play in building and enforcing a safety
culture in an organisation. At BAY, it is highly recommended that HR policies and practices are
integrative to the health and safety policy. As such, there is a need to be more specific in
choosing new recruits by adopting the job characteristic model designed by Hackman and
Oldham rather than just matching job description to persons specification.
In addition, BAY Group need to adopt a more strategic approach building the safety culture.
Therefore, conduct Training Needs Analysis before embarking on giving training to employees.
Specific safety training that is closely related to the employees work should be provided on a
continuous basis as a result of constant evolution of the work environment, especially for
construction employees. There should also be coherence with health and safety regulations in
Mauritius.
The HR Manager needs to clearly define health and safety role of everyone at BAY Group.
Building a safety culture requires the contribution of each and every individual. Foreman and
supervisors must be made accountable and sure safe work practices as well as enforcing safety

regulations at work. In addition, there is a need to include safety behaviour in the performance
appraisal of employees which should definitely be linked with positive rewards as well as
negative sanctions. Negative sanctions may very well have a greater impact of safety behaviour
until the safety culture is enforced.
In the nutshell, the implementation of a comprehensive health and safety management system is
highly recommended at BAY Group of Companies.

6. CONCLUSION
As a concluding note, it can be put forward that beside legal obligations, organizations derive
many other benefits to promote health and safety at the workplace. There is urgency in the
Construction Industry to take remedial action following the high rate of workplace accidents in
Mauritius.
At BAY Group of Companies the working environment is very dynamic and constant evolution
of the work contexts represent a threat to the health and safety of employees which necessitate

considerations. Despite some efforts made at BAY Group resulting into the number of accidents
reduced over the past few years, there is still a long way to go.
Nevertheless, OSHA 2005 does not only bind the employer but the employees at well. With
regards to this, there is a need to build a safety culture at BAY Group which should be enforced
and sustained throughout. Safety roles and responsibilities should be known to all employees and
safety behaviours must be promoted through HR policies and practices.
More systematically, BAY Group requires a safety management system. However, with relatively
simple actions, some investments and strong convictions of the employer and all the employees
that safety should be part of their routine activities, BAY Group of Companies will develop a
sustainable safety culture.

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