NEBOSH International

Certificate

Day 2
 Programme for Today
• Health and Safety Management Systems
• Policies
• Organising
• Culture and the Four-C’s
• Training
HSG65 Elements
of Successful Policy
Health & Safety
Management

Organising

Feedback loop –
Audit Planning & continual
Implementing improvement

Measuring
Performance

Reviewing
Performance
 Elements of
Health & Safety
Policy
Management Model
ILO-OSH 2001

Organising

Feedback loop –
Audit Planning & continual
Implementing improvement

Evaluation

Action for
Improvement
 H&S Arrangements
“Every employer shall make and give effect to such
arrangements as are appropriate, having regard to the
nature of his activities and the size of his undertaking,
for the effective planning, organisation, control,
monitoring and review of the preventive and protective
measures.”

(Source: The Management of Health and Safety at

Work Regulations, 1999)

How will they do this?

 HSG65 Successful Health and
Safety Management
• The principles are contained within HSG65 Successful
Health and Safety Management, i.e. how organisations
should manage their health and safety.

• Other safety management systems are:

- BS 8800.
- OHSAS 18001.
Safety Management Systems
All are based upon the plan-do-check-act
theory of continual improvement.
Check

Do Act

Plan
BS 8800
Continual Improvement

Management Review
Initial Status Review

OHS Policy

Planning
Checking and
Corrective Action
Implementation &
Operation
NEBOSH International
Certificate

Setting Policy for

Health and Safety
HSG65 Elements
of Successful
Health & Safety Policy
Management
 Health and Safety Policies
The Safety Policy sets out the general approach
and commitment of an organisation to achieving
particular safety objectives.

A Health and Safety Policy:

• Contains company aims and objectives.
• Shows company commitment.
• Is the cornerstone of the management system.
What is a Health and Safety Policy?
• It is the first step in successful health and
safety management.
• It is a business plan for health and safety.
It states:

– The importance that the business

places on H&S.
– The business’s aims with respect
to H&S.
– How the business intends to
achieve those aims.
 The Three Elements of a H&S
Policy Document

1. Statement of intent - what

is to be done.
2. Organisation - who is
responsible.
3. Arrangements - how it is to
be achieved.

In HSG65 – the Policy element is concerned with intent.

 1. The Statement of Intent

• It communicates the importance of,

and commitment to, health and
safety.
• It is signed by the most senior
person in the company, i.e. the
owner, MD or CEO.
• It is inspirational in tone.
• It recognises the roles played by
those at all levels within the
organisation.
 2. The Organisation
Health and Safety Responsibilities

Fred Bloggs
Managing Director
Ultimate responsibility
for all H&S

Dave Toms Jo Smith Jane Jones

Engineeering Manager Personnel Manager Office Manager
PAT Testing Accident Reporting Manual Handling
Pressure Systems Accident Investigation Competent Person

The above shows both posts and postholders.

2. The Organisation - Who Does What?

• Who is responsible?
• What are they responsible for?
• Who is the person with ultimate responsibility?
• What are their specific responsibilities?
– Training.
– Compliance monitoring.
– Competent persons.
– Accident reporting.
3. Arrangements – How it’s Done

• Detailed description of policies and

procedures in place to ensure health
and safety.

• Usually a lengthy manual, therefore

it is often separate from the policy
document.
 3. Arrangements
Examples of topics:
• Procedures to identify hazards and
assess risks.
• Advance notification of risks and
precautions (building - contractors).
• Consultation procedures.
• Accident reporting and investigation.
• Use of PPE.
• Procedures to introduce new
machinery, substances and processes.
Health and Safety Policies

Think about the following:

• How can a policy be effectively

communicated?

• When should it be reviewed?

• What is the point of having one?

NEBOSH International
Certificate

Organising and
Culture
HSG65 Elements
of Successful
Policy
Health & Safety
Management

Organising
 The Organisation - Culture
HSG65 defines culture as:
“the product of individual or group values,
attitudes and competencies and patterns of
behaviour, that determine the commitment to
and style and proficiency of an organisation’s
health and safety programmes.”
• Competence
• Control
• Co-operation
• Communication
Advice: It is not recommended that you attempt to remember this!
Health and Safety Culture
In simple terms, culture can
be thought of as collective
attitude within an
organisation.
 Health and Safety Culture
Culture is made up of formal and
informal rules, relationships, values,
customs, etc. Together they make
up the feel of the organisation.

Some of the characteristics

to help you identify the
culture of an organisation,
follow.
 Health and Safety Culture
Characteristics of an organisation’s culture:
• Goals and mission statement.
• Patterns of behaviour.
• Authority and decision-making.
• Organisational structure.
• Leadership and openness.
• Drive for excellence.
• Open to change (active or reactive).

How can we identify these?

 Health and Safety Culture
These are very difficult issues to grasp.
We need to have firm
indicators of health and
safety culture, which we
can collect and measure.

They can be:

• active indicators, or
• reactive indicators.
 Health and Safety Culture
• Active indicators – show
how plans are implemented
through compliance with
systems and procedures.

• Reactive indicators – show

outcomes of breaches in
systems and procedures, e.g.
accident statistics.

We expand on this later in the section on Monitoring.

 Health and Safety Culture
Indicators:
• Compliance with rules and
procedures.
• Complaints about working
conditions.
• Accidents.
• Absenteeism and sickness rates.
• Staff turnover.
 Health and Safety Culture
Indicators:
• Compliance with rules and procedures, e.g. safe
working practices and protective measures used.
High level of compliance indicates a positive H&S
culture. Monitoring is by use of informal and
formal checks.

• Complaints about working

conditions - high levels of
complaints indicate a poor H&S
culture.
 Health and Safety Culture
Indicators:
• Accident data can be collected
easily and analysed statistically to
give information on trends.
• Absenteesism and sickness rates
indicate ill-health. It may be a long
‘lag-phase’.
• Staff turnover may indicate
workplace problems, e.g. low pay,
poor morale and lack of direction,
training and opportunities.
 Health and Safety Culture
Factors Promoting a Negative Culture
A negative culture can be engendered by both
management and workforce through negative
attitude and motivation.

• Organisational objectives.
• Management decision-making.
• Organisational change.
• Uncertainty.

We will review each in turn.

 Negative Culture
• Organisational Objectives
The private sector may be motivated by profit,
and the public sector by providing a service and
political objectives.
- Management may sacrifice safety at
expense of prime company objectives.
- The workforce may lose faith in safety policies
and practices, and view management as
untrustworthy and unethical. They may also
develop a ‘pay first’ mentality in reflection of
management values.
 Negative Culture
• Management Decision-Making
Decision-making by management and
subordinates is vital.
Distrust and doubt about management
arises when:
- There are no rules or precedents; decisions
are arbitrary and inconsistent.
- Refusal to delegate.
- Constant decision reversal.
- Decisions influenced by conflicting goals.
- Lack of consultation.
- Decisions motivated by personal ambitions.
- Inconsistency of message and action.
 Negative Culture
• Organisational Change
Accidents increase during periods of
change.
Problems arising during this time are:
- Resistance to change.
- Maintenance of operations during
change.
• Uncertainty
May be lack of clear framework
for deciding course of action.
Individuals then make their
own, independent decisions.
(Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, follows).
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:
Uncertainty pushes
the individual down
to a lower level - this
Self-
then dominates the Actualisation
behaviour pattern.
Esteem-Status

Social, Affection

Safety, Security, Order

Basic Survival
Physiological Needs

We will pick up this model again in Human Factors.

Health and Safety Culture
Positive Culture
The four Cs of a positive health
and safety culture are:

• Competence.
• Control.
• Co-operation.
• Communication.
 Culture - the Four-Cs
Competence Control Co-operation Communication
Systematic Clear Employees are Providing
identification and demonstration of involved in information about
development of commitment, an planning and risks, plans,
skills resulting in organisational developing safe objectives and
a workforce that structure in which systems of work feedback on
is well informed responsibilities as well as performance.
and are clear and monitoring Also, an
knowledgeable people are performance. An atmosphere in
about risks and accountable. atmosphere in which individuals
the precautions which everyone are encouraged to
and procedures is actively report hazards
that exist for involved in and near misses
controlling risks. continuous as well as injuries.
improvement.
 The Exam
• Two written papers:
– Paper A1: The Management of Safety and
Health.
– Paper A2: Controlling Workplace Hazards.
• Both 2 hours long.
• Both same format:
– Q.1 = 20 mark question.
– Q.2-11 = 8 mark questions.
Organising - Communication
Syndicate Group Exercise

List as many methods of communicating

in the workplace as you can think of, in
a grid format.

Formal Informal
Written
Verbal
Organising - Communication
Syndicate Group Exercise
• List the pro’s and con’s of each method.
• Now look at your list and discuss how it
can be applied to health and safety:
– What methods do you currently use?
– How might that communication be
improved?
Organising - Communication
Propaganda
“…an organised scheme of
propagation of doctrine or
practice.”
Posters and publicity
campaigns were used at
one time to persuade and
convey a campaign of
action for workforce.
Organising - Communication
Sources of Information
Group exercise:
As a class, develop a diagram to
show the sources of information
available to an organisation. You
must cover both:
• internal, and
• external.
 Organising - Communication
Internet sources of information:

The International Labour organisation (ILO):

http://www.ilo.org
The Occupational S&H Administration:
http://www.osha.org
The European Agency for S&H at Work (EU):
http://agency.osha.eu.int
The Health & Safety Executive (UK):
http://www.hse.gov.uk
Worksafe (Western Australia):
http://www.safetyline.wa.gov.au
 Communication
Safety Signs and Signals
Signs are likely to fall into one of the following
groups and must comply with the approved styles:

• Prohibition.

• Mandatory.

• Warning.

• Safe condition.
 Safety Signs and Signals
• Prohibition

• Mandatory

• Warning

• Safe condition
Definitions of Communication
Communication is the process of conveying or
exchanging information to another individual or
group and where necessary, triggering a response.

This process can be done

consciously or unconsciously.
The information may be
facts, feelings or ideas.
 Communication and Words

The Ten Commandments

- 130 words

The US Constitution -
485 words

EU Directive on aubergines - 7000 words!

The Cycle of Communication
The ‘sender’ originates the message.
It is encoded (words, gestures, symbols).
It is transmitted (written, oral, non-verbal).

The ‘receiver’ (target audience)

decodes the message.

It is interpreted by the receiver.

Feedback follows in two-way communication.

 The Environment of Communication
The environment can be positive or
negative to effective communication:

• The context and culture may

affect the words and gestures used.

• Interference - known as ‘noise’:

- Transmission affected by physical
interference.
- Fatigue and distractions affect
decoding.
 Forms of Communication
• Verbal communication, i.e. use of words:
- Written - informal or formal.
- Oral - face-to-face, phone and meetings.
• Non-verbal communication:
- Pictures and graphic symbols.
- Body language.

Don’t forget listening skills!

Communication - Effective Listening
• Positive listening techniques:
- Attentive.
- Empathetic.

• Questioning techniques:
- Use of closed questions.
- Use of open questions.

• Clarification and justification:

- Avoid leading questions.
Communication - Effective Listening
• Use of open questions:

"I keep six honest serving men.

They taught me all I know.
Their names are
What and Why and When
and How and Where and Who."
Rudyard Kipling

Remember this for questioning techniques in accident investigation.

 Methods of Communication
Some examples:
• Worker handbooks.
• Procedure manuals.
• Safety briefings.
• Toolbox talks.
• Memoranda.
• Notices, posters and films.
• Signs.
How effective are they?
Think of relative advantages and disadvantages.
Organising - Co-operation

• What is co-operation?

• Who needs to co-operate on health

and safety?

• How is co-operation achieved?

 Organising - Consultation
It is a legal duty to consult with
workers concerning health and safety
in many countries.
Standards found in:
• ILO-C155 - Article 20.
• ILO-R164 - Article 12.

Aim is to bring about co-operation.

It is good practice even though it may
not be legal requirement.
 Organising - Consultation

Consultation should take place on:

• New measures and technologies.

• Appointment of competent people to give health
and safety advice.
• Development of training programmes.
• Matters relating to workers’ health and safety.
 Organising - Consultation
Non-formal consultation:
• Safety circles – informal
discussion groups. People can
share ideas and suggest
solutions.
• Work and office committees.

• Weekly meetings of shop floor staff, supervisors

and managers.

Formal consultation – includes formal committees.

Functions of Safety Committees
• Study of accident and disease statistics.
• Examination of safety audit reports.
• Consider reports and information from enforcing
bodies.
• Consider reports from safety representatives.
• Assist in development of procedures and policy.
• Monitor the effectiveness of training.
• Monitor and improve safety communications.
• Provide a link with enforcing agency.
 Organising - Consultation
What makes a committee effective?

• Right number and mixture of members.

• Adequate authority.
• Knowledge and expertise.
• Good communications.
• Suitable level of formality.
• More than half the members being proactive.
• Input from outside.
• Assigned specialists.
• Minutes – actionees and deadlines.
• Limit input of individuals.
• Identified and agreed priorities.
 Organising - Consultation
What is a Team Briefing?
• For formal spreading of information
through the organisation.
• Combines upward and downward
communication – cascades down.
• Allows for short discussion and
feedback in small groups.
• Delivered to 10/20 members.
• Led by manager or supervisor.
• Explains varying relevance of
information to each group.
Consultation – a Typical Question
“In relation to worker involvement in health and
safety, explain the differences between informing
and consulting.”

• Informing - providing workers with relevant

important facts concerning workplace safety.

• Consultation - taking account of the workers’

views before decisions are made.
 What is Competence?

Competence can be defined as:

“…a combination of knowledge,

ability, training and education,
to enable effective performance of
the work.”

‘Competent KATE’
 Training

Training can be defined as:

“…a planned process to modify attitude,

knowledge or skill behaviour through learning
experience to achieve effective performance in
an activity or range of activities.”
 Training
What is training?

Training is:
“…. the systematic development
of attitudes, knowledge and skills
required to perform adequately, a
given task or job.”

The suitably and sufficiently

trained person will therefore be
competent.
 Training
What does it achieve?
It develops specific skills to:
• Use new equipment.
• Operate a computer.
• Write a letter or report.
It may assist in career growth.

How is it identified?
By carrying out a training needs analysis.
 Training
Identifying Training Needs

Stage 1 - Analyse job content and performance standards:

- Task and job analysis (e.g. JSA).
- Refer to risk assessments.
Stage 2 - Decide what knowledge, skills and experience
are needed.
Stage 3 - Assess existing competence, by:
- Past experience and qualifications.
- Performance appraisal and observations.

The difference between Stage 2 and 3 is the training need.

 Training
Who Needs Training and When?
• Induction - newly appointed
employee from outside the
organisation. What needs to
be covered, in what detail and
when?

• Job or process change -

newly promoted, transferred
or employees facing change.

• Changes in legislation.
 Training
Training Techniques

1. Face-to-face:
- Classroom situation.
- Lecture situation.
- Demonstrations.
- Toolbox talks.
- On-the-job training.
- Role plays.

2. Distance or open learning.

 Training
Alternatives to Training

• Discipline.
• Posters.
• Fear tactics.
• H&S videos.
• Interactive training and
discussion groups.
Syndicate Group Exercise

Design a health and safety induction training

programme for new starters. Consider the
following:

• What topics should be included?

• In what order?
• What sort of timescale will your programme
run over?