This document outlines the principles of active and reactive health and safety monitoring. It discusses various techniques for active monitoring, including inspections, surveys, audits and health surveillance. Reactive monitoring techniques examined include investigating incidents and reviewing data on accidents, injuries and complaints. The purpose of investigations is described as identifying causes to prevent recurrences. Record keeping and reporting requirements are also covered.
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• Health Su rveillance: Periodical & pre-employmen t
medical screening carried out to iden tify any h ealth
problems among the employees at a early stage &
throughout th e tenure of employment to reduce
health risks
• Benchmarking: It’s an effective management tool that
compares performance standards with other
organisations in the same sector so as to improve the
system. All data are to be kept confidential
• Safety audit: It is a process of detailed examination of
every element of a health and safety management
system to identify the issues so as to improve the
system.
Performance Standards
Conformance/non-conformance with
standards:
• Number and quality of risk assessments.
• Health and safety training to schedule.
• Consultative committee meetings to schedule.
• Workplace inspections to schedule.
Systematic Inspections
Observation Plant
Premises
• Machinery.
• Vehicles.
• Workplace.
• Environment.
Interviewing People • Working methods.
• Behaviour.
Examination Procedures • Safe systems.
• Method statements.
• Permits-to-work.
Other (Pro)active Monitoring Methods
• Health Surveillance
- Monitoring worker health – a proactive
measure.
- Shows effectiveness of controls.
• Benchmarking
- Comparison to other organisations.
- Can compare between sectors.
Example Inspection System
Bank head office:
• Purpose – monitor H&S standards.
• Frequency – monthly.
• Persons responsible – managers at different
levels.
• Competence – one-day course.
• Inspection checklist – general checklist – tailored,
if required.
• Follow-up arrangements – an action plan.
Types of inspections
• Routine inspection of a workplace done by a competent
person to determine if general standards of health and
safety are acceptable or if corrective action is necessary.
Eg: Scaffolding Inspector inspecting scaffold weekly
• Statutory inspection of an item by a competent person to
fulfill a legal requirement. E.g. the annual thorough
examination of an item of lifting equipment
• Periodic inspection of plant and machinery as part of a
planned maintenance program. E.g. Periodic change of oil
or worn out parts of an equipment
• Pre-use checks are visual inspections carried out by
workers before they use certain items of plant and
machinery. E.g. the start up checks carried out by a forklift
truck operator
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Workplace Inspections
Factors to consider:
• Type of inspection.
• Frequency of inspection.
• Allocation of responsibilities.
• Competence of the inspector.
• Objectivity of inspection
• Use of checklists.
• Action planning for problems found.
• Training for inspectors.
• Legal requirement
• Weakest sector/area
Advantages of checklist:
• Pre planned actions.
• Structured and systematic.
• Nothing is left out.
• Documented on spot.
• Consistent approach.
• Easy method for comparison and audit.
• Documentary evidence.
Disadvantages of checklist:
• Inspector may only deal with the points on the
checklist.
• Possibility of tunnel view approach
• Creativity / innovation may be lost
• Knowledge / skill may not be fully utilized
• Inspections may become routine and monotonous.
• Inspection procedure maybe subjected to abuse and
misuse.
• No probing questions, only closed questions
• Type and nature of activity/equipment and risk level
• Manufacturers’ recommendations
• Initial integrity/soundness of the equipment
• Compliance with statutory requirements
• The distribution of the workforce
• The results from previous inspections and audits
• Company’s record of compliance with established standards
• Recommendations from risk assessments
• Accident history and the outcomes of accident investigations
• Enforcement action taken or advice given by authority
• Introduction of new equipment, processes or technology
• Requirements from insurance companies
• Consultation with or as a result of complaints from workers
Frequency of inspection
Group Syndicate Exercise
In groups, list the topic headings that should
be included on an inspection checklist for use
in your workplace.
Design a rough format for the inspection
checksheet.
Workplace Inspections
Typical topics:
• Fire safety.
• Housekeeping.
• Environment issues.
• Traffic routes.
• Chemical safety.
• Machinery safety.
• Electrical safety.
• Welfare facilities.
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Allocation of Responsibilities
Inspections must follow through into action.
Action required Responsible person Date Due
Repair damaged
fire-extinguisher
bracket
Maintenance
technician
By 15 July 2015
Effective Report-Writing
Style – formal, free of jargon or slang, factual, persuasive,
clear, concise.
Structure – executive summary, introduction, main body,
recommendations, conclusions.
Content – significant findings, evidence of findings.
Justified recommendations – moral, legal, economic
arguments, action plan.
Recommended action Priority Timescale Responsible
Person
Tidy the office Medium 1 week Office
Supervisor
Bench marking
§It is also a useful management tool, which takes Key
Performance Indicator (KPI )and compare them externally with
similar organizations or industry standards, or Internally with
other business units or sites
§In this process organization learn more about its st rengths
and weakness and can act on the lesson learned.
Bench Marking
Advantages
§ Identifies KPI (Key Performance Indicators)
§ Ensures monitoring procedures are effective
§ Feedback into continual improvement
§ Avoid making mistakes by learning lessons from others
§ Generate management focus, interests and therefore actions and
§ Gains the confidence of stake holders
Disadvantages
§ Choosing a Company bench mark against that has similar activity,
but is not a close competitor
§ Assuring accuracy of the data
§ Accessing data, which may be spread across several departments
§ Gaining commitment of time consumption
Reactive Monitoring
• Dealing with things that went
wrong!
• Accidents, incidents, ill health,
other unwanted events and
situations:
– Highlights areas of concern.
– Things that have already gone wrong.
– Measures failure.
• 2 methods:
– Lessons from one specific event, e.g.
an accident.
– Data collected over a period.
Statistics
Data collected and reported about:
• Accidents.
• Dangerous occurrences.
• Near-misses.
• Ill-health cases.
• Worker complaints.
• Enforcement action.
Assist in analysing:
• Trends – events over a period of time.
• Patterns – hot spots of certain types, e.g. injury.
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Group Discussion Point
• An organisation has 2 sites carrying out
similar operations.
• Site A has 300 workers and has had 10
accidents.
• Site B has 150 workers and has had 5
accidents.
• Which has the “better” safety
performance?
Accident Rate
Accident Incidence Rate (AIR)
‘accidents per 1000 workers’
AIR =
Number of accidents during a
specific period r 1000
Average number of workers
during the same period
Use of Statistics
Potential issues:
• Data may be manipulated.
• Incidents may go unreported.
• Sudden increase in reporting of incidents
can suggest a decrease in performance:
- Could be due to improved reporting.
Other Reactive Measures
Enforcement actions
• Often required during pre-tender
qualifications.
Civil claims
• Total cost of claims can be calculated.
• May be affected by:
- Advertising campaigns.
- Dissatisfaction with organisation.
End-of-Section Quiz
1. What is meant by active monitoring?
2. What is meant by reactive monitoring?
3. Give examples of active monitoring
techniques.
4. What topics could be considered in a
general workplace inspection?
5. What are accident rates used for?
INVESTIGATING INCIDENTS
Unit IGC1: Element 4.2
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Incident Investigations
Reasons to carry out investigations:
• Identify the causes.
• Prevent recurrence.
• Collect evidence.
• Legal reasons.
• Insurance purposes.
• Staff morale.
• Disciplinary purposes.
• To update risk assessments.
• Discover trends.
Types of Incident
• Accident.
• Damage-only incident.
• Near-miss.
• Dangerous occurrence.
• Work-related ill health.
Types of Incident
Incident
An unplanned, unwanted event which leads to injury,
damage or loss:
• Accident– where the unplanned, unwanted event leads
to some sort of personal injury, e.g. a cut hand.
• Damage only incident – where the unplanned,
unwanted event leads to equipment or property damage
but not personal injury, e.g. a wall is demolished.
Near-miss
An unplanned, unwanted event that had the potential to lead
to injury, damage or loss but did not.
Relationship Between
Incident Types
Published by the Health and Safety Executive and licensed under the Open Government
Licence v1.0: (HSG245)
Hazard Near-Miss Injury
Accident Ratios
Frank Bird Accident Triangle
Types of Incident
Dangerous occurrence:
• A specified event that has to be reported to the
relevant authority by statute law,
• e.g. a major gas leak.
Ill health:
• A disease or medical condition that is
directly attributable to work,
e.g. dermatitis as a result of exposure
to skin irritants.
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Level of Investigation
• More minor incidents.
• Investigated by line manager/HSE.
• Major incidents, more complex events or
incidents with high potential.
• Investigated by a team:
- Safety specialist.
- Senior manager.
- Technical specialist.
- Worker representative.
Whole Group Activity
Discuss the first thing you should do when
arriving at an accident scene, and then the
later steps.
Consider what type of equipment you may
need to assist you.
Safety of the scene:
Is the area safe to approach?
Is immediate action needed to eliminate danger
before casualties are approached?
Casualty care:
First-aid treatment.
Hospitalisation:
– Also consider that
by-standers may be in shock.
Basic Investigation Procedure
Basic Investigation Procedure
Step 1
• Gather factual information.
Step 2
• Analyse the information and draw
conclusions.
Step 3
• Identify suitable control measures.
Step 4
• Plan the remedial actions.
Step 1 - Gathering Information
Secure the scene.
Identify witnesses.
Collect factual
information:
− Photo/sketch.
− Measurements.
− Notes.
− Mark-up plans.
− Samples.
Interview witnesses.
Examine documents.
Group Discussion Point
• You have to interview a witness who has
just seen his friend injured at work.
• Suggest some golden rules that should be
followed.
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Witness Interview Technique
Quiet room, no distractions.
Establish a rapport.
Explain the purpose, not about blame.
Use open questions, e.g. Who? What? Where?
When? Why? How?
Keep an open mind.
Take notes.
Ask for a written statement.
Thank the witness.
Group Discussion Point
• To practise using open-questioning
techniques, find out what the person
sitting next to you did last night.
• Try to use only open questions.
Document Examination
Site plans.
• Company health and safety policy.
• Risk assessments.
• Induction record
• Tool box records
• Minutes of meeting
• Training records.
• Safe systems of work.
• Permits-to-work.
• Maintenance records.
• Previous accident reports.
• Sickness records.
Step 2 – Analysing Information
Immediate causes:
• Unsafe acts.
• Unsafe conditions.
Underlying/root causes:
• Reasons behind the immediate causes.
• Often failures in the management system:
– No supervision.
– No PPE provided.
– No training.
– No maintenance.
– No checking or inspections.
– Inadequate or no risk assessments.
Group Syndicate Exercise
• A worker is struck by a load
being carried on a pallet
by a forklift truck.
• Outline possible immediate
and underlying causes
of the accident.
Forklift Truck Accident
Immediate causes:
• Failure to secure the pallet.
• Poor positioning of the truck close
to the pedestrian exit.
• Aggressive braking by the driver.
• Inattentive pedestrian steps into
the path of the forklift truck.
Underlying/root causes:
• No training for the driver.
• Lack of segregation of vehicles and pedestrians.
• Poor driver induction.
• Poor truck maintenance.
• No refresher training.
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Step 3 – Identifying Suitable Control
Measures
For immediate causes:
• Clean up the spill.
• Replace the missing guard.
• Relocate the trailing cable.
For underlying/root causes:
• More difficult.
• Need to make changes
in management system.
Step 4 – Plan the Remedial Actions
Dangerous conditions must be dealt with
immediately.
Interim actions may be possible.
Underlying causes will require more complex
actions:
• Will take time, effort, disruption, money.
• Need for prioritisation.
Recommended action Priority Timescale Responsible
Introduce induction
training for all new FLT
drivers
Medium 1 month Warehouse
Manager
End-of-Section Quiz
1. What are the main reasons for reporting
an incident?
2. What are the main reasons for
investigating an incident?
3. Who might investigate a minor injury to a
worker, which had no real potential to be
worse?
4. Who might investigate a major incident?
5. What are the 4 key steps in incident
investigation?
RECORDING AND REPORTING
INCIDENTS
Unit IGC1: Element 4.3
Internal Incident Reporting
Reasons for reporting incidents:
• To trigger the provision of
first aid.
• Preserve accident scene.
• Enable investigations to be
carried out to prevent
recurrence.
• Legal requirement to report some incidents.
• Record for civil claims.
Group Syndicate Exercise
What sort of things are likely to hinder good
accident and near-miss reporting?
What can an organisation do to make it more
likely that incidents will be reported?
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Barriers to Reporting
• Unclear organisational policy.
• No reporting system in place.
• Culture of not reporting (peer
pressure).
• Overly-complicated reporting procedures.
• Excessive paperwork.
• Takes too much time.
• Blame culture.
• Apathy – poor management response.
• Management retribution
• Concern over impact on organisation/individuals.
• Reluctance to receive first aid.
Accident Record Contents
• Name and address of
casualty.
• Date and time of accident.
• Location of accident.
• Details of injury.
• Details of treatment given.
• Description of event causing injury.
• Details of any equipment or substances involved.
• Witnesses’ names and contact details.
• Details of person completing the record.
• Signatures.
Accident investigation Contents
• Name, designation, id & address of casualty.
• Date, time happened at the time of accident.
• Location of accident.
• Details of injury.
• Details of first aid treatment given.
• Description of event causing injury.
• Details of any equipment or substances involved.
• Immediate and root causes
• Corrective and preventive actions taken
• Hospital details and medical care given
• Witnesses’ names and contact details.
• Details of person completing the record.
• Investigation team and signatures
Internal and External
Incident-Reporting
Will depend on the severity:
Internal External
• Directors
• Senior managers
• Human resources
managers
• Health, safety and
environmental advisers
• Worker representatives
• Family of the casualty
• External authorities
• Insurance companies
• Public relations
advisers
• Client/PMC
Externally-Reportable Events
Some incidents need to be reported to
regulator by law, e.g.:
• Fatality.
• Major injury.
• Dangerous occurrence.
• Disease.
• Lost-time injuries.
Data Collection & Analysis
Ways of Analysis of data:
• By the trend in accident/incidence rate over the past 5
years?
• By the types of accident?
• By the types of injury?
• By the cause of injury?
• By the times of the day do most accidents occur?
• By the part of the body is most frequently injured?
• By which department has the highest accident rate?
• By the accident-rate trend for a department of the
organization?
• By the location in the workplace?
• By the topic/issue of safety