IG1 Element 1.pptx

© RRC International
Element 1: Why We Should Manage
Workplace Health and Safety
NEBOSH International General Certificate
in Occupational Safety and Health
IGC1

Learning Objectives
• Discuss the moral, social and financial reasons for
managing health and safety in the workplace.
• Explain how health and safety is regulated and the
consequences of non-compliance.
• Summarise the main health and safety duties of different
groups of people at work.
• Explain how contractors should be selected, monitored
and managed.

Morals and Money
Element 1.1

Introduction to Key Terms
• Health - absence of disease
or ill health.
• Safety - absence of risk of
serious personal injury.
• Welfare - access to basic
facilities.

Group Exercise
Why might the management
of an organisation not
consider health and safety
to be a priority?

The Moral Reason for Managing Health and Safety
Global statistics from the International Labour
Organization (ILO) SafeWork Programme:
• Over 350,000 work-related fatal accidents each year.
• 2.75 million work-related fatalities each year.
• 2.4 million fatalities from occupational diseases.
• 270 million accidents and 160 million diseases a year
due to work.
• 4% of global GDP is lost.

Group Exercise
An employee at your workplace has been seriously
injured in a workplace accident.
In groups, list the possible effects and implications
of this accident on the:
• Injured employee.
• Company.
• Line manager.

The Financial Reason for Managing Health and Safety
Accidents and ill health cost money.
Costs may be:
• Direct - measurable costs arising directly from accidents.
• Indirect - arise as a consequence of the event but may
not directly involve money. Often difficult to quantify.
H&S failure can affect the broader economy, as well as
individual companies.

Insured and Uninsured Costs
Insured Costs
• Fire.
• Worker injury/death.
• Medical costs.
Uninsured Costs
• Loss of raw materials due to
accidents.
• Sick pay.
• Overtime.
• Equipment repairs.
• Lost materials. £8 - £36
£1

1. What are the three main reasons for managing
health and safety?
2. What should an employer provide to ensure
health and safety:
1. Safe place of _______________
2. Safe plant and ______________
3. Safe _______ of work
4. Training, _____ and competency of ______
End of Section 1.1 Exercise

Regulating Health and Safety
Element 1.2

Legal Reasons for Managing Workplace Health and Safety
• Most countries have health and safety laws.
• Failure to achieve legal minimum standards can
lead to prosecution.

The International Framework
International Labour Organization (ILO)
• Agency of the United Nations.
• Most countries are members.
• Sets international standards for H&S by publishing:
‒ Conventions.
‒ Recommendations.

The International Framework
Conventions
• Create binding obligations or policies to implement their
provisions.
• No legal authority, unless ratified by the member state
into its own legal structure.
Recommendations
• Provide guidance on policy, legislation and practice.

Regulations Adopted by the ILO
• Occupational Safety and Health Convention
(C155)
‒ a goal-setting policy for companies and nations.
• Occupational Safety and Health
Recommendation 1981 (R164)
‒ supplements C155 and gives more guidance on
how to comply with its policies.

Employers’ Responsibilities
Article 16 of C155 identifies obligations placed on
employers to:
• Ensure that workplaces, machinery, equipment and work
processes are safe and without risks to health.
• Ensure that chemical, physical and biological substances and
agents are without risk to health when protective measures
have been taken.
• Provide adequate protective clothing and equipment to
prevent risks of accidents or adverse health effects.

Everybody is responsible for health and safety -
but most of the responsibility lies with the
employer to provide:
• Safe place of work.
• Safe plant and equipment.
• Safe systems of work.
• Training, supervision and
competency of staff.

Article 10 of R164:
• Provide and maintain workplaces, machinery and equipment and use
working methods that are safe.
• Give necessary instruction, training and supervision in application and
use of health and safety measures.
• Introduce organisational arrangements relevant to activities and size of
undertaking.
• Provide PPE and clothing without charge to workers.
• Ensure that work organisation, particularly working hours and rest
breaks, does not adversely affect occupational safety and health.
• Take reasonably practical measures with a view to eliminating excessive
physical and mental fatigue.
• Keep up-to-date with scientific and technical knowledge to comply with
the above.

Workers’ Responsibilities and Rights
Article 19 of C155 also places obligations on workers,
expanded in R164 as follows:
• Take reasonable care of their own safety and that of other
people.
• Comply with safety instructions and procedures.
• Use all safety equipment properly.
• Report any situation that they believe could be a hazard and
which they cannot themselves correct.
• Report any work-related accident/ill health.

Workers’ Responsibilities and Rights
Article 19 of C155 states that every worker must be:
• Given adequate information on actions the employer has
taken to ensure safety and health.
• Given the right to the necessary training in safety and
health.
• Consulted by the employer on all matters of safety and
health relating to their work.
• Given the right to leave a workplace that he has reason to
think presents an imminent and serious danger to his life or
health, and not be compelled to return until it is safe.

The Role of Enforcement Agencies
• No harmonised global standard.
• Country-specific agencies may include:
‒ H&S Enforcement Agency.
‒ Fire authority.
‒ Insurance companies.
• Police may be involved in enforcing H&S law in some
countries.

Consequences of Non-Compliance
Breach of H&S legislation is usually a criminal
offence, leading to:
• Enforcement action:
‒ Improvement.
‒ Prohibition.
• Prosecution:
‒ Organisation may be fined.
‒ Individuals may be fined or imprisoned.

Other International Standards
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
World’s largest developer of management standards, e.g.:
– ISO 9001 - Quality Management
– ISO 14001 - Environmental Management
– ISO 12100 - Safety of Machinery
These standards are not ‘law’, they’re good management
practice.
They lead to a worldwide common approach to good
management.

Other International Standards
Internationally-recognised standard for
occupational health and safety is currently
ISO 45001.
Compatible with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

Sources of Information
• Health and Safety Executive (UK)
‒ www.hse.gov.uk
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (USA)
‒ www.osha.gov
• European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU)
‒ https://osha.europa.eu/en
• Worksafe (Western Australia)
‒ www.commerce.wa.gov.au/WorkSafe

Group Exercise
An employee has been injured at work.
Identify potential:
• Direct costs of the accident.
• Indirect costs of the accident.

Group Exercise
Discuss the criminal- and civil-law implications of the following:
• A technician escapes injury by diving under a bench when a vessel blows
up as a result of a design defect.
• A 12-year-old boy breaks his arm falling into a pit while playing on an
unfenced building site.
• A machine operator is blinded in one eye by a colleague trying to help
him remove a jammed machine part using a hammer. There is a safe way
to remove the jammed part, which does not involve the use of a
hammer, and the area they are in is a mandatory eye-protection zone.
• A scaffolder is electrocuted when the pole he is carrying touches a live
overhead cable. The scaffolder works for a company contracted to a
roofing company, in turn contracted to a factory owner.

End of Module 1.2 Exercise
1. What are the two main standards that the ILO has
produced for health and safety? What do countries do
with these standards?
2. What are employers’ responsibilities under R164?
3. What are employees’ responsibilities under R164?
4. What action could be taken against organisations
breaking health and safety law?

1.3: Who Does What in Organisations

The employer - a person or organisation that employs
people.
The employer in this context is normally an organisation,
such as a company, and is sometimes referred to as the
‘corporate body’. They are a legal person.
The Employer

The Employer
Responsibility for ensuring that the workplace is
safe and free of health risk rests with the employer.
As we noted earlier, this responsibility is made clear
in:
• ILO Convention C155.
• ILO Recommendation R164.

The Employer
The employer carries ultimate responsibility for
ensuring that the workplace is safe and free of
health and safety risks.
Ensures the safety of workers and ‘others’, e.g.
visitors and contractors.

Directors and Senior Managers
• Give an organisation its direction.
• Set its priorities.
• Allocate resources and appoint competent persons.
• Allocate responsibilities.
• Are responsible for ensuring that all of the legal
requirements are met.

Directors and Senior Managers
Directors and senior managers can have enormous
influence over their organisation and its priorities.
The way they are perceived by those lower in the
management hierarchy is very important; they must
demonstrate clear commitment and leadership
with regard to health and safety.

Middle Managers and Supervisors
Middle managers and supervisors are involved in the day-
to-day operational running of the organisation so are
responsible for the health and safety standards within the
operations under their control.

The Shared Responsibilities of Joint Occupiers of Premises
• ILO Convention C155 – Article 17
• ILO Recommendation R164 – Recommendation 11
• Employers in shared facilities should communicate to develop
appropriate health and safety standards and appropriate policies
and procedures.
• This may include:
‒ Sharing of procedures, e.g.
fire and emergency response.
‒ Sharing of risk assessments.
‒ Joint management-committee
meetings.

Contractor Management
If a client can be held responsible for an injury
caused by a contractor working for the client, then it
must be in the client’s own best interests to ensure
that contractors do not endanger workers or others.

Shared Duties
The way that a client manages contractors can be broken
down into three key areas:
• Selection of contractors.
• Planning and co-ordinating
the work.
• Monitoring and managing
the work.

Selection of Contractors
Things you should check:
• Health and safety policy.
• Risk assessments.
• Qualifications and training
records.
• Membership of a professional
organisation.
• Maintenance and equipment
testing.
• Previous or current clients.
• Accident records.
• Enforcement action.
• Adequate resources.

Planning and Co-ordination of the Work
Information to be shared between client and
contractor:
• Hazards posed by the site and work carried out.
• Hazards posed by the contractor’s activities.
• Risk assessments.
• Method statements.

Planning and Co-ordination of the Work
Arrangements between the client and contractor
include:
• Ensuring activities don’t conflict.
• Permit-to-work system to control activities.

Monitor and Managing the Work
Clients must:
• Monitor the work to ensure safety.
The client can:
• Stop the work if it involves unsafe
practices.
Auditing against agreed method statements is a good
technique.

End of Module 1.3 Exercise
1. To whom does an employer owe a duty with regard to
health and safety?
2. How can directors influence health and safety?
3. What are the key worker responsibilities?
4. What would you look for/check when selecting a
contractor?

In this element, we have:
• Introduced some key words, such as: health; safety; and welfare.
• Highlighted the three main reasons why an organisation has to manage health
and safety, which can be summarised as moral, legal and financial.
• Set out the basic requirements of the international standards that govern health
and safety, i.e. the ILO Convention C155 and Recommendation R164.
• Discussed the consequences for employers and workers of non-compliance with
legal standards, together with the possible issue of worker compensation.
• Noted some sources of information on national health and safety standards.
• Identified various parties within and outside of the workplace and the
responsibilities that they have.
• Considered the responsibility that a client has for the management of contractors
and outlined the steps that a client should take to choose a competent
contractor and plan and monitor their work.
Summary

IG1 Element 1.pptx

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