Health & Safety - A Step by Step Guide to Compliance - Part 2 Leadership

​This blog has been developed for Business Owners, Managers and those responsible for implementing health and safety policies, processes and procedures in their workplace. These useful tips and resources will help to enable you and your workforce to be proactive not reactive in the face of compliance. Following on from 'A step by step guide to health and safety compliance Part 1 - Health and Safety Basics'.

Part 2 - will focus on Leadership. All organisations and businesses need to comply with Health & Safety regulations, proactive leadership is key to successful and effective compliance. The resources and information detailed below will provide advice, guidance and a framework from which you can begin to develop your leadership methods, processes and procedures.   ​

Leading from the top and avoiding major incidents
We all need to 'PROACTIVE and not REACTIVE' in avoiding major and minor accidents in the work place. Building an organisation with a strong safety culture and good health and safety management requires Proactive leadership. The HSE recommends Seven principles of leadership for effective management of health and safety.   

7 Principles of Leadership

1. Leadership: Should demonstrated through controlled policies, processes and  procedures implemented by the senior members of the organisation, to ensure that all managers and staff know that health and safety matters are taken seriously. 
2. Process safety management taking place at all business levels: Senior members of an organisation must demonstrate and provide clear guidelines of duties and responsibilities to all levels of the management structure and its staff. Together with effective safety systems, which should be implemented, measured, managed, reviewed and improved for effective performance. 
3. Real and dynamic risk assessments: It is vital to develop appropriate risk assessments and ensure that staff understand the potential hazards and risks in the workplace and which may occur during work operations. As well as highlighting the importance of working within the safety guidelines or controlled measures which have been implemented to ensure compliance.
4. Robust management of change approaches: Leaders must ensure effective communication with all relevant staff to ensure the right people are informed and understand any changes made in processes, procedures and policies.
5. Sustainability: Taking a proactive leadership approach to sustainability is important to ensure that the business focuses on successful long term performance, in terms of investment, maintenance decisions and development.
6. Well trained and competent people: Proactive leadership will ensure that staff at all levels are sufficiently trained and that there are sufficient number of staff to complete each operation, to manage periods of change, to deal with emergency situations and ensure there is an infrastructure to sustain competency.
7. A learning organisation: Proactive leadership should value and encourage learning from experiences, continually developing and avoiding complacency.
This can be achieved by following the Plan> Do> Check > Act > Framework. 

Management of health and safety will differ from one organisation to another, as such the information, processes and procedures will be unique to each organisation and the nature of its work and management structure. It is of vital importance that the relevant information is cascaded to the right people within the organisation and its workforce, from the CEO at the top level of an organisation, down to managers and entry level workers. The purpose of cascading information is to ensure that each person within the organisation is aware of their duties and responsibilities in ensuring the health and safety of themselves and others in the workplace.

The following framework Plan > Do > Check > Act provides a process for effective leadership which can be applied to any organisation, whatever the size or nature of industry. Its principles set out a guide which will enable continual effectiveness and improvement.
Plan

• Demonstrate the organisations commitment to health and safety
• Write Health & Safety Policies

Do

• Get the right health and safety advice for all levels
• Ensuring all staff are sufficiently trained and competent in their health and safety responsibilities
• Consult your workforce, particularly safety representatives, on health and safety matters, and that their concerns are reaching the appropriate level in the organisation
• Ensure risks assessments are completed, appropriate safety systems are established and implemented and that controls and measures maintained 

 Check

• Conduct audits and assessments to inform you about what your organisation and contractors do
  
• Management should regularly review health and safety performance data and reports on injuries and work-related ill health
• Identify benchmarks and compare your performance with others in your sector or beyond
• Identify changes in working arrangements that have significant implications for health and safety

 Act

• Review performance and learn lessons
• Ensure appropriate management review of health and safety

Abbott Rose Consulting Ltd are here to assist businesses and organisations with advice and guidance in all areas of health and safety compliance, whether this be in terms of documentation, writing policies, auditing processes and procedures, implementing safety systems or to provide training. For more information contact us on tel: 01832 279500 or email us HERE