It is similar to a Quality Culture, where quality is built into the product or service rather than defects being inspected out. A Safety Culture similarly seeks to build health and safety principles into everything - from buying new equipment to launching a new service.

Safety Culture is the key to long term success in managing health and safety, reducing accidents and injuries and the on-going development of a "safe place of work" for all.

Many organisations, who have implemented effective risk assessment, have achieved good results yet their goal of building a health and safety culture into their business still eludes them. They find they are still having near misses and "unnecessary" accidents and in some cases they cannot improve on their safety performance beyond a certain level. They recognise that they need to do something else as well in order to get to the root of long standing issues and influence the behaviour of their employees - they need to begin the process of developing a Safety Culture. It is essentially a process of continuous improvement towards the creation of a safe place of work for all through complete employee involvement.

Both planning before you go and taking sensible steps when you get there. Holidays are times to relax, get away from the humdrum of work and daily life, see interesting places, have fun and hopefully come back relaxed and refreshed. Sadly however, many serious accidents and fatalities occur both in Ireland and abroad. We want you to have a safe and enjoyable holiday. Take time to consider the key issues detailed below.

Travelling by Air

Check the food on board the flight and request in advance any children's meals or special dietary needs. Consider paying for full seats for small children, especially for long haul flights, so they can sleep. Having a heavy toddler on your lap for 10 or more hours is very tiring.


Travelling by Sea

Always take sea-sickness tablets. For long ferry journeys seriously consider booking a cabin - even if no one sleeps - it allows you and your family to relax, to read, to shower and to have private access to a toilet - which children tend to need frequently.


Travelling by Car

Get the car serviced fully several weeks before you go. Check spare tyre, bring basic tools and strongly consider rescue insurance from organisations like AA to cover the towing, repair and if necessary shipment back home of your car including the provision of a replacement car for your journey.

Always have good road maps with you so you can plan your journey for stops.

Valuables in Cars - never leave valuables visible inside a car - not even for a minute while you get petrol or buy a soft drink. Lock your car every time you leave it and place all luggage and valuables, including shopping, in the boot. Be sure to close all windows and the sun roof.

Mishaps in cars - bring plenty of tissues and wet wipes, especially if you have young children. It may be necessary to break up the journey into several chunks of 4 -6 hours each over two days rather than one twelve hour trip. An overnight stop may be the best option so the driver and the rest of the family are well rested before continuing.

Amusing children on long journeys - bring their favourite teddy, dolly, blanket or whatever keeps them happy for long air, sea or car journeys. Bring books, crayons and other games for older ones. Travel kits of Ludo, draughts and chess are ideal for this. Bring snacks if necessary - try to include fruit as well as the more popular chocolate etc. Allow teenagers to bring their Walkman/Discmans and their favourite CDs for a quiet life.

Holiday accommodation

Evacuation in an emergency. Whether it is a hotel, apartment, villa or chateau you choose to stay in, the need for safe evacuation in an emergency should be uppermost in your mind. Check if there are smoke detectors, fire alarms, evacuation routes. Take the time to "walk your evacuation route" to the final exit and see if it takes you (as it should) to the open air. The final door should be clear, unlocked, not blocked and lead you to the outside. If you find that it is padlocked, chained, blocked by furniture/chairs or other supplies - then you should demand to see the manager and complain to them and to your tour operator representative.

Demand that the exits be opened and cleared and if that is refused then demand to be moved to another complex. If you have no option but to stay, then complain loudly and regularly and make a formal complaint in writing when you come home.

Balconies - If you are given an apartment with a balcony, check that the bars that prevent your family from falling off the balcony are narrow enough not to allow toddlers to slip through and are not wide enough for their head to get stuck.

Gas heating - There have been many tragedies in foreign destinations because of poorly installed gas appliances to provide heat and/or hot water. Try to determine if there is a vent to allow gas fumes to escape from your kitchen and that it is not blocked up or that the ventilation duct leads nowhere. If you smell gas, don't switch on or off any electrical switches or appliances, open the windows and report it to your landlord and tour operator. If you don't get satisfaction demand to be moved.


Children's Safety

Your Safety

Try to minimise the amount of cash you carry. Organise traveller's cheques and cash them only every 2nd or 3rd day as you need them. Leave excess cash and other valuables in the safe in your apartment or hotel. Wear a bum bag at the front rather than a wallet in a back pocket. If you are in a very crowded place, transfer the money to your shoe or sock. Try not to "broadcast" that you are carrying a lot of cash. Split up your money into several bundles and take out only one bundle at a time.

If you are mugged hand over your money, camera etc. as they can all be replaced (through insurance we hope) and you can walk or run away. Putting up a struggle is not advisable as they may be carrying a weapon and may turn violent. Always report the mugging to the local police and to your tour guide/operator.

Try to organise your nights out in busy restaurants and city centres where there is always a police presence. Take a taxi home if the route is badly lit or involves detours away from main streets and thoroughfares. Don't walk the half mile or so to your accommodation.

Alcohol - enjoy a drink if you must BUT be sensible about it. NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE! If someone picks a fight with you walk away. Don't argue back as it will inflame the situation.

Swimming Safety

Never swim alone, after a heavy meal or after drinking alcohol. Always check depth of swimming pools and any underwater hazards such as concrete supports, pumps, before diving in.

Children should be taught to swim, not to swim alone and always to let parents know when they are going to swim. Buoyancy aids should be used where appropriate.4

Background to the issue: In 2005 the numbers employed in Hotels and Restaurants was estimated at 113,100.  From an injury at work perspective, there were 4,300 injuries reported to Health and Safety Authority in 2005.  Of those 1800 were for absences of greater than 3days.  The injury rate within hotels and restaurants is 38 in every 1000 workers.  Female injuries are highest in two sectors - healthcare and hotels.  Of those injured 36% were aged between 30 and 34.

With regard to foreign workers, 28% of workers within hotels and restaurants are non-nationals.
The biggest activity causing the greatest proportion of injuries was manual handling which accounted for 30.6% of all reported accidents.

Your policy should include:

• the purpose of the policy
• the scope of it
• the definition of manual handling
• the legal obligations (these are contained within General Application Regulations 2007, Chapter 4, Part 2)
• responsibilities of Management and Employees
• arrangements to reduce/mechanise lifting and moving objects
• training in manual handling and use of mechanical equipment
• review of policy

“Manual handling of loads” means any transporting or supporting of a load by one or more employees and includes lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving a load, which, by reason of its characteristics or of unfavourable ergonomic conditions, involves risk, particularly of back injury, to employees.

In order to make this policy work you really need to look at what exactly is being lifted, put down, moved, pushed, pulled etc. in your business.  The purpose of your policy should be to put in place a programme to identify, eliminate, control and/or minimise the effects of manual handling.  You will need to study how these loads are currently being moved.  How often are these loads being moved - is it every day, every hour, every 15 minutes etc.?

You will need to carry out risk assessments which should take into account the following issues:

• Characteristics of the load
• The physical effort required
• Characteristics of the working environment
• Requirements of the work activity
• Individual Risk Factors

These risk assessments will determine how dangerous this manual handling is and how to reduce the overall burden of lifting etc. by a number of means:

• elimination of the lifting task completely
• reducing the size/weight/bulk of the loads
• reducing manual handling through the use of mechanical aids (which could include hand trucks, trolleys, special lifting devices e.g. keg lifters for kegs of beer, conveyors, pallet trucks and even forklifts).

If you do not have the expertise or competence to fulfill these obligations yourself you may need to use the services of a competent health and safety consultant and manual handling trainers to assist you – Darlington Consulting can assist you with this.

 

With regard to responsibilities, Management at every level and all employees will have certain duties and these will need to be spelled out.

Control measures are the steps you take to eliminate or reduce the manual handling of loads, as far as is reasonably practicable, and they could include some or all of the following:

• Liaising with suppliers to reduce the size, weight, bulk etc of goods delivered
• Using hand trucks to move goods
• Using flatbed trolleys to move goods
• Using keg lifters to move kegs in and out of cellar rooms
• Using chutes, where available, to drop soiled laundry into laundry room
• Using wheeled trolleys for soiled laundry where chutes are not available
• Providing kick stools or small stepladders in offices to access to files at a height
• Providing suitable gloves for handling loads with the potential to cause lacerations etc.

Where mechanical devices are being used, full risk assessment of this equipment will also be carried out and full training in their use will have to be provided by competent trainers.

Where manual handling activities remain which include residual risks, then Management should arrange for tailored Manual Handling training to be provided for all employees who need it. After training Management will need to ensure that employees make correct use of mechanical equipment and of the lifting techniques they have been trained in.

 

We know from statistics that foreign workers have a higher rate of injury than Irish workers and HSA, in their Press Release at their launch of their Programme of Work 2008, indicated that they intend to commission “a research programme investigating the reasons for higher rates of injury amongst non-Irish national workers who consistently display higher rates of injury than Irish workers.  Following on from this the Authority will target sectors employing large numbers of non-Irish national workers for intervention”.  

So are Irish Employers effectively managing the safety, health and welfare of foreign workers in 2008?  I believe the answer is yes and no depending on the employer and the sector.

 

In all cases, regardless of nationality, Employers have a duty of care for all employees under Common Law

Sections 9, 10 and 20 of Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 require Employers to communicate in a form, manner and language likely to be understood by the employee as detailed below:

Section 9 - Information for Employees

Information to be given in a form, manner and as appropriate, language that is reasonably likely to be understood by the employee

Information includes:
hazards to safety, health and welfare at work and the risks identified by the risk assessment
the protective and preventive measures to be taken concerning safety, health and welfare under the relevant statutory provisions in respect of the place work and each specific task to be performed there
names of persons designated to prevention and safety representatives

Section 10 (Page 21) - Instruction, Training & Supervision
Instruction, training and supervision to be given in a form, manner and as appropriate, language that is reasonably likely to be understood by the employee

Section 20 (Page 30) - The Safety Statement
Every employer, shall prepare/have prepared a written safety statement based on hazard identification and risk assessment, specifying how the safety, health and welfare at work of employees shall be secured and managed. Employer shall ensure that the safety statement specifies:

(a) hazards identified and risks assessed

(b) protective/preventive measures taken, and resources provided for protecting safety, health and welfare at work

(c ) the plans and procedures to be followed n the event of an emergency or serious and
imminent danger

(d) the duties of employees re safety, health and welfare at work, including the duty to co-operate with the employer and any other persons who have responsibilities under relevant statutory provisions in relation to health, safety and welfare.

(e) names and titles of persons responsible for performing tasks assigned to them in Safety Statement

(f) arrangements regarding the appointment of safety representatives and consultation with, and participation by employees and safety representatives, in compliance with Sections 25 and 26 of this act including the names of Safety representatives and of the safety committee, if appointed..

Employer shall bring the safety statement, in a form, manner and as appropriate, language that is reasonably likely to be understood, to the attention of:

(a) his/her employees at least annually, or if it has been amended

(b) newly recruited employees on starting work

(c) other persons at the place of work exposed to specific risks to which the safety statement applies

In addition we also need to take account of the literacy, numeracy and cultural differences that this group of employees may present with.

The key issue here is effective communications. If Employers knowingly hire a foreign worker who does not have English as a first language, then there is a duty on them to determine the level of English held by that new employee so that he or she can be hired, inducted and trained in order to safeguard him or her at work.

If Employers do not have the expertise or competence to fulfill these obligations themselves then they should utilize the services of internal or external interpreters or foreign language trainers to assist them. Relying on foreign employees nodding at the right time during a training session will not suffice.

In order to protect this vulnerable group, as far as is reasonably practicable, Employers need to critically examine how they implement the following:

• Recruitment policies
• Induction of new employees
• Communications with this group of employees
• Initial training of this group of employees
  
• On-going training of these employees
  
• Encouraging these employees to learn English through formal classes
  
• Performance management issues
  

And they need to ensure that they blend health and safety into all of the above.

Some Employers will argue that the level of English spoken and understood is less important when employing staff who will not be required to interact with the customer or suppliers.  In this argument they forget that all employees, whether meeting customers or not, have rights to information, instruction, training and supervision relevant to their job.  They have the right to receive information, when they join the organization firstly, then to be trained to do the job adequately and safely (if they are not already competent) and to know how to raise concerns about the job with their Supervisor, knowing that they will not be penalized for doing so.

All training, including Induction and other training, whether delivered by internal Company trainers or outside trainers, must take into account the need to communicate in a language that all trainees can understand through the use of some or all of the following:

• Use of foreign spoken trainers or
  
• Use of other employees who will act as translators or
  
• Use of official external translators or
  
• Having the relevant documentation translated in advance
  

Providing training is absolutely a legal requirement but evaluating the effectiveness of training delivered is as important.  This will determine if the required information and skills have been transferred to the employees and will normally require Employers to do some or all of the following:

At the end of all training sessions the Employer should check for understanding by using some or all of the following (as previous outlined):

(i) asking questions of the employee

(ii) asking another employee with good English to establish what they have understood

(iii) asking the employee to explain what has been said back to the Instructor or Supervisor

(iv) or by asking the employee to demonstrate the key task that has been shown to them by an Instructor or Supervisor

Within each organisation, Management need to ensure that that appropriate arrangements are put in place to communicate, train and seek feedback from Foreign Employees who may not have English as their first language.  Chief Executives may, in this regard, delegate specific communications and training duties to individual Departmental Heads and others, as appropriate.  They should also actively encourage and facilitate foreign employees attending formal English classes locally and should consider assisting them with the cost of such classes.

Ultimately Employers should not ask any foreign employees to carry out any task unless they can establish that they fully understand what they are being asked to do, particularly the health and safety aspects of it.

With Health and Safety getting such a high profile in every sector at present many readers may wonder what on earth a Safety Manager actually does all day.  Surely they cannot be investigating accidents all day or carrying out safety inspections!  Quite right they don't do that all day every day but they do carry out particular functions on a regular basis - as with any professional job it has its routine (hopefully not too much) and it has its own variety.

1. Monitors Occupational Health & Safety Legislation and developments in order to keep up to date. This will necessitate attending Conferences and Seminars throughout the year and subscribing to essential Health & Safety publications in order to remain informed. (IOSH require all Corporate members to maintain up to date Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in order to remain in membership)

2. Advises and strategically influences the Board, CEO and Senior Management on all matters relating to occupational safety and health (OSH) to ensure that the organisation meets/exceeds its legal requirements and aims for best practice in healthy and safe working practices.

3. Ensures that the Safety Statement is fully implemented and is reviewed as appropriate to take into account changing legislation, technologies, circumstances, accidents and incidents that have occurred etc.

4. Leads and drives the Company OSH programme in conjunction with CEO, Senior Management and all other employees.

5. Identifies hazards and assesses risks, with other professionals in Engineering, Manufacturing etc. on all new and existing equipment, processes and projects to ensure that appropriate control measures are put in place to eliminate, minimise or control hazards.

6. Investigates near misses, incidents and accidents, with Front Line Managers and employees, to discover root causes so that appropriate action can be taken to prevent re-occurrence.

7. Conducts regular announced and unannounced Safety Inspections to ensure that all departments are complying with the terms of the Safety Statement. Maintains records of such inspections and drives the action items, with
relevant Management emerging from them.

8. Actively participates in designing and delivering the Company OSH Training programme in conjunction with the Human Resources and Training personnel
and others internally and externally.

9. Provides regular, accurate, timely OSH reports to CEO and Senior Management team and others regularly so that problems and trends may be identified early and appropriate resources allocated.

10. Actively participates in Project Teams/Groups established to introduce new technologies, moves to new premises etc. to ensure that OSH is built into all new projects etc. during the planning and purchasing processes.

11. Maintains appropriate OSH records on near misses, accidents, training carried out, safety inspections/audits undertaken etc. to ensure that accurate timely information is available to Management and outside agencies to assist OSH decision-making and to comply with/exceed legislation.

12. Liaises with other departments (Manufacturing, Purchasing, Engineering etc.) on purchases of new equipment, articles and substances and with others as needed on OSH issues that arise.

13. Liaises closely with those responsible for Emergency Procedures within the building to ensure, as far as possible, the prevention of fire and the safe evacuation of employees in emergency situations.

14. Actively manages the First Aid service within the building to ensure adequate cover, supplies and refresher training as required.

15. Actively participates in Safety Committee meetings in order to resolve OSH issues and to maximise employee consultation and involvement.

16. Meets elected Safety Representative on a regular basis to consider their representations on OSH issues and to communicate openly on existing or forthcoming OSH issues.

17. Ensures that the Safety Representative and Safety Committee are provided with enough resources - time and training to sufficiently fulfil their functions.

18. Liaises with, Insurance broker, Insurance Company, Health and Safety
Authority Inspectors and others as required.

Under Section 18 of Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 all employers are required to have the services of a “competent person” to advise them on health and safety matters. This can be achieved by having one internally or externally or a combination of both.

 

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 defines it as follows:

“For the purposes of the relevant statutory provisions, a person is deemed to be a competent person where, having regard to the task he or she is required to perform, and taking account of the size or hazards (or both of them) 
of the undertaking or establishment in which he or she undertakes work, the person possesses sufficient training, experience and knowledge appropriate to the nature of the work to be undertaken”.

Many large companies "grow their own" safety officer or manager by training up a suitably motivated person to take on the role.  Others rely partially or sometimes totally on the services of outside consultants and/or trainers or organisations such as Darlington Consulting.  Some organisations decide to buy in the expertise by hiring a fully qualified professional into their Management ranks directly.

If you are considering bringing in a specialist to advise you or choosing a health and safety organisation to provide advice or training then be aware that like all industries there are unqualified, uninsured people out there that you need to be aware of . Many consultants are genuine, are properly qualified and insured - but how do you know who is who? What key checklist should you use when considering who is suitable to advise you or train for you? Here are 5 key questions you should ask consultants or advising organisations:

1. What health and safety qualifications have you?
The minimum they should have is Diploma in Safety, Health and Welfare at Work from a reputable university in Ireland or its equivalent. Someone presenting with a Certificate in Health and Safety may not be qualified to fulfil all the duties of a competent person. If they have a Degree or better then you know you are dealing with a professional.

2. What professional memberships have you?
If they are qualified and are serious about their business they should be Corporate Members of Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (MIOSH) or better still CMIOSH, which means they are a Chartered Health & Safety Professional. MIOSH confirms that they have the basic qualification and 3 years post qualification experience. CMIOSH designation confirms that they are registered with IOSH and are undergoing Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and are keeping themselves up to date on new developments etc. FIOSH or CFIOSH is even higher and confirms that they are a leading health and safety practitioner.

3. What additional qualifications have you?
If you are considering someone to provide Manual Handling Instruction for instance they must be a qualified Manual Handling Instructor, which is an additional qualification on top of their basic diploma or degree. Equally if you want someone to measure noise and advise you on noise reduction then they must be a qualified Noise Assessor. Within the Dangerous Goods Regulations some companies will require the services of a Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor (DGSA) - again the consultant must have this additional qualification in order to meet those particular requirements.

4. What level of Professional Indemnity Insurance have you?
Always ask this question and if necessary ask for sight of their cover. Again most reputable consultants will have this kind of insurance.

5. Provide me with names/addresses/phone numbers of at least 3 organisations where you have done similar work
They should be able to provide you with up to date names and contact number of other companies where they have worked on similar projects. You should then contact them check what kind of work the consultant/organisation did, how satisfactory it was, how beneficial it was and would they use the consultant again/are they happy with their membership? If you get fluffy or no answers to some or all of these questions, then walk away and find another consultant/organisation.

So be careful who you choose and what you ask them to do for you because if you use one that is not qualified or not competent the responsibility in law rests with you if something goes wrong.

Ultimately the responsibility for health and safety rests with the employer who is normally represented by a Chief Executive/Managing Director individual.  This person can and will have to delegate the day to day management of health and safety to a range of other managers and officers in order that it be done.  However in delegating they must ensure that those persons have the training, the resources and the support to carry out their functions.  Dumping health and safety downwards without support and resources and then having nothing more to do with it is not acceptable but is often attempted.

Generally Safety professionals will act as technical advisors to their companies.  For real effectiveness day to day health and safety must be given to line managers who should be given sufficient training and resources to effectively manage it in their area.

 

Mary Darlington

April 2008

 

Take steps to check for understanding during (a) normal communications activities and (b) during specific training activities by doing any or all of the following:

(i) asking questions of the employee

(ii) asking another employee with their language and reasonably good English to establish what they have understood

(iii) asking the employee to explain what has been said back to the Instructor or Supervisor

(iv) or by asking the employee to demonstrate the key task that has been shown to them by an Instructor or Supervisor 

A Safety Statement is Management's programme, in writing, stating how they are going to manage health, safety and welfare within that company over the next year. The structure of all Safety Statements will be the same, although the detailed content will differ depending on the business it relates to. The detail required in a Safety Statement for a Warehouse will be very different to that covering a Chemistry Laboratory, or a shop or a construction site etc.

Part 1 - Statement of General Policy (signed by Managing Director)

Part 2 - Responsibilities and Arrangements:

• Responsibilities of Managing Director
  
• Responsibilities of Production Director
  
• Responsibilities of Production Supervisor
  
• Responsibilities of Warehouse Supervisor
  
• Responsibilities of Workshop Manager
  
• Responsibilities of Office Manager
  

Part 3 – Protective and Preventive Measures, Resources etc.

• Principles of Prevention
  
• Identification of Hazards etc.
  
• Purchasing Policy
  
• Supervision
  
• Employee Co-Operation
  
• Employee Consultation Arrangements
  
• Information, Instruction & Training
  
• Fire
  
• Prevention
  
• Drills
  
• Detection
  
• Exits and Evacuation
  
• Extinguishers/water hoses
  
• Fire Fighting Arrangements
  
• Emergency Preparedness
  
• Accident Reporting & Investigation
  
• First Aid
  
• Protection of Employee Health
  
• Housekeeping
  
• Machinery and Equipment
  
• Electrical Safety
  
• Maintenance
  
• Movement of Materials
  
• Manual Handling
  
• Fork-Lift Trucks
  
• Noise
  
• Chemical Substances
  
• Non-Ionising Radiation
  
• Heating System
  
• VDUs
  
• Ergonomics
• Car Parking
• Transport
• Working Off-Site
• Employee Welfare
  
• Canteen Arrangements                                                                     
  
• Pregnant Employees 
  
• Sexual Harassment
  
• Prevention of Bullying                                                                                               
  
• Stress                                                                      
  
• Smoking                                                                               
  
• Personal Protective Equipment                                              
  
• Contractors                                                             
  
• Construction Issues                                                  
  
• Clients, Visitors and the Public                                  
  
• Revision and Monitoring 
• Director's Report      
  

Part 4 - Hazard Identification/Risk Assessment:

• Outside Yard
  
• Employee Entrance
  
• Goods Entrance
  
• Cash office
  
• Offices
  
• Workshop Area
  
• Production Area
  
• Warehouse area
  
• Toilets * Canteen
  
• Delivery and Installation activity
  
• Working Off-Site
  
• Outside Grounds
  

1. Names and titles of responsible persons

2. Accident report form

3. Emergency Procedures in Case of Serious or Imminent Danger/Accident/Fire/Bomb Scare/
Gas Leak/Chemical Spill/Receipt of Suspicious Package

4. Sexual Harassment Policy

5. Prevention of Bullying Policy

6. Stress Policy

March 2008

 

Ergonomics

Ergonomists are scientists who have specialised in the study of the interface between people and the things they come into contact with - particularly artificial things.  Their work yields information that helps other specialists, such as designers and engineers, to improve the usability of the products they develop.  They are likely to be involved in the manufacture of vehicles (cars, aeroplanes and bicycles), household products (kitchen equipment, toys, computers and furniture), clothing (shoes, sportswear and jumpers) and many other products. 

 

The application of ergonomics can result in products that are safer or easier to use, such as a family car or food mixer.  Alternatively, ergonomics can result in better procedures for performing tasks, from changing a nappy to welding.

The driver's seat in a car, for example, must be carefully designed to take account of the varying sizes of potential drivers.  The instrument panel must be designed so as not to confuse the driver by providing excessive or unclear information displayed information should be neither too faint nor dazzling bright at night and yet be legible in normal day light.  In many cases both physiologists and psychologists can contribute to the design.

Ergonomics draws its knowledge from various fields in the human sciences and technology, including anthropometrics, biomechanics, physiology, psychology, toxicology, mechanical engineering, industrial design, information technology and industrial management.  In some studies anthropometric data (body measurements) and experimental usability studies are used to aid the process of making products easier to understand, safer to use, and better matched to the human body.  The elderly, children and people with disabilities are special groups with which ergonomic analyses may be concerned.