HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Basic Information

Teacher's Notes A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 B. Eight Elements of a Health and Safety Management System . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Element 1: Management Leadership and Organizational Commitment . . . . . . 4 Element 2: Hazard Identification and Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Element 3: Hazard Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Element 4: Ongoing Inspections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Element 5: Qualifications, Orientation and Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Element 6: Emergency Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Element 7: Incident Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Element 8: Program Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Handouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Supplemental Information

Teacher's Notes A. Partnerships Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 B. WCB Partnerships in Injury Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Handouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

? Government of Alberta

Work Safe Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Teacher Resources

1

HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Basic Information

A-Intro.ppt Slide 1

Leader of the Pack

TEACHER'S NOTES

A. Introduction

Why Do We Need to Manage Health and Safety?

A healthy and safe workplace doesn't just happen. It takes commitment and planning to ensure that all equipment is functioning properly, that needed materials are available to do the job and that workers know how to do their job. The benefit of this commitment is an efficient and effective operation, with reduced likelihood of injuries and illnesses.

This leads to improved morale because workers know that their employer is looking after their health and safety and they know that it is okay, even expected, to speak up if they have concerns. With high morale, there is less absenteeism and less staff turnover. This, in turn, improves productivity and quality. Good health and safety makes an employer more attractive ? to both workers and customers. Many employers view health and safety management systems as an investment.

If health and safety is not managed, things can get missed. Equipment is not maintained on schedule, workers do not receive the training they need and hazards are missed. As a result, the potential for incidents increases. Incidents can result in:

? injury, illness or death to workers, customers or the public ? damaged equipment, tools or facilities ? loss of materials

Aside from the human aspect of injuries, these incidents cost money. In addition to increases in WCB premiums, there are costs associated with the repair or replacement of equipment, increases in other insurance premiums (e.g., for fleet vehicles), replacement of materials, production delays, staff turnover and more. As well, Occupational Health and Safety officers may investigate and order corrective actions.

It is much better to prevent incidents through good management than to deal with the consequences later.

2

Work Safe Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Teacher Resources

? Government of Alberta

Basic Information

HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

What Is a Health and Safety Management System?

A health and safety management system is a process to minimize the incidence of injury and illness at the workplace. The scope and complexity of a health and safety management system varies, depending on the type of workplace and the nature of the work performed. The purpose of the system is to identify and control hazards, on an ongoing basis, to protect the health and safety of workers. A health and safety management system includes the following key elements, as identified by the Partnerships program:

? management leadership and organizational commitment ? hazard identification and assessment ? hazard control ? ongoing inspections ? qualifications, orientation and training ? incident investigation ? emergency response ? program administration

Where Can I Get Help to Develop a Health and Safety Management System?

There are several Certifying Partners that offer training in developing health and safety management systems, as well as other relevant health and safety training. Occupational Health and Safety works with the Certifying Partners to ensure their training meets the Partnerships standards. To learn more about Partnerships, Certifying Partners and the Certificate of Recognition program, go to the supplemental information al section of this chapter.

What if I understood what I'm

responsible for?

? Government of Alberta

Work Safe Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Teacher Resources

3

HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Basic Information

B.E ight Elements of a Health and Safety Management System

Element 1: Management Leadership and Organizational Commitment

The commitment of management is essential to develop and maintain effective workplace health and safety management systems. Employers/ managers can demonstrate their commitment by:

? making sure that identified hazards are controlled ? talking to workers about health and safety ? following all company health and safety rules and expecting all

workers to do the same ? working together with staff to identify ways to improve health and

safety ? taking corrective action when issues are identified; i.e., follow up on

workers' concerns ? making workers feel comfortable about coming to them to discuss

their concerns ? making sure health and safety is on the agenda at meetings ? taking an active part in health and safety discussions ? making health and safety an integral part of the business operation

Activity

Teachers may have students review the questions on the checklist (following page) and discuss what these mean and what employers could do to meet them.

4

Work Safe Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Teacher Resources

? Government of Alberta

Basic Information

HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Measuring Commitment and Involvement

This is a sample questionnaire that employers can use to assess their level of commitment to health and safety.

To determine the extent of your commitment to and involvement in health and safety, read and answer the questions in the following list: 1. Do you set realistic goals, assign responsibilities and hold people

accountable for them? 2. Do you hold yourself accountable for all your health and safety

responsibilities? 3. At meetings, is health and safety frequently discussed? 4. Are your workers given the opportunity to express their concerns? 5. Do workers feel comfortable about expressing their concerns? 6. Do you follow up on the concerns raised by your workers? 7. Do you have proactive maintenance of equipment or machinery? 8. After an incident investigation, do you follow up on the preventative

actions recommended? 9. Are these recommendations given a high priority? 10. Do you enforce the proper work procedures, regardless of the work

schedule? 11. Do you ensure that proper procedures are reviewed before the job

starts? 12. Do you discourage shortcuts? 13. Do you make sure you have enough staff to handle the workload

without incident? 14. Are health and safety concerns considered in budget planning? 15. Do you take an active role in all aspects of your health and safety

program?

Yes No

Note: This is not a comprehensive list. It should be considered only an indicator of your commitment to good health and safety practices.

If an employer was able to answer:

Yes to all of these questions, it is probably very committed and involved in your program.

Yes to only some of these questions, it may need to reassess its commitment in those specific areas.

? Government of Alberta

Work Safe Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Teacher Resources

5

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download