Phase Three and Beyond. Working towards a major improvement in the health and safety performance of the ceramics industry

Transcription

1 Phase Three 2010 and Beyond Working towards a major improvement in the health and safety performance of the ceramics industry Reducing the number of working days lost from work related injury and ill-health by 30% by

2 CERAMIC INDUSTRY HEALTH & SAFETY PLEDGE Phase Three C o n t e n t s: INTRODUCTION 3 Page PRIORITY ACTIONS 3 HEALTH AND SAFETY QUESTIONNAIRE 10 2

3 INTRODUCTION: In 2000 The Government published a Strategy Statement entitled Revitalising Health and Safety. This statement was notable for a number of reasons. Firstly it introduced for the first time in health and safety the challenge of targets. Secondly, it threw down a new gauntlet, 25 years after the enactment of The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and thirdly it effectively required industrial sectors to meet the challenge and thereby make a contribution to the cause. Since the Pledge was launched it has reinvented itself on two occasions. In 2005 Phase Two was launched with a revised programme of work. It is now time to again refresh our thinking hence the launch of Pledge Phase Three. PRIORITY ACTIONS: Introduction:- The priority actions contained in Phase Three of the Ceramic Industry Health and Safety Pledge draw heavily on the HSE s new strategy, The Health and Safety of Great Britain//Be Part of It and it is worth dwelling on these for a moment. The Health and Safety Executive have identified eight priority focus points in its new strategy. These eight priorities are intended to influence the HSE in its work in the foreseeable future. The Ceramic Industry Pledge Monitoring Board believes that seven of these priorities have direct relevance to any company strategy and that the one that is specific to the HSE itself is the question relating to catastrophic occurrences. The remaining seven have been adopted by the Pledge Board to form the basis of Ceramic Industry Health and Safety Pledge Phase Three. The only real difference is that the Board have placed each priority in a deliberate order so that member companies can understand the message the Board is trying to convey. Accident Statistics:- One of the key elements throughout has been the measurement of progress through the collection of accident statistics and the Pledge and the BCC Board are firmly of the view that targets focus attention and need to be retained. The existing targets therefore have been extended as follows:- Using 2006 as the revised benchmark all existing measures of progress i.e. Accident Rate Absence Rate All Injury rate To be cumulatively reduced by 30% by 31 December 2012 Strategic Approach:- The first two phases of the Ceramic Industry Health and Safety Pledge were focused to a large extent on detail and the specific actions required of each principal stakeholder. Phase Three has more of a strategic flavour on the basis that the success of the accident reduction should indicate that the interventions and actions over the last eight years are having a beneficial effect. Companies are now being encouraged to adapt a more strategic approach to ensure their systems are in place. 3

4 Having explained the logic of the approach to the Ceramic Pledge Phase Three we now need to convert the logic into a clear strategy. The six headings below relate to tables on pages 5, 6 and 7 of this document and seek to provide an indication of the order in which member companies may like to tackle and develop their strategy. The Pledge Board have placed the priorities in the following order:- Strong Leadership What does this mean? The term will mean different things to different people, rather like; what is competence The Ceramic Industry Health and Safety Pledge Board wish to emphasis the following points though:- Leadership must be visible to all Doing rather than saying Doing rather than waiting to be told Being consistent and not blowing hot and cold Setting standards and expectations and keeping to them Making sure everybody knows where their responsibilities lie Everybody can show leadership, it s all about enthusiasm, passion and a burning commitment to improve all the time. Once the leadership structure is in place, you need a PLAN. Company Aims Not Trivial Distractions (The Company Plan) If you haven t got a plan then whatever you do will appear random and ill thought out and such an approach will not impress anybody. Everybody in the organisation needs to understand the plan so that when they see things happening they understand where it fits in the grand scheme. Once you have established a visible leadership strategy and the plan is finalised it will need to be well known to all concerned and needs to be developed and publicised. The HSE strategy is all about priorities and the avoidance of trivia; this is an approach which should be borne in mind at all times when sorting out your plan. Remember to revisit and update your plan at least annually to monitor progress and set new targets. If you need any help drawing up your plan contact the BCC. Building Competence Can we deliver the plan? Are we competent? 4

5 We have leadership and we have our plan, however other things need to happen before we stand any chance of delivery and the first is making sure everybody in the organisation can deliver what you expect of them, in other words they need to be competent. Again a clean, transparent definition has eluded many people for many years. However, one can do a lot worse than adopt the following principles:- Establish a defined skill/knowledge base (this might be through qualifications) Make sure health and safety responsibilities form part of every working day. In other words everybody needs to be practising health and safety everyday if you don t use it you ll lose it! Maintain continuous Personal Development Plans Is everybody on board with this? Involvement and Consultation Obviously competence has to be a given because you can t ask anybody to do something unless they are equipped with the tools and know how to do the job. Once competence has been achieved and is being maintained then it s a hearts and minds job; in other words involvement and consultation. This is where leadership really comes into its own. This is where all concerned need to see key people (and ultimately everybody) doing the business, i.e. asking them about their concerns. Continuous activity along these lines will convince people you means what you say. That way you will win people over. How good are you at learning from mistakes? Investigation of Accidents and Ill Health Once everybody is on board and pulling together there are other areas you need to focus particular attention on. The first is the investigation of accidents, ill health occurrences, not forgetting near misses. Although investigation may appear reactive it is in fact all about learning lessons and therefore preventing mishaps in the future. Investigation is a skill. If you need any help call the BCC. 5

6 You need not work in isolation Targeting Key Health Issues and Working with Third Parties Looking beyond the boundaries of your company there is plenty of resource to draw on. Why not:- Send a colleague to the appropriate BCC health and safety committee Join the BCC Pledge Monitoring Board Attend all BCC health and safety seminars Link in with the BCC occupational health provider Consult your own company medical advisors and/or occupational hygienists/therapists Adopting and customising approaches to help smaller companies See separate document entitled Toolkit. 6

7 1 STRONG LEADERSHIP A leader influences others and their behaviour so that health and safety becomes the way we do business around here Nominate a director responsible for health and safety improvements Make sure such an individual has full authority and complete support of the Board of Directors. Everyone s a leader and everyone is responsible Do they know this? Make sure they do. Engage with high level trade unions Keep them well informed. All Directors must show leadership A Directors meeting to be convened by BCC whenever appropriate. Ensure that job title includes reference to health and safety Integrate health and safety with other duties. Make health and safety visible Use the Pledge logo. 2 CORE AIMS, NOT TRIVIAL DISTRACTIONS (THE COMPANY PLAN) Having a risk profile sets the priorities for health and safety improvement Safety Committee Keep focus and enthusiasm. Make health and safety fun. Contractors Contractors have serious accidents, are they under control? Corporate Manslaughter Is your defence credible, i.e. chain of responsibility? Health and Safety (Penalties) Act The implications are serious, what steps have you taken? Do you know the law? 7

8 3 BUILDING COMPETENCE Truly effective health and safety management requires competency across every facet of an organisation and through each level of the workforce Training Development Plan Do you have a plan? Personal development targets If you can t measure it you will have no focus and momentum will drift. Personal Development Plan for training committees Development by definition does not stop. Keep your committee fresh and continuously learning. 4 WORKER INVOLVEMENT AND CONSULTATION No matter the size and scope of the organisation, worker involvement is fundamental to good health and safety performance Survey of workforce each year Be seen to act on the findings. Talk to your people everyday make health and safety part of everyday chat. Health and Safety Committee Use them as front line communicators. Induction Pack Keep it fresh and fun with the right message. Accident Information Exchange Create your own network of companies, keep in touch and share experiences. Behaviour Change This may mean getting tough if all else fails. Inspections, investigations and risk assessment Involve as many as possible. 8

9 5 TO INVESTIGATE WORK RELATED ACCIDENTS AND ILL HEALTH The investigation of incidents is crucial to help determine the causes, learn and share lessons and ensure that necessary measures are in place Companies to have installed a rigorous accident investigation policy. Call BCC if you need help. Measures to prevent incidents of ill-health. All about sharing information. Install rigorous near miss policy. Use all contacts and resource available. How do company s policies regarding the above prioritise, i.e. near misses with little potential damage and the opposite? Pledge Board to provide toolkit. Work as a team. Multi site companies to have a safety alert system in place. All about sharing information. 6 TARGET KEY HEALTH ISSUES AND TO WORK WITH MORE TRADE UNIONS, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PROVIDERS Identify and work with those bodies best placed to bring about a reduction in the incidence rate Basic philosophy behind Pledge Use all contacts and resource available. Tri-partite Work as a team. Occupational Health Support (Toolkits) BCC can help you with this. Companies to have a defined occupational health support policy. (frequent audit/lung function etc) Physios. Help is available from BCC. Define, provide and store RPE/PPE. Without this they can be worse than useless. 9

10 HEALTH AND SAFETY AWARENESS QUESTIONNAIRE: Completing the questionnaire is easy. There are no right and wrong answers, it is your thoughts that count. Just read the statement, decide whether or not you agree with it and tick the appropriate box. Where a statement refers to Supervisor* then this means the person whom you report directly, which may be a Supervisor, Team Leader, Shift Manager or Manager. My work area is safe STRONGLY AGREE AGREE AGREE NOR DISAGREE DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE Safety is given high priority here I am aware of the H&S risks in the job I do I have been adequately trained to do my job safely I do not cut corners or take risks in my job When I am aware of a safety problem, I report it to my Supervisor* My Supervisor* consults me with regard to safety matters My Supervisor* listens and responds to what I have to say I feel involved in making my factory a safer place to work Please identify 3 specific safety risks that could be improved at your site :- DON T KEEP YOUR SAFETY THOUGHTS TO YOURSELF, SHARE THEM WITH US! 10