Learning outcomes

2.1 Outline the elements of a health and safety management system and the
benefits of having a formal/certified system.

2.2 Describe the purpose and key features of an effective health and safety
policy.
 2.1 WHAT THEY ARE AND THE BENEFITS THEY BRING
Management by definition is the process of setting policy, organising and controlling the workforce,
monitoring and reviewing the efforts and outcomes of an organisation and the use of other
organisational resources to achieve stated goals. With regard to health and safety management these
goals will include:
 Complying with legislative and other requirements
 Enabling improved management of health and safety risks
 Providing cost effective risk controls and a competitive edge
 Providing synergy with good business management.
Therefore, one can say that safety management system is a tool that will enable organisations to meet
the above management goals. Most health and safety management systems listed below are based
around the principle of PLAN, DO, CHECK, ACT:
 ILO-OSH 2001: Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) Management Systems Guidelines
 ISO45001:2018: Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems
 HSG 65 Successful Health and Safety Management

ILO (OSH) 2001: Occupational Health and Safety Management System

ILO has developed voluntary guidelines on OHS management systems for Organisations to implement
occupational safety and health (OSH) management systems. It provides a logical framework upon which
to establish and run an OSH programme that tracks all the elements requiring action and monitoring.
ILO-OSH 2001 Guidelines on OHS Management System is not legally binding and not intended to replace
national laws, regulations and accepted standards.

The ILO Guidelines on OSH Management Systems contain the main elements of:
 Policy
 Organising
 Planning and implementation
  Evaluation
 Actions for improvement

Policy (PLAN)
The policy is the basis of the OSH management system. It sets out:
 The health and safety aims and objectives
of the organisation,
 Management commitment.
 The elements of OHS policy and worker
participation.
The employer should produce a safety policy, if
possible in consultation with the workforce.

Organising (PLAN)
Organisation contains the elements of
responsibility and accountability, competence and
training, documentation and communication. It
requires management structure to be in place and
the important responsibilities allocated for
delivering the OSH policy. Organising contributes
to the creation of a positive culture.

Planning and Implementation (DO)

Planning and Implementation involves the identification of hazards, assessment of risks, and deciding
how risks can be eliminated or controlled. It should set standards against which performance can be
measured. The organisation’s existing OSH management system and appropriate arrangements must be
assessed by an initial evaluation, as suitable. If there were no OSH management system exists, or if the
organisation is recently developed, the initial assessment must work as a basis for establishing an OSH
management system. The results of the initial review shall:
 Be documented
 Form the basis for making decisions regarding the implementation of the OSH management
system
 Provide a baseline from which continual improvement of the organisation’s OSH management
system can be measured.

Planning for health and safety requires organisations to:

 Set health and safety targets
 Identify hazards, assess risks, and decide how risks can be eliminated or controlled
 Set standards against which measurement of performance can be carried out.
 Comply with the health and safety laws
 Design the tasks, processes, products, services, safe systems of work and all equipment’s
associated with it to reduce risk.
  Develop a purchase and supply policy, which takes health and safety into account
 Co-operate with contractors
 Develop emergency procedures.

Evaluation (CHECK)
Evaluation element contains the mechanisms for performance monitoring and measurement,
investigation of work-related injuries, ill-health, diseases and incidents, audit and management review
and should be both reactive and proactive. It is a means of determining the extent to which health and
safety policy and objectives are being implemented. Analysing data gathered through monitoring is a
means to check if safety performance is adequate

Auditing (CHECK)
An audit is a systematic and critical examination of each stage of an organisation’s management systems
and procedures in order to establish whether or not systems exist, and if so they are adequate and are
used. Organisations should maintain and improve their health and safety performance by learning from
experience through the use of audits and performance review. If the results of the audits identify that
the control of hazards and risks is inadequate the control measures should be modified accordingly and
within a timescale.

Actions for Improvement (ACT)

Action for improvement includes the elements of preventive and corrective action and continual
improvement. It likewise stresses the requirement for continuous improvement of OSH performance
through the ongoing development of techniques, systems and policies to prevent and control work-
related injuries, illness, diseases and incidents.

ISO 45001:2018: Occupational Health and Safety Management System

ISO 45001 is the new international standard for occupational health and safety (OH&S) that can be
applied to all types of organisation. The adoption of an OH&S management system intends to enable an
organization to provide safe and healthy workplaces, prevent work-related injury and ill health,
and continually improve its OH&S performance.

OH&S Policy and Commitment

Organizations must commit to fulfill legal and other requirements; the policy must be relevant,
appropriate and retained as documented information. More emphasis has been placed on the
accountability of leaders to ensure consultation and participation with workers to protect, improve
performance, and support the OH&S system and its integration into other business processes.
Information on roles, responsibilities and authorities must be documented. Accountability is retained by
top management and cannot be delegated.
Planning
The organization will establish and maintain arrangements for the ongoing identification of hazards, the
evaluation of risks, and the implementation of necessary control procedures. Risks and opportunities
become inputs to a comprehensive planning approach. Objectives must support the policy requirements
and must be considered in line with the strategic direction and context of the organization.
Implementation
The functions, responsibilities and authorities of personnel who manage, carry out and validate activities
having a result on the OH&S risks of the organization’s activities, processes and facilities, will be
specified, documented and communicated in order to assist in OH&S management.
Checking & corrective action
An organization should check, review, inspect and observe its planned activities to ensure they are
occurring as intended. An organization must make sure they have determined the appropriate
processes, so they can evaluate how well they are performing based on risk and opportunities.
Monitoring generally indicates processes that can check whether something is occurring as intended or
planned.

Management review
The aim of the review is for top management to assess the performance of the management system to
ensure it has been effective and suitable for the needs of the business, ultimately preventing injury or
harm to workers. The management review is also a planned activity to review objectives including
compliance and to set new objectives.
Continual improvement
The management system should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure its continued suitability and
effectiveness for the organisation to deliver its commitment as well as continual improvements.

The benefits of having a formal/certified health and safety management system i.e., cost v return
ISO 45001 puts the organisation on a level of excellence shared by organisations worldwide satisfying
the demands of current or prospective customers to the organisation. Increased acceptance by
regulators, the public and interested parties, ISO 45001 is been accepted as proactive measure for
Health and Safety and continual improvement. It has a great impact on business performance. A well
designed and well implemented ISO 45001 health/safety management system reduces workplace
illness, injury and increased productivity. It also helps in attracting lower insurance premiums and proves
due diligence to the marketplace by improving the safety of all persons affected by the company’s
activities. The benefits of Implementing ISO are endless and when implemented correctly it provides the
company with an effective tool that will show a return on investment.
 2.2 WHAT GOOD HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS LOOK LIKE
Purpose of a Health and Safety Policy
Every organisation must have a clear policy for the management of health and safety so that everybody
related to the organisation understands its health and wellness objectives and targets. A health and
safety policy will likewise improve the performance of the organisation in areas aside from health and
safety, aid with the personal advancement of the workforce and decrease financial losses. The reasons
for having a safety policy could be:
Legal Reasons: This duty of care requires the employer announce
a written statement of their health and safety policy; to provide
organisation and all necessary arrangements for implementing the
policy, and to communicate the statement and any revision of it to
their employees.
Managerial Reason: The reasoning behind the duty to have a
written statement of health and safety is a simple one. If the
organisation has to document what it is trying to achieve, in any
area of its activities, it is much more likely to do something about it.
So with health and safety, making that commitment is the starting
point for a positive attitude towards protecting not only staff, but
anyone else who may be affected by their work.

The Needs of Different Organisations

In the case the company has a number of various activities or where the operations are geographically
widespread; the policy may require formulation on more than one level. The highest management level
should put in writing the central policy principles, while the branches or operational units interpret the
policy in a realistic written form to suit the identified local needs.
There is no standard policy to suit all types of Organisations. A large Organisation may require a far more
complex policy than a small company employing a limited number of employees. The policy should
influence all activities of the organisation and outline systems that managers may need to fulfill their
health and safety responsibilities.

The Contents of a Health and Safety Policy with Reference to ISO 45001:2018
The main elements of the safety policy are broadly:
1. General statement of intent with respect to health and safety of their employees.
2. Organisation of roles, responsibilities and accountabilities throughout the organisation.
3. The provisions and arrangements to achieve the policy aims and objectives.
To expand on these three principles, the health and safety policy should contain:
 A general statement of commitment signed and dated by the senior member of the management.
 Defining and allocating roles and responsibilities, as well as accountabilities to all levels of
management up to the line management.
 A collection of the organisation’s own rules and regulations to ensure health and safety at work,
  Details of the significant findings of risk
assessments, and the arrangements in force to
control risks to employees, visitors, contractors,
etc. 5. The date the policy was last revised.
General Statement of Intent
The statement of general policy should contain
management aims and objectives for creating and
maintaining a safe workplace. There are no known ‘legal’
requirements for specific contents. However, the statement
of general policy should fit the needs and objectives of the
business. It can be broad and general or quite narrow and
specific; there are
good reasons for both approaches. A wide-ranging statement will bring into its scope many areas of the
business of the organisation. However it is likely to be quite vague and ill-defined and feel rather
isolated and unrelated to the people who will be working by it.
On the other hand a narrow, definite statement will have the advantage that the users are able to
connect to it initially, which will encourage its acceptance. However as the organisation moves on, the
more accurate statement may well start to lose its value and will rapidly become useless unless it is
revised very regularly. It should be produced at the highest level of responsibility within the company,
clearly indicating the commitment of the most senior management to the principle of ensuring and
maintaining safety and health at work.

Signatory to Statement of Intent

Senior most people in the organisation should sign the statement e.g. the Managing Director, Chief
Executive etc. because this:
 Shows management commitment
 Gives the policy authority
 Demonstrates the person who signs has ultimate responsibility for health and safety

Organisation Aims and Objectives for Health and Safety

As said above, the policy or very identifiable parts of it are the base for actions whereby identified Aims,
Objectives and Targets can be achieved. These objectives are more readily acceptable within all ranks of
the organisation if they are qualified in terms of an annual achievement plan in the terms of objectives.
Any interim shortfalls in the major performance indicators being properly documented and discussed so
that lessons may be learned and further objectives set to regain health and safety performance on track,
if that is indeed possible. A safety policy therefore should be able to broadly identify these objectives and
targets, and endorsed by the senior most person who signs the statement of intent. Before we move on
in this topic it is necessary to determine what the key terms mean here.
 GOALS: an aim or purpose
 OBJECTIVES: something you plan to do or achieve
 TARGETS: specify specific performance requirements
The importance to an organisation for setting targets is to give evidence of management commitment
and motivates staff by giving them something tangible to aim for. A correctly set target allocates a
detailed
 performance requirement and should be considered as a route or marker to be achieved on the way to
meeting an objective. Management techniques of today call for targets that are ‘SMART’, and when the
letters have meanings assigned to them a SMART target is one that normally has full buy in as they are:
 Specific
 Measurable
 Achievable
 Realistic
 Time bound

Concept of Benchmarking
Is a system whereby an organisation may compare its safety performance with others in the same type
of business, with other units of the same firm or even nationally declared figures. Many countries now
report the health and safety performance of industries within their own country and compare these to
those reported by other countries or for example by the ILO on a more global scale. It is fair to say that
by using a benchmarking system for its health and safety performance, an organisation can more
efficiently determine its strengths and weaknesses and thus have the ability to act on the lessons that is
experienced with a view of making continual improvements in performance.

The benchmarking system, with all of its benefits, does have a range of potential challenges; these
include but are not limited to:
 Using standard terminology or definitions i.e. falls from height
 Making sure that the benchmarking data used as a comparison is accurate and reliable
 Using benchmark companies that have similar work activities but not necessarily a direct
competitor, etc.

Setting Objectives
When setting health and safety objectives, consideration should be given to:
 Who is going to set objectives – the involvement of senior management perhaps with
guidance from health and safety practitioners/advisers?
 How objectives will be set at each functional level - Objectives need to be set at different
levels or within different parts of the organisation to achieve organisational goals. This can be
achieved by setting and agreeing personal targets with individuals through the job appraisal and
review process.
 Legal and other requirements – objectives must recognise legal standards and other
requirements set by, for example, corporate policy, insurance companies, etc.
  Hazards and risks – the hazards inherent in the workplace and the risks created must be taken
into account when setting objectives. If this is not done then the organisation may pursue
objectives that are irrelevant or that address only trivial matters.
 Technological options – as technology changes, organisations should take advantage of that
new technology and set objectives accordingly.
 Financial, operational, and business requirements – health and safety objectives should
integrate with financial, operational and business objectives so that there is no conflict of goals.
 Views of interested parties – for objectives to be achievable it is important that some element
of consultation occurs and that the views of interested parties are considered. Employees
(through their representatives), supervisors, managers, contractors, clients, customers,
landlords, co-occupiers, suppliers, manufacturers and designers may all be able to contribute to
the health and safety objectives of an organisation.
Organising for Health and Safety
This part of the health and safety policy is the means by which everyone in the business is made aware
of the things they are expected to do to help achieve a safe workplace - i.e. it sets out their
responsibilities. There is no legally prescribed method for stating the management responsibilities that
make up an employer’s organisation for health and safety, but it must be relevant to the business.

It is critical to the success of the policy that people are only given responsibilities for matters over which
they have control, for example those given responsibility for finance or employee training programmes
must have the monitoring of that function. This section of the policy enables people to see what they
need to do, but also indicates the appropriate reporting lines - i.e. the most useful person to report
something to, or ensure that action on a safety management shortfall is dealt with.
Accountability
Management accountability starts at the top, from the person identified in the policy as having control
of the business (it could be two or more people, if they are partners or co-owners). Each level of
management is accountable for health and safety performance to the one above
Delegation of Responsibility
The chairman of a large company could not be expected to prevent a shock to an employee from an
electrically untested kettle, but they should have delegated the responsibility for ensuring checks were
carried out. If they had not assured that their managers were given the responsibility and resources to
have the equipment checked, then, the person in immediate control of the situation, as well as the
Chairman could also be held accountable. Performance of duties can be delegated but legal
responsibility cannot be transferred, even by putting into the policy a phrase like ‘the supervisor will be
solely responsible for all health and safety in their section’, since only a court can ultimately decide who
is legally liable in the circumstances.
Managerial Responsibilities
In a business with several levels of management it is not possible for the person at the top to control all
business functions (including health and safety) on a daily basis and it is necessary to delegate duties.
For example, the list of responsibilities related to the company structure given in the personal
responsibility section might start as follows:
 The chairman of the board is ultimately legally responsible for all safety matters within the company’s
sphere of operations. They will:
 Make sure the objectives of the policy are fully understood by all board members
 Assign adequate resources (funds, materials, equipment, staff and time) as required to manage
health and safety
 Need other members of the board to provide regular information on the health and safety
performance of the parts of the business under their
control
 Sign the policy and give it public support

This assignment of responsibilities will continue through the

rest of the organisation. If there are several people at one
level, say department supervisors, they may have broadly the
same health and safety responsibilities, but with additional
duties specific to their job. An organisational structure which
identifies
responsibilities with posts, rather than people, allows for changes in personnel without needing a
revision of the policy. It means that:
 Comprehensive safety responsibilities can be given in the job description, along with the other
responsibilities of the post
 A new post-holder automatically acquires the same safety responsibilities
 Complying with the job description can then be a condition in the contract of employment
 Changes in the job description will not need a new contract of employment

Health and Safety Arrangements

The Arrangements section is often the largest section of the policy. It deals with the general
arrangements that exist to manage health and safety and the specific arrangements that are necessary
to deal with particular risks relevant to the organisation and its activities. The systems and procedures
used to manage health and safety are contained in this section. All the general health and safety
management issues will be relevant to all workplaces; they are generic issues. However, the practical
arrangements made for the management of these issues will have to be tailored to suit the organisation.

General health and safety management arrangements:

 Carrying out risk assessments.
 Identifying and supplying health and safety information, instruction and training.
 Accident and near-miss reporting, recording and investigation.
 Consultation with workers on health and safety matters.
 Developing safe systems of work and permit-to work systems to control hazards.
 Welfare and first-aid provision.
 Housekeeping.
 Fire safety and prevention.
 Emergency procedures.
 Communication of health and safety matters, including hazards and control measures.
 Compliance monitoring, including auditing of systems but also measuring workplace parameters,
e.g. noise, to assess the effectiveness of the arrangements.
 Depending on the workplace, specific health and safety arrangements will also have to be developed to
deal with particular risks. The list of possible arrangements that might be required can be long and
depends on the problems and issues faced by the organisation in question. For example, a lorry haulage
company will have a set of arrangements to manage transport risk, but an office-based company will
not. Examples of specific risks and problems within an organisation that may need detailed
arrangements include:
 Lone working.
 Noise-exposure control.
 Vibration-exposure control.
 Control of exposure to toxic materials.
 Control of crowds.
 Control of transport risks.
 Waste disposal.

Not all organisations will have all of these risks - these are “specific” to the organisation and its function.
Control of exposure may require health surveillance and PPE, the use and maintenance of which should
be covered in the arrangements.

Review of Health and Safety Policy

Health and safety policy should not be considered as rigid and unchanging. Instead, it should be subject
to regular review so that it remains current and relevant. In this way it can be kept a “live” document.
It is good practice to review policy on a regular basis, e.g. annually. However, there are other
circumstances which could give rise to reviews.

The aim of the review is to make sure that the policy is up to date and accurate. The date of the previous
review should be recorded on policy documents to indicate how current they are. Revisions are required
for significant changes in organisation or arrangements, such as:
 The formation of a new department, for example, an export department when international
business increases.
 Introducing a new process, such as a solvent-based component cleaning operation.
 Take-overs or mergers.
 Responsibilities changes in the organisation.
 Shutting down or selling part of the business.
 Change of premises.
 Legal changes, such as the introduction of new legislation applicable to the organisation.
 A convenient period for reconsideration is every 12 months, along with an analysis of other indicators of
business performance, as is widespread business practice. An analysis may be sufficient and no revisions
needed, if there have not been any significant changes in personnel, business operation or relevant
laws, statutory guidance or recognised standards. In order to carry out a review, the senior manager, or
nominated ‘competent person’, will need to get feedback from all of those managing safety. If there is
an established (or inherited) efficient communication system, this should already be in progress by the
completion of the first year of the policy’s operation. The dated signature of a senior person makes it
clear that the operation and effectiveness of the policy have been reconsidered, so it should be signed
after each review, whether or not there has been any necessity for revision.

Standards and Guidance on Health and Safety Policy

There are several recognised standards and guidelines available that require organisations to have a
policy. Examples are the ILO-OHS 2001 and ISO 45001:2018 Guidelines on occupational safety and
health management systems. They both provide clear guidance to organisations seeking to implement
an OHS management system, which includes advice to help comply with the requirements of policy
setting.

Management Systems
OHS management system standards, in addition to national law and standard’s, should be taken in
account when employers consider their organisation’s health and safety policies. It can be ascertained
from the following that OSH management systems stipulate broadly similar demands.
ILO-OSH 2001 – Guidelines on OHS Management System
The employer, in consultation with workers and their representatives, should set out in writing an OSH
policy, which should be:
 Accurate and relevant to the type of organisation and appropriate to its size and the nature of
its activities;
 Concise, clearly written, dated and made effectual by the signature or endorsement of the
employer, or the most senior accountable person in the system;
 Communicated and readily accessible to all persons at their place of employment;
 Regularly reviewed to ensure its suitably continually;
 Made available and accessible to all external stake holders and interested parties, as appropriate.

The OSH policy should include, as a minimum, the following fundamental principles and objectives to
which the organisation stays committed:
 To everyone in the organisation by having means to prevent injuries, illnesses and incidents in
the workplace.
 All applicable OSH national laws and regulations, voluntary programmes, collective agreements
on OSH and other requirements, shall be complied to;
 Making sure that employees and their representatives are consulted and promoted to take part
actively in all components of the OSH management system; and
 Continually improving the operation of the OSH management system.

ISO 45001:2018

Top management shall establish, implement and maintain an OH&S policy that:

 Includes a commitment to provide safe and healthy working conditions for the prevention of
work-related injury and ill health and is appropriate to the purpose, size and context of the
organization and to the specific nature of its OH&S risks and OH&S opportunities;
 Provides a framework for setting the OH&S objectives;
 Includes a commitment to fulfil legal requirements and other requirements;
 Includes a commitment to eliminate hazards and reduce OH&S risks;
 Includes a commitment to continual improvement of the OH&S management system;
 Includes a commitment to consultation and participation of workers, and, where they exist,
workers’ representatives

The OH&S policy shall be:

 Available as documented information;

 Communicated within the organization;
 Available to interested parties, as appropriate;
 Relevant and appropriate.
Summary
This element has dealt with the health and safety management systems and policy.
In particular, this element has:
 Overviewed the ILO-OSH 2001 health and safety management system, which
can be summarised as: Policy, Organising, Planning and Implementation,
Evaluation, Action for Improvement, and Audit.
 Outlined the ISO 45001:2018 SMS - Policy, Planning, Implementation,
Checking and corrective action. Management review, continual
improvement.
 Identified the health and safety policy of an organisation as an important
document, which sets out what the organisation’s aims are with regard to
health and safety, who is responsible for achieving those aims, and how
those aims are to be achieved.
 Explained that the policy is usually presented in three parts: the General
Statement of Intent, the Organisation section, and the Arrangements
section:
o The General Statement of Intent communicates the importance that
the organisation places on health and safety, the commitment that
can be expected and the aims and objectives for the organisation to
achieve. It is signed by the person in overall control of the
organisation.
o The Organisation section deals with the roles and responsibilities
that exist within all levels of the organisation and indicates the lines
of responsibility and accountability.
o The Arrangements section provides the detail on how the
organisation manages health and safety. It outlines the general
arrangements that relate to health and safety management and the
specific arrangements that relate to individual health and safety
topics and issues.
 Noted that health and safety policies have to be reviewed in order to stay
current and relevant, and that reviews might be carried out periodically, or
in response to changes, such as those to key personnel or management
structure.