MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK

Management of Health and Safety at Work



Management of Health and Safety at Work

Introduction

These Regulations were originally introduced in 1993 in response to an EC Directive. Due to the extent that the Regulations had changed they were further amended in 1999 and the HSE revised its Apporaved Code of Practice (AcoP). The Regulations serve to strengthen the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act and aim to state and strengthen employers' common law duty of care and clarify the employers' responsibility to identify health/safety problems and to devise means to combat them. The main requireemtns of the Regulations are set out below.

Discussion

The Regulations do not apply to domestic services in a private household nor do apply to masters and crews of seagoing ships. Seagoing activities are covered by the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997. However, the Regulations may apply when a ship is in a port in Great Britain and shoreside workers and the ship's crew work together. Employers and self-employed persons must carry out a risk assessment, covering both workers and others who may be affected by their work or business. The assessment should address the effect of their undertaking, work activities and the condition of the premises (Jeffrey, J. and Douglas, I. 1994).

Health and Safety Arrangements

Employers shall make appropriate arrangements for the efective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of protective and preventive measures. A competent person should determine the level, frequency and procedure of health surveillance required. As a minimum, a health record should be kept. Every employer should appoiint one or more competent persons to assist in managing risk. Such persons shall be regarded as comptent where they have “sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualtities” to properly assist the employer. The competent person may be an employee or a person external to the business, e.g. a consultant (Latham, Sir M. 1994).

Serious and Imminent Danger

Employers shall establish emergency procedures for workers to follow for events that present serious and imminent danger, such as a fire. Emergency procedures should be written down, and information about them should be available to employees, appointed external health and safety personnel and other workers and /or their employers where necessary. Induction training should address emergency procedures. Work should only be resumed after an emergency if no serious danger remains. Entry to areas where ...