POLICY SETTING

GUIDELINES
Occupational Safety and Health is a discipline
with a broad scope involving many special
fields.
In its broadest sense, it should aim at;
Preserving and protecting human and facility resources in the workplace.
Helping people by preventing them from being injured or becoming ill due to hazards in their
workplaces.
The promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well –
being of workers in all occupations.
The adaptation of work to workers
OSH place the Worker (Human Being) at the centre of all programming.
ELEMENTS OF A HEALTH AND SAFETY
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The management of workplace health and safety must be considered systematically within an
organisation just like any other form of management.
A systematic approach to management is often linked to the PDCA cycle which is used in many
management systems.
Many different management systems exist using a similar format including ILO – OSH 2001,
OSHAS 18001 etc.
All these have common principles which can be summarized as; Policy, Organising, Planning and
Implementation, Evaluation, Action for Improvement and Audit.
POLICY
The health and safety policy of an organisation is an important document that sets out the
organisation’s aims as regards health and safety, who is responsible for achieving these aims and
how the aims are to be achieved.
PURPOSE OF A HEALTH AND SAFETY
POLICY
The foundation block of a good health and safety management in any organisation is the health
and safety policy.
A good health and safety policy sets out the organisations general approach and commitment to
achieving particular aims and objectives.
It provides a framework of general and specific health and safety responsibilities for staff and
guidance on the detailed operational arrangements to be taken in protecting employees and
others from harm.
IMPORTANCE OF A HEALTH AND SAFETY
POLICY
The health and safety policy plays a vital role in decision – making of both senior management
who formulate it, and middle and junior management who are required to implement it.
Senior management have to decide what kind of health and safety standards they are
committing the organisation to and will have to allocate resources accordingly.
Other managers have to ensure that their decision – making is in line with the policy and does
not contradict the organisation’s stated objectives.
The health and safety policy must reflect the particular circumstances of the individual
organisation highlighting the hazards and risks, the size and the complexity of the organisation.
KEY FEATURES
A health and safety policy is usually presented in three parts;
The General Statement of Intent; sets out the aims and objectives.
The Organisation section; shows the line of responsibilities at all levels.
The Arrangements section; provides details on how health and safety is managed.
GENERAL STATEMENT OF INTENT
This spells out the organisation’s overall approach to health and safety management and its aims
in terms of performance.
It recognizes some general objectives that have to be achieved by the organisation including;
meeting legal obligations, risk assessment of all relevant workplaces, performance monitoring,
effective communication and consultation with workers, etc.
The General Statement of Intent should be signed by the person at the top of the organisation’s
management (Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director, etc) to authorise the policy.
It should be dated to provide a reference point for review.
ORGANISATION SECTION
This section deals with the people and their operational duties in relation to health and safety.
It outlines the chain of command for health and safety management and identifies the roles and
responsibilities of staff to enable clear delegation of duties.
In standard practice, an organisational chart is drawn showing lines of responsibility and
accountability (in terms of health and safety management).
It also projects the lines of communication and the feedback routes that exist within the
organisation for clear reporting.
The organisation section often reflect the management hierarchy within the organisation and
allocate responsibilities accordingly (involving the CEO or MD, management at all levels, all
employees, competent persons and specialist health and safety practitioners).
ARRANGEMENTS SECTION
This section 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 objectives.
The systems and procedures used to manage health and safety are contained in this section and
often the largest section of the policy.
The general health and safety management issues are usually generic, however practical
arrangements made to tackle these issues have to be tailored to suit the organisation.
The specific health and safety management issues will also have to be developed to deal with
particular risks depending on the workplace. This list of possible arrangements can be long and
is dependent on the problems faced by the organisation.
EXAMPLES OF GENERAL HEALTH AND
SAFETY ISSUES
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.
Developing safe systems of work and permit – to – work systems to control hazards.
Control of contractors and visitors.
Welfare and first – aid provision.
Emergency procedures.
Health surveillance.
Etc.
EXAMPLES OF SPECIFIC HEALTH AND
SAFETY MANAGEMENT ISSUES.
Housekeeping.
Lone working.
Noise exposure control.
Vibration exposure control.
Control of exposure to toxic materials.
Fire safety and prevention.
Control of contractors.
Control of transport risks.
Etc.
REVIEW
The health and safety policy should not be considered as rigid and unchanging.
It should be subject to regular review so that it remains current and relevant. (eg. annually,
biennially, etc)
The health and safety policy is to be kept as a “live document.”
The aim of 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.
REASONS FOR REVIEWING A HEALTH AND
SAFETY POLICY
Legal changes, such as the introduction of a new legislation applicable to the organisation.
Technological changes (eg. introduction of new processes).
Organisational changes (eg, changes to key personnel such as CEO or MD, or changes to management
structure).
Changes to type of work that the organisation does.
Where an audit, investigation or risk assessment suggests the policy is no longer effective.
When requested by a third party, such as an insurance company or client.
Following enforcement action.
Following consultation with workforce.
After the passage of time (eg. annual review is a common practice).
Article 14 of the ILO – OSH
Recommendation 1981 (R164) states:
“Employers should, where the nature of the operations in their undertakings warrants it, be
required to set out in writing their policy and arrangements in the field of occupational safety
and health, and the various responsibilities exercised under these arrangements, and to bring
this information to notice of every worker in a language or medium the worker readily
understands.”