Structure - Introduction to Health and Safety in Construction

The structure of a report is the key to its professionalism. Good structuring will:

u help the reader to understand the information and follow the arguments contained in the report;

u increase the writer’s credibility;

u ensure that the material contained in the report is organised to the best advantage.

The following list shows a frequently used method of producing a report, but always bear in mind that different organisations use different formats:

1. title page 2. summary 3. contents list 4. introduction

5. main body of the report 6. conclusions

7. recommendations 8. appendices 9. references.

It is important to check with the organisation requesting the report in case their in-house format differs.

1. Title page This will contain:

u a title and often a subtitle;

u the name of the person or organisation to whom the report is addressed;

u the name of the writer(s) and their organisation;

u the date on which the report was submitted.

As report writing is about communication, it is a good idea to choose a title that is eye-catching and memorable as well as being informative, if this is appropriate to the subject.

2. Summary

Limit the summary to between 150 and 500 words. Do not include any evidence or data. This should be kept for the main report. Include the main conclusions and principal recommendations and place the summary near the front of the report.

3. Contents list

Put the contents list near the beginning of the report.

Short reports do not need a list but if there are several headings, it does help the reader to grasp the overall content of the report in a short time.

4. Introduction

The introduction should contain the following:

u information about who commissioned the report and when;

is finished, it is helpful to run through it with the express intention of simplifying the language and making

sure that it says what was intended in a clear and unambiguous way.

5.1.8 Measuring failure – reactive monitoring

So far, this chapter has concentrated on measuring activities designed to prevent the occurrence of injuries and work-related ill-health (active monitoring).

Failures in risk control also need to be measured (reactive monitoring), to provide opportunities to check performance, learn from failures and improve the health and safety management system.

Reactive monitoring arrangements include systems to identify and report:

u injuries and work-related ill-health (details of the incidence rate calculation are given in Chapter 3);

u other losses such as damage to property;

u incidents, including those with the potential to cause injury, ill-health or loss (near misses);

u hazards and faults;

u weaknesses or omissions in performance standards and systems, including complaints from employees and enforcement action by the authorities.

Each of the above provides opportunities for an

organisation to check performance, learn from mistakes, and improve the health and safety management

system and risk control systems. In some cases, the organisation must send a report of the circumstances and causes of incidents, such as major injuries, to the appropriate enforcing authority. Statutorily appointed safety representatives and representatives of employee safety are entitled to investigate.

The ‘corporate memory’ is enhanced by these events and information obtained by investigations can be used to reinforce essential health and safety messages.

Safety committees and safety representatives should be involved in discussing common features or trends.

This will help the workforce to identify jobs or activities which cause the most serious or the greatest number of injuries where remedial action may be most beneficial. Investigations may also provide valuable information if an insurance claim is made or legal action taken.

Most organisations should not find it difficult to collect data on serious injuries and ill-health. However, learning about minor injuries, other losses, incidents and hazards can prove more challenging. There is value in collecting information on all actual and potential losses to learn how to prevent more serious events. Accurate reporting can be promoted by:

u training which clarifies the underlying objectives and reasons for identifying such events;

u a culture which emphasises an observant and responsible approach and the importance of so on. The appendices are the background material of

the report.

9. References

If any books, papers or journal articles have been used as source material, this should be acknowledged in a reference section. There are a number of accepted referencing methods used by academics.

Because the reader is likely to be a person with some degree of expertise in the subject, a report must be reliable, credible, relevant and thorough. It is therefore important to avoid emotional language, opinions presented as facts and arguments that have no

supporting evidence. To make a report more persuasive, the writer needs to:

u present the information clearly;

u provide reliable evidence;

u present arguments logically;

u avoid falsifying, tampering with or concealing facts.

In conclusion

Expertise in an area of knowledge means that

distortions, errors and omissions will quickly be spotted by the discerning reader and the presence of any of these will cast doubt on the credibility of the whole report.

Reports are usually used as part of a decision-making process. If this is the case, clear, unembellished facts are needed. Exceptions to this would be where the report is a proposal document or where a recommendation is specifically requested. Unless this is the case, it is better not to make recommendations.

A report should play a key role in organising information for the use of decision makers. It should review a complex and/or extensive body of information and make a summary of all the important issues.

It is relatively straightforward to produce a report, as long as the writer keeps to a clear format. Using the format described here, it should be possible to tell the reader as clearly as possible:

u what happened and why;

u who was involved;

u what it cost if appropriate;

u what the result was.

There may be a request for a special report and this is likely to be longer and more difficult to produce. Often it will relate to a ‘critical incident’ and the decision makers will be looking for information to help them:

u decide whether this is a problem or an opportunity;

u decide whether to take action;

u decide what action, if any, to take.

Finally, report writing should be kept simple. Nothing is gained in the use of long, complicated sentences, jargon and official-sounding language. When the report

5

u corrective action indicated by the causation can be taken to eliminate future incidents/accidents.

Investigation is not intended to be a mechanism for apportioning blame. There are often strong emotions associated with injury or significant losses. It is all too easy to look for someone to blame without considering the reasons why a person behaved in a particular way.

Often short cuts to working procedures that may have contributed to the accident give no personal advantage to the person injured. The short cut may have been taken out of loyalty to the organisation or ignorance of a safer method.

Valuable information and understanding can be gained from carrying out accident/incident investigations. These include:

u an understanding of how and why problems arose which caused the accident/incident;

u an understanding of the ways people are exposed to substances or situations which can cause them harm;

u a snapshot of what really happens, for example why people take short cuts or ignore safety rules;

u identifying deficiencies in the control of risks in the organisation.

The legal reasons for conducting an investigation are:

u to ensure that the organisation is acting in accordance with legal requirements;

u that it forms an essential part of the MHSW Regulation 5 requirements to plan, organise, control, monitor and review health and safety arrangements;

u to comply with the Woolf Report on civil action which changed the way cases are run. Full disclosure of the circumstances of an accident/

incident has to be made to the injured parties considering legal action. The fact that a thorough investigation was carried out and remedial action taken would demonstrate to a court that a company has a positive attitude to health and safety. The investigation will also provide essential information for insurers in the event of an employer’s liability or other claim.

There are many benefits from investigating accidents/

incidents. These include:

u the prevention of similar events occurring again.

Where the outcomes are serious injuries the

enforcing authorities are likely to take a tough stance if previous warnings have been ignored;

u the prevention of business losses due to disruption immediately after the event, loss of production, loss of business through a lowering of reputation or inability to deliver, and the costs of criminal and legal actions;

u improvement in employee morale and general attitudes to health and safety particularly if they have been involved in the investigations;

having systems of control in place before harm occurs;

u open, honest communication in a just environment, rather than a tendency merely to allocate ‘blame’;

u cross-referencing and checking first-aid treatments, health records, maintenance or fire reports

and insurance claims to identify any otherwise unreported events.

Guidance on recording, investigating and analysing these incidents is given later in this chapter.

5.2 Investigating incidents 5.2.1 Function of incident

investigation

Incidents and accidents rarely result from a single cause and many turn out to be complex. Most incidents involve multiple, interrelated causal factors. They can occur whenever significant deficiencies, oversights, errors, omissions or unexpected changes occur. Any one of these can be the precursor of an accident or incident. There is a value in collecting data on all incidents and potential losses as it helps to prevent more serious events.

Incidents and accidents, whether they cause damage to property or more serious injury and/or ill-health to people, should be properly and thoroughly investigated (Figure 5.5). Good investigation is a key element to making improvements in health and safety performance.

Figure 5.5 Dangerous occurrence: aftermath of a fire Incident investigation is considered to be part of a reactive monitoring system because it is triggered after an event.

Incident/accident investigation is based on the logic that:

u all incidents/accidents have causes – eliminate the cause and eliminate future incidents;

u the direct and indirect causes of an incident/accident can be discovered through investigation;

2. Incident:

– near miss: an event that, while not causing harm, has the potential to cause injury or ill-health. (In this guidance, the term near miss will be taken to include dangerous occurrences);

– undesired circumstance: a set of conditions or circumstances that have the potential to cause injury or ill-health, e.g. untrained nurses handling heavy patients.

3. Dangerous occurrence: one of a number of specific, reportable adverse events, as defined in the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).

4. Immediate cause: the most obvious reason why an adverse event happens, e.g. the guard is missing;

the employee slips, etc. There may be several immediate causes identified in any one adverse event.

5. Root cause: an initiating event or failing from which all other causes or failings spring. Root causes are generally management, planning or organisational failings.

6. Underlying cause: the less obvious ‘system’

or ’organisational’ reason for an adverse event happening, e.g. pre-start-up machinery checks are not carried out by supervisors; the hazard has not been adequately considered via a suitable and sufficient risk assessment; production pressures are too great.

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