Most organisations will want to collect data on:
X
u all injury accidents;
X
u cases of ill-health;
X
u sickness absence;
X
u dangerous occurrences;
X
u damage to property, the environment, personal effects and work in progress;
X
u incidents with the potential to cause serious injury, ill-health or damage (undesired circumstances).
Not all of these are required by law, but this should not deter the organisation that wishes to control risks effectively.
Analysis
All the information, whether in accident books or report forms, will need to be analysed so that useful management data can be prepared. Many organisations look at the analysis every month and annually. However, where there are very few accidents/incidents, quarterly may be sufficient. The health and safety information should be used alongside other business measures and should receive equal status.
There are several ways in which data can be analysed and presented. The most common ways are:
X
u by causation using the classification used on the RIDDOR form F2508. This has been used on the example accident/incident report form (see Box 5.2 and Chapter 23);
X
u by the nature of the injury, such as cuts, abrasions, asphyxiation and amputations;
X
u by the part of the body affected, such as hands, arms, feet, lower leg, upper leg, head, eyes, back and so on. Sub-divisions of these categories could be useful if there were sufficient incidents;
X
u by age and experience at the job;
X
u by time of day;
X
u by occupation or location of the job;
X
u by type of equipment used.
There are a number of up-to-date computer recording programs which can be used to manipulate the data if significant numbers are involved. The trends can be shown against monthly, quarterly and annual past performance of, preferably, the same organisation.
If indices are calculated, such as Incident Rate, comparisons can be made nationally with HSE figures and with other similar organisations or businesses in the same industrial group. This is really of major value only to larger organisations with significant numbers of events.
Although the number of accidents may give a general indication of the health and safety
performance, a more detailed examination of accidents and accident statistics is normally required. A calculation of the rate of accidents enables health and safety X
u a serious accident at a workplace so that the HSE can gather details of physical evidence that would be lost with time;
X
u following a major incident at a workplace where the severity of the incident, or the degree of public concern, requires an immediate public statement from either the HSE or government ministers.
Information supplied to the HSE in a RIDDOR report is not passed on to the organisation’s insurance company.
If the relevant insurer needs to know about a work related accident, injury, or case of ill-health they must be contacted separately – insurers have told the HSE that reporting injuries and illnesses at work to them quickly could save time and money.
5.3.3 Internal systems for collecting and analysing incident data
Managers need effective internal systems to know whether the organisation is getting better or worse, to know what is happening and why, and to assess whether objectives are being achieved. Earlier in the chapter, Section 5.1 deals with monitoring generally; but here, the basic requirements of a collection and analysis system for incidents are discussed.
The incident report form (discussed earlier) is the basic starting point for any internal system. Each organisation needs to lay down what the system involves and who is responsible to do each part of the procedure. This will involve:
X
u what type of incidents should be reported;
X
u who completes the incident report form – normally the manager responsible for the investigation;
X
u how copies should be circulated in the organisation;
X
u who is responsible to provide management measurement data;
X
u how the incident data should be analysed and at what intervals;
X
u the arrangements to ensure that action is taken on the data provided.
The data should seek to answer the following questions:
X
u are failure incidents occurring, including injuries, ill-health and other loss incidents?
X
u where are they occurring?
X
u what is the nature of the failures?
X
u how serious are they?
X
u what are the potential consequences?
X
u what are the reasons for the failures?
X
u how much has it cost?
X
u what improvements in controls and the management system are required?
X
u how do these issues vary with time?
X
u is the organisation getting better or worse?
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Box 5.2 The following categories of immediate causes of accident are used in
F2508:
1. contact with moving machinery or material being machined;
2. struck by moving, including flying or falling, object;
3. struck by moving vehicle;
4. struck against something fixed or stationary;
5. injured whilst handling, lifting or carrying;
6. slip, trip or fall on same level;
7. fall from height; indicate approximate distance of fall in metres;
8. trapped by something collapsing or overturning;
9. drowning or asphyxiation;
10. exposure to or contact with harmful substances;
11. exposure to fire;
12. exposure to an explosion;
13. contact with electricity or an electrical discharge;
14. injured by an animal;
15. violence;
16. other kind of accident.
5.3.4 Collection of information, compensation and insurance issues
Accidents/incidents arising out of the organisation’s activities resulting in injuries to people and incidents resulting in damage to property can lead to
compensation claims. The second objective of an investigation should be to collect and record relevant information for the purposes of dealing with any claim. It must be remembered that, in the longer term, prevention is the best way to reduce claims and must be the first objective in the investigation.
An overzealous approach to gathering information concentrating on the compensation aspect can, in fact, prompt a claim from the injured party where there was no particular intention to take this route before the investigation. Nevertheless, relevant information should be collected. Sticking to the collection of facts is usually the best approach.
As mentioned earlier the legal system in England and Wales changed dramatically with the introduction of the Woolf reforms in 1999. These reforms apply to injury claims. This date was feared by many because of the uncertainty and the fact that the pre-action protocols were very demanding.
The essence of the pre-legal action protocols is as follows:
performance to be compared between years and organisations.
The simplest measure of accident rate is called the incidence rate.
The HSE’s formula for calculating an annual injury incidence rate is:
Number of reportable injuries
in financial year ×100,000 Average number employed during the year
This gives the rate per 100,000 employees. The formula makes no allowances for variations in part-time employment or overtime. It is an annual calculation and the figures need to be adjusted pro rata if they cover a shorter period. Such shorter-term rates should be compared only with rates for exactly similar periods – not the national annual rates.
While the HSE and industry calculate injury incidence rates per 100,000 or 1,000 employees, some parts of industry prefer to calculate injury frequency rates, usually per million hours worked. This method, by counting hours worked rather than the number of employees, avoids distortions which may be caused in the incidence rate calculations by part- and full-time employees and by overtime working. Frequency rates can be calculated for any time period.
The calculation is:
Number of injuries in the period
×1,000,000 Total hours worked during the period
The HSE produces annual bulletins of national performance along with a detailed statistical report, which can be used for comparisons (see: http://www.
hse.gov.uk/statistics/index.htm). There are difficulties in comparisons across Europe and, say, with the USA, where the definitions of accidents or time lost vary.
Reports should be prepared with simple tables and graphs showing trends and comparisons. Line graphs, bar charts and pie charts are all used quite extensively with good effect. All analysis reports should be made available to employees as well as managers. This can often be done through the Health and Safety Committee and safety representatives, where they exist, or directly to all employees in small organisations.
Other routine meetings, team briefings and notice boards can all be used to communicate the message.
It is particularly important to make sure that any actions recommended or highlighted by the reports are taken quickly and employees kept informed.
The report form shown in Chapter 23 uses these immediate causes which can be used for analysis purposes. The categories can easily be changed to suit local needs.
the perceived ‘compensation culture’ and reflects a growing trend against punishing employers for injuries that they took all reasonable steps to prevent. Under the previous regime businesses have paid out significant sums in compensation with around 78,000 civil liability claims brought each year for injuries sustained at work.
Overburdened employers are likely to welcome this cutting of red tape and the freedom to fulfil their obligations under health and safety law without worrying of potential, unforeseen claims against them.
This in turn will increase employers’ confidence to not only protect their employees but also to develop and expand their business.
Employees on the other hand might not welcome the changes so readily. They are now faced with the prospect of discharging a heavier legal and evidential burden to establish liability. In fact the Trades Union Congress argues that the changes do nothing to remove unfairness but merely shift it to another place.
Appendix 5.2 provides a checklist of headings, which may assist in the collection of information. It is not expected that all accidents and incidents will be investigated in depth and a dossier with full information prepared. Judgement has to be applied as to which incidents might give rise to a claim and when a full record of information is required. All accident/incident report forms should include the names of all witnesses as a minimum. Where the injury is likely to give rise to lost time, a photograph(s) of the situation should be taken.
5.3.5 Lessons learnt from an incident
After an appropriate investigation there should be an action plan for the implementation of additional risk control measures The action plan should have SMART objectives, i.e. Specific, Measurable, Agreed, and Realistic, with Timescales.
A good knowledge of the organisation and the way it carries out its work is essential to know where improvements are needed. Management, safety professionals, employees and their representatives should all contribute to a constructive discussion on what should be in the action plan in order to make the proposals SMART.
Not every recommendation for further risk controls will be implemented, but the ones accorded the highest priority should be implemented immediately.
Organisations need to ask ‘What is essential to securing the health and safety of the workforce today? What cannot be left until another day? How high is the risk to employees if this risk control measure is not implemented immediately?’
Despite financial constraints, failing to put in place measures to control serious and imminent risks is totally unacceptable – either reduce the risks to an acceptable 1. ‘letter of claim’ to be acknowledged within 21 days;
2. ninety days from date of acknowledgement to either accept liability or deny. If liability is denied then full reasons must be given;
3. agreement to be reached on using a single expert.
The overriding message is that to comply with the protocols quick action is necessary. It is also vitally important that records are accurately kept and accessible.
Lord Woolf made it clear in his instructions to the judiciary that there should be very little leeway given to claimants and defendants who did not comply.
What has been the effect of these reforms on day-to-day activity?
Initially there was a 25% drop in the number of cases moving to litigation. Whilst this was the primary objective of the reforms, the actual drop is far more significant than anyone anticipated. By 2007 cases began to rise significantly again and in some cases judges have been very reluctant to strike out cases because they are out of time, except in extreme circumstances.
However, some of the positive effects have been:
X
u the elimination of speculative actions due to the requirement to fully outline the claimant’s case in the letter of claim;
X
u earlier and more comprehensive details of the claim allowing a more focused investigation and response;
X
u ‘Part 36 offers’ (payments into court) seeming to be having greater effect in deterring claimants from pursuing litigation;
X
u overall faster settlement.
The negative effects have principally arisen from failure to comply with the timescales, particularly relating to the gathering of evidence and records and having no time therefore to construct a proper defence.
Section 47 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, by virtue of Section 6 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, removes the standard of strict liability from certain health and safety regulations. No civil claim may be brought for breach of statutory duty unless a regulation expressly provides for it; this effectively reverses the previous position.
In almost all cases it will be for the injured employee to rely on common law negligence and prove that their injuries were caused by the employer’s negligence.
Negligence is generally a higher hurdle for employees than a breach of statutory duty – particularly those imposing strict liability – as the standard required of employers is higher; greater emphasis is placed on the
‘reasonable practicability’ defence which balances the expense of potential preventative measures against the scale of the risk.
The removal of strict liability for health and safety breaches is one of many changes designed to combat
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5.4 Further information
Investigating Incidents and Accidents at Work HSG245, HSE Books, 2004, ISBN 978 0 7176 2827 8. http://
www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg245.htm
Managing for health and safety, HSG65 third edition 2013, HSE Books, ISBN 978-0-7176-6456-6 http://www.
hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg65.pdf
OHSAS 18001:2007 Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements ISBN 978 0 580 50802 8 http://www.bsigroup.com/en/Assessment-and-certification-services/management-systems/
Standards-and-Schemes/BSOHSAS-18001/
Reporting accidents and incidents at work, A brief guide to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR), INDG453 (rev 1), October 2013 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/
indg453.pdf
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, see HSE management site at: http://
www.hse.gov.uk/managing/index.htm
The Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013, see HSE reporting website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/index.htm level, or stop the work. Each risk control measure
should be assigned a priority, and a timescale with a designated person to carry out the recommendation.
It is crucial that the action plan as a whole is properly monitored with a specific person, preferably a director, partner or senior manager, made responsible for its implementation.
Progress on the action plan should be regularly monitored and significant departures should be explained and risk control measures rescheduled, if necessary. There should be regular consultation with employees and their representatives to keep them fully informed of progress with implementation of the action plan.
Relevant safety instructions, safe working procedures and risk assessments should be reviewed after an incident. It is important to ask what the findings of the investigation indicate about risk assessments and procedures in general, to see if they really are suitable and sufficient.
It is also useful to estimate the cost of incidents to fully appreciate the true cost of accidents and ill-health to the organisation. To find out more about the costs of accidents and incidents visit the HSE’s website cost calculator at: www.hse.gov.uk/costs
5.5 Practice revision questions
1. Identify FIVE active (or proactive) and FIVE reactive measures that can be used to monitor an organisation’s health and safety performance.
2. A large company is planning to introduce a programme of regular inspections of the workplace.
(a) Outline the factors that should be considered when planning such inspections.
(b) Outline factors that determine the frequency with which health and safety inspections should be undertaken.
3. (a) Define the terms ‘safety survey’, ‘safety tour’
and ‘safety sampling’.
(b) Outline the issues which should be considered when a safety survey of a workplace is to be undertaken.
4. (a) Outline the strengths AND weaknesses of using a checklist to undertake a health and safety inspection of a workplace.
(b) Identify the questions that might be included on a checklist to gather information following an accident involving slips, trips and falls.
5. An employee of a company is to be given duties to undertake a safety inspection.
(a) Outline the competencies needed to carry out the duties.
(b) Identify the principal issues that should be included in a safety inspection report so that managers can make decisions on any required remedial actions.
(c) Explain how the report should be structured and presented so as to increase the likelihood of action being taken by managers.
6. (a) Give FOUR reasons why an organisation should have a system for the internal reporting of accidents.
(b) Identify the issues that should be included in a typical workplace accident reporting procedure.
(c) Outline factors that may discourage
employees from reporting accidents at work.
7. An employee has been seriously injured after being struck by a fork-lift truck in a warehouse.
(a) Give FOUR reasons why the accident should be investigated by the person’s employer.
(b) Outline the information that should be included in the investigation report.
(c) Outline FOUR possible immediate causes and FOUR possible underlying (root) causes of the accident.
(d) Giving reasons in EACH case, identify FOUR people who may be considered useful members of the accident investigation team.
8. Outline the issues to be considered to ensure an effective witness interview following a workplace accident.
9. (a) Outline, using a workplace example, the meaning of the terms:
(i) near miss;
(ii) dangerous occurrence.
(b) Explain the purpose and benefits of collecting
‘near-miss’ incident data.
(c) Outline how an ‘accident ratio study’ can contribute to an understanding of accident prevention.
10. An employee sustained a serious injury while using an unguarded drilling machine and was admitted to hospital where he remained for several days. The machine had been unguarded for several days before the accident.
(a) Outline the legal requirements for reporting the accident to the enforcing authority.
(b) Identify the possible immediate AND root causes of the accident.
(c) Outline the actions that should be taken by the management to improve health and safety standards in the workplace following the accident.
11. With reference to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013:
(a) Identify the legal requirements for reporting a fatality resulting from an accident at work to an enforcing authority.
(b) Identify FOUR types of specified (serious) injury and THREE reportable work-related illnesses.
12. Outline reasons why employers should keep records of occupational ill-health amongst employees.
13. An employee is claiming compensation for injuries received during a fall down a flight of stairs at the place of work. Identify the documented information required when preparing a possible defence against the claim.
5
APPENDIX 5.1 Workplace inspection exercises
Figures 5.12–5.15 show workplaces with numerous inadequately controlled hazards. They can be used to practise workplace inspections and risk assessments.
To see the safe versions of these scenes with the corrected faults listed, visit the book’s companion site at: www.routledge.com/cw/hughes/
Figure 5.12 Construction site
Figure 5.13 Road repair