Health & Safety Compliances
Health & Safety Compliances
The law states that all businesses must have a policy for managing health and safety. The legal requirement for a policy is a part of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations explain the steps you must take to manage health and safety. You must share the policy, and all changes to it, with your employees.
A health and safety policy clearly details your approach to health and safety. It explains how you will manage health and safety in your business. It should clearly say who does what, when and how. If you have five or more employees, you must have a written Health & Safety policy. If you have fewer than five employees you do not have this in writing, but it is extremely useful to do so.
Your Statement of Intent shall include;
- Indication that the management accept responsibility for health and safety of the employees and others who may be affected by the work activities.
- An outline of the goals of the policy
- The importance of health and safety to overall business performance
- Reference to other parts of the policy document
A procedure manual, also known as a policy and procedure manual, is a resource for employees that establishes guidelines and protocols for all the major principles, actions and decisions of a department or organization. It can outline the procedures and expectations for things like dress codes, hiring practices and even payroll. By creating a procedure manual with clear and descriptive policies and standards, you can improve the effectiveness, efficiency and communication of your organization.
Having a procedure manual offers a wide range of advantages for your employees and organization. It sets clear expectations, improves overall productivity, enhances internal communication, reduces employee training time, and ensures company compliance.
A statement of intent regarding Health and Safety should state your general policy on health and safety at work, including your commitment to managing health and safety and your aims. If you are the employer or most senior person in the company, you should sign it and review it regularly.
We will provide you with a Statement of Intent that clearly highlights your values in Health & Safety, and meets any industry compliance requirements that need to be met.
A quality policy statement is a brief document developed as part of a business’ quality management system. It declares what you consider ‘quality’ in your organisation and outlines the processes you have in place to ensure that you meet the agreed standards.
Having a quality policy is important for several reasons. Most importantly, it articulates:
- your intentions regarding quality of your products or services
- your commitment to continuous improvement in quality management
- responsibilities of all staff, especially those with key roles, for maintaining quality of products and services
A written, well-defined quality policy is also required by the ISO 9001 standard and is essential to creating an effective quality management system.
An environmental policy is a written statement, usually signed by senior management, which outlines a business’ aims and principles in relation to managing the environmental effects and aspects of its operations. Although putting one in place is voluntary, an increasing number of businesses are choosing to do so.
Having an environmental policy is essential if you want to implement an environmental management standard such as ISO 14001. It’s also vital if you currently work or intend to work with large organisations, or if you need to demonstrate to customers and other stakeholders that you are committed to managing your environmental impacts in a responsible way.
- Identify Areas to Audit.
- Decide How Often to Audit.
- Conduct the Audit.
- Document the Results.
- Report the findings.
- Create an Audit Action Plan.
Principal designers work with other designers, contractors, and the client to manage health & safety risks by planning how to eliminate or control them. They are responsible for planning, managing, and monitoring the pre-construction phase of the project.
Following HSE guidelines, Principal Designers must:
- Plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety in the pre-construction phase. In doing so they must take account of relevant information (such as an existing health and safety file) that might affect design work carried out both before and after the construction phase has started
- Help and advise the client in bringing together pre-construction information, and provide the information designers and contractors need to carry out their duties
- Work with any other designers on the project to eliminate foreseeable health and safety risks to anyone affected by the work and, where that is not possible, take steps to reduce or control those risks
- Ensure that everyone involved in the pre-construction phase communicates and cooperates, coordinating their work wherever required
- Liaise with the principal contractor, keeping them informed of any risks that need to be controlled during the construction phase
CDM stands for Construction Design and Management. A CDM Coordinator is a qualified Health & Safety advisor who provides assistance to the client on health & safety issues during the planning and design phases of construction work. A CDM coordinator will be knowledgeable and experienced in planning, management, construction, and communications.
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 aims to ensure health and safety issues are appropriately considered during the development of construction projects, and therefore requires adequate Health & Safety supervision. CDM Coordinators are therefore often required in order to meet these regulations. Our CDM Coordinators are knowledgeable and experienced, and will provide you with expert assistance that conforms to the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
A pre-construction phase plan outlines the health and safety arrangements, site rules, as well as measures to prevent risks stated in Schedule 3 of the CDM 2015 Regulations. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 aims to ensure health and safety issues are appropriately considered during the development of construction projects. The pre-construction phase plan must be prepared before the construction phase begins and is a requirement for every construction project.
The main goal of a Health and Safety pre-construction phase plan is to help you plan and organise the job at hand, and allow you and your team to work together without risks to health and safety, ensuring thorough compliance during construction. We will ensure that your Pre-construction phase plan meets the compliance requirements of CDM 2015.
A Method Statement details how, why, and when you should implement health and safety measures. It expands on the measures you will have outlined in your risk assessment. Your Method Statement is part of your Safe System of Work, a procedure which eliminates any identifiable hazards and helps you to complete work with minimum risk. Safe systems of Work are required in situations where risks and hazards cannot be completely eliminated and some risk to health still exists.
A large percentage of workplace accidents occur when there is no Safe System in place. Both a Safe System of Work and a Method Statement are a legal requirement as the law requires employers to provide a system of work that is practicable, safe, and with minimal to no risk.
Risk assessments focus on identifying and analysing potential hazards that may negatively impact individuals, assets, or even the environment. This will meet the requirements set in your method statement and your safe systems of work. Risks and hazards that could potentially be identified during a risk assessment may include natural disasters, utility outages, cyberattacks and power failure.
The law states that every employer must have risk assessments carried out on any work their employees do. If you are employing more than 5 employees, the results of your risk assessment should be in writing in order to ensure the safety of all employees. Your Risk Assessment will be completed thoroughly by a professional Health & Safety-competent person.
Similarly to a standard Health and Safety risk assessment, a Fire Risk Assessment focuses on identifying and analysing potential fire hazards that may negatively impact individuals, assets, or even the environment. A Fire Risk assessment will focus on emergency routes and exits, fire detection, staff fire safety training, and other elements that help to identify what you need to do to prevent fire and keep your employees and other individuals safe.
Your local fire and rescue authority can take action if they believe that your fire safety measures are not adequate. For example, they may issue an informal notice suggesting safety measures. You could also be fined or go to prison if you do not follow fire safety regulations. In order to prevent this, it is important to complete a fire risk assessment and ensure that you are complying with the law.
