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Business Standards > Articles

Take care

30 Jan 2009
Topics: Health & safety, OHSAS 18001

Most businesses and public organizations will have some form of health and safety protocol in place, but those going above and beyond the basics are reporting significant benefits, says Nick Ryan.

In March 2005, a major explosion at BP's Texas City Refinery, the third-largest refinery in the US, resulted in the death of 15 workers and injured more than 170 others. The subsequent investigations by the US Chemical Safety Board found that there was a general failure to heed or implement safety recommendations made before the blast. In February 2008, BP stated that it had already paid out more than $1.6bn to compensate victims, though a verdict and proposed penalties in the case had not yet been decided by the courts.

Meanwhile, a recent report determined that the cost of an explosion and fire at the Buncefield oil depot in Hemel Hempstead in 2005 could yet reach £1bn. The Major Incident Investigation Board said that the majority of that cost came in claims against the site operators, in an incident that also injured 43 people.

Such large-scale corporate disasters are relatively rare. Modern premises, a skilled workforce and a range of improvements across most industries ensure that accident statistics are relatively flat. Still, one recent estimate suggests that, globally, as many as 5,000 people die daily from work-related injuries and illnesses. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), nearly 230 people were killed in the UK while at work last year and massive amounts of time were lost to sick leave and ill-health due to workplace incidents.

New responsibilities under the Corporate Manslaughter Act and an updated Health and Safety (Offences) Act mean that organizations in the UK, no matter how small, cannot ignore the critical importance of health and safety in the workplace. Unlimited fines and possible imprisonment await serious breaches.

"If you get health and safety wrong, there are costs to every part of the business: just think how everything from BP's share price to the rest of the company was affected by the Texas City Refinery explosion," says Lawrence Waterman, chairman of one of the UK's leading health and safety consultancies, Sypol.

"You have the cost of the incident itself, the disruption, the impact on morale. People can forget that it's almost impossible to be brilliant at running an organization but rubbish at health and safety. Businesses that run health and safety well are generally better at customer relationships, staff management and so on. If you are brilliant at one, you'll be brilliant at the other."

Of course, historically you learned piecemeal - reactively - by your mistakes. "But that's shutting the door after the horse has bolted," says Waterman. "And when staff leave, you'd lose their expertise."

Welsh Assembly

The Welsh Assembly understands the importance of an effective health and safety management system. This diverse organization operates across over 90 sites around the world and includes everything from farm inspectors to ancient monuments custodians, tourism offices, road engineers and social services inspectors.

"We've always given priority to the health and safety of our staff, our visitors and members of the public," says Gareth Hall, director of the Department for the Economy and Transport at the Assembly. "Our open approach to our customers has required us to instill a culture of risk management rather than risk avoidance. Regardless of their role or position in the organization, we educate everyone in their health and safety responsibilities."

Hall firmly believes that a modern approach to health and safety management is systems-based, and requires "application of sound management principles and business expertise". Several areas of his department (from its time as part of the Welsh Development Agency) had already achieved certification to ISO 9001:2000 Quality management systems. In 2006, a programme was launched to achieve certification to BS OHSAS 18001, the health and safety management system standard, across the entire unit by April 2008. This was no small task: it would cover 1,200 staff and 14 sites.

"An initial gap analysis by BSI Management Systems UK uncovered our relative strengths and weaknesses against the standard and in turn the Welsh Assembly Government's health and safety policy, and the improvements that we needed to put in place," says Hall. "These were greater in some offices than others. There were also aspects that we'd never formally addressed, such as carrying out internal health and safety audits of the management system. We have a significant presence at roads and construction sites, as well as owning the former RAF station and airfield at St Athan in South Wales. It was this variety of environments under which we operate that added to the challenge."

The most practical difference since achieving BS OHSAS 18001 has been the joined-up approach to health and safety issues. For example, there is a "standing item" in all team meetings: "This involves all staff, raises awareness and the focus of health and safety, acts as a forum for raising issues and solving problems, and is a fertile ground for suggestions for improvement," says Hall.

"By and large the differences have been internal but the improvements arising from BS OHSAS 18001 certification are benefiting both visitors to our offices and contractors alike."

Hall adds a word of advice for other organizations considering certification to BS OHSAS 18001: "Anyone planning such a major project should not under-estimate the scale of the challenges that lie ahead. In our organization, we have a very broad range of roles. Each presents its own unique risks and challenges, and we are determined to ensure that we cover all of these in an appropriate and timely manner, rather than rushing headlong into an award-chasing culture which benefits nobody in the longer term."

Certification to BS OHSAS 18001 is now likely to be rolled out to all other departments in the Welsh Assembly during the next two years.

Bracknell Forest Borough Council

It was a potentially disastrous accident in 1999 that led to Bracknell Forest Council choosing BS OHSAS 18001 as a health and safety management system for its six leisure sites.

"One of our leisure centres was hired out for an event," says Peter Wright, head of Leisure Facilities. "An outside contractor was brought in by the organizers and they borrowed our scaffolding to do some wiring. Unfortunately that toppled over and the contractor broke an ankle. As a result we were taken to court and prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive, paying a £5,000 fine. The incident was the trigger that led us to look across our sites and implement a wider health and safety review."

By bringing BS OHSAS 18001 into the organization, "we entered a whole new world" says Wright. Bracknell Forest's Leisure sites are now possibly the only leisure-based group in the UK certified to the standard.

"We embarked on a rigorous training regime: whereby each member of staff undertook health and safety training with key personnel undertaking a four-day IOSH training course and senior staff members were sent on an additional 10-day OHSAS course. We have at least one person from this ?higher standard' on each of our sites. Even I've had to get myself qualified to the NEBOSH standard, that's how seriously we take this. No-one is exempt."

The process has been about educating right from the start: "From day one you've got to induct staff and have procedures ready and in place for any eventuality. There has to be a lot of commitment to try and keep on top of it all. For the majority of staff, that means weekly training in all aspects of the operation: you pick a topic and do a ?toolbox talk'."

There was some initial resistance from some staff, he admits: "You have to explain why it's necessary. We have to motivate people, but it's been worth it. No-one is 100 per cent safe, but it's lowering that risk while still making all the rides and facilities enjoyable. You look at your accident statistics, RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases & Dangerous Occurrences), minor accidents, staff accidents and near misses, and take heart that RIDDOR's have reduced year-on-year and you know the system is working."

As Wright puts it: "We've replaced, basically an ineffective system with one that is nationally recognized." Since achieving certification to BS OHSAS 18001 from BSI in June 2001, not only have risks fallen but so have commercial insurance premiums - a welcome result.

De Beers

One of the world's largest diamond mining companies, De Beers has rolled out BS OHSAS 18001 across its entire mining operations as well as its two UK facilities (offices and a research site). Michele Graham, safety, health and environment officer, says the decision was made from the very top of the company to comply with BS OHSAS 18001 standards. "We were certified to ISO 14001 back in 2005 and achieved BS OHSAS 18001 in April 2008.

"We've always had a strong health and safety background. BS OHSAS 18001 has allowed us to formalize this. Starting down the BS OHSAS 18001 road reinforced how much [health and safety good practice] we already had in place."

As she admits, the risk assessment process "did take quite a lot of time", working very closely with the RPS health and safety consultancy.

Working to the high standards of BS OHSAS 18001 has now helped raise general health and safety awareness throughout the firm's 17,000 global employees, Graham believes. She describes how De Beers has initiated quarterly peer group meetings covering health and safety with representatives from all the different business units of the global operation.

"It's not just about preparing for audits now, it's keeping up to date with all the legislation and changing requirements of the company."

Not only has it made all departments and staff think more carefully, she argues. "Globally it has reduced our accident rate: the drive is to reduce this to zero. Compared against other mining companies our safety has improved significantly since 2004, when we introduced our peer-to-peer groups. Incidents reduced by over 40 per cent year-on-year (2006-7)."

Getting it wrong

As for those organizations that persist in doing the very least required by law when it comes to health and safety, it's worth noting that the bar has moved significantly higher in recent years. Get health and safety management wrong, warns David Leckie, partner at Maclay Murray and Spens, specialist lawyers serving the sector, and the police could get involved.

"If someone is killed, if there's a chance this is corporate manslaughter, the police will be calling," he says.

"They'll be testing how far below reasonable standards you fell: while not legally binding, standards such as BS OHSAS 18001 are seen as examples of good practice. Lack of those good standards [where there is a fatality] can be used as evidence in a criminal case against you."

And the fact that a recession is upon us and corporate belts are tightening is no excuse for leaving health and safety behind, says Judith Hackitt, chair of the HSE. As she pointed out on publication of the organization's health and safety statistics for 2007/08: "In the difficult and uncertain months ahead, I urge employers not to take their eyes off the ball. Good business management will be vital and good health and safety management is an integral part of that.

"Health and safety contributes positively to competitiveness and should not be sacrificed in times of financial pressure."

CASE STUDY: BS OHSAS 18001 In a nutshell

BSI's BS OHSAS 18001 has become the global benchmark in health and safety management systems. It was developed by a selection of leading trade bodies, along with international standards and certification bodies to address a gap where no third-party certifiable international standard existed. Covering such areas as hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control; a training and awareness programme; and emergency planning and response, it can be adopted by any organization and is compatible with international environmental and quality management standards such as ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. Organizations ranging from political assemblies, councils, heavy industries and many others have already adopted the system.

"More and more organizations are seeing BS OHSAS 18001 as providing a structured approach to the management of health and safety risks," says Vicki Gomersall, product manager at BSI. "Through implementing BS OHSAS 18001, an organization can benefit from improved identification of hazards, assessment of risk and implementation of effective controls leading to reduced costs and improved profits as well as being better positioned to meet legislative requirements."

CASE STUDY: HSE Key annual figures 2007/08

- 2.1 million people were suffering from an illness they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work.

- 229 workers were killed at work, a rate of 0.8 per 100,000 workers.

- 136,771 other injuries to employees were reported under RIDDOR, a rate of 517.9 per 100,000 employees.

- 299,000 reportable injuries occurred, according to the Labour Force Survey, a rate of 1,000 per 100,000 workers.

- 34 million days were lost overall (1.4 days per worker), 28 million due to work-related ill health and six million due to workplace injury.

For more information on health and safety publication: www.bsigroup.com/jan09health

For more information on health and safety certification: www.bsigroup.com/jan09ohs

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