• Outline the purpose and benefits of HSE management
• Explain legal obligations
• Detail the role and how to undertake a risk assessments
• Highlight the importance of continually monitoring & reviewing procedures

• The person responsible for health and safety in small businesses or low-risk environments.
• All managers & supervisors 

UK is one of the safety places in the world to work.  In fact, through 2018/2019 the fatality rate was 0.45 per 100,000 workers.

• UK 0.45 per 100,000 workers
• Global average 11 per 100,000 workers
• EU average being 2.8 per 100,000 workers
• US average is 3.5 per 100,000 workers*

*40% of the US statistics include fatalities due to motor vehicle incidents.  In the UK, a fatal road accident while driving for work does not appear in workplace health & safety statistics.

Health are the steps taken to maintain the physical and mental wellbeing of colleagues.  Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) refers to a range of issues effecting muscles, joints and bones.  Such as back pain or arthritis.

Collectively these health issues with a huge impact on people and the economy resulting in around 30 million workdays lots each year.  Employers need to take reasonable steps to ensure they are not exacerbated at work.  For example, DSE training will ensure workstations are correctly set up.

Mental Wellbeing is another health issue.   Preventing bullying and harassment at work one step to protect mental health at work.

Safety on the other hand is about protecting staff from harm, so taking steps to avoid injuries.  This can be achieved by following the hierarchy of controls which begins with eliminating the hazard, then substitution, engineering controls and administrative controls (including safety training).  Following this PPE will be used.

The UK Health & Safety Act requires businesses to reduce risks ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’.

What ‘reasonably practicable’ means in your workplace depends on your Risk Assessment which is a requirement of Management of Health & Safety at Work regulations 1999.

As part of the risk assessment, safe working practices will be decided.

Managers have a responsibility to, as best as possible, reduce loss to the organisation due to Injuries, Ill health, Incidents of damage.  This will usually be achieved by ensuring staff follow the safe working practices detailed by the risk assessment.

It must be recognised by all levels of management that Health and Safety is as much a core function of an organisation, as are:

• Finance
• Production
• Quality
• HR

Therefore, Health and Safety must be discussed and managed at all levels of the organisation. Health and Safety must be given at least equal priority and resources as other core functions. Failure to manage Health and Safety effectively could harm those who work for you and cost your organisation greatly.

The Health and Safety Policy is the top level document within an organisation that sets out the direction and framework for managing Health and Safety.

The policy also describes the beliefs and principles that we want to aspire to. It is important to understand the need for Health and Safety Policy Statement. The Health and Safety Policy is your starting out point to managing Health and Safety in the workplace. By law, if you employ five or more people, you must have written Health and Safety Policy.

The policy should contain a signed and dated commitment from either the Chief Executive of Managing Director to achieve the highest standards of Health and Safety Management and a safe place of work.

The policy should describe the responsibilities key persons have for Health and Safety Management, e.g. who will carry out Risk Assessments, who will be responsible for the maintenance of equipment, who will co-ordinate emergency procedures and who will ensure the safe handling and use of substances.

To ensure the Health and Safety Policy is effectively implemented, it must be communicated to all employees throughout the organisation and made available to contractors and visitors.

Below are listed the key elements to a successful Management Plan.

The manner and extent to which the individual elements will be applied will depend on factors such as size of the organisation, its management structure, the nature of its activities and the risks involved.

• Policy
• Organising
• Planning and Implementing
• Measuring Performance
• Reviewing Performance
• Auditing
• Policy development
• Organisational development
• Developing techniques of planning, measuring and reviewing
• Feedback loop to improve performance