Clear Blue

I am back after an August break, and here is my latest blog. During the summer I went with a friend to London by coach – not my usual preferred route of travel, crammed into a wagon with broken air con, little leg room and a decidedly dodgy toilet. As we were travelling down a dual carriage way I spotted a cattle truck, and traded the “I know what you feel like” look with the black and white head sticking out the back. But it was shortly after this when a police car whizzed by at light speed by that got me thinking about the topic of this blog.

There has been much recently said on the emergency services, and whether health and safety law is a barrier to delivering an effective service. Many leading figures have said as much – does anyone remember Chief Constable Norman Bettison describing us as the “health and safety Taliban?”

So, whilst crammed into the coach hurtling southbound I thought back to my four and a half years working with the police service. I remember safety being very misunderstood, but I don’t remember it getting in the way of operational policing. In fact, the only occasion I remember a health and safety enforcement action against my Force was after contractors smashed through an asbestos wall when installing a fire alarm system (not really unique to the policing world).

This brings us back to the question, is health and safety a burden for the emergency services?

My answer: no. Much work has been done by the Health and Safety Executive to establish clear rules – with both the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA). This led to the publication of the Striking the Balance guidance documents for the police and fire services. These documents clearly set out the HSE interpretation of health and safety duties in emergency situations. They recognise the dynamic situations faced by emergency services and explain how health and safety laws apply in those circumstances.

So what is the problem? Well, it is the same problem we see in other industries: a lack of proper understanding by senior managers, and an unjustified fear of personal litigation or accountability by middle managers. How many senior police managers or fire managers have read the Striking the Balance guidance? Could it be a similar number to those company directors who have read the HSE/IOD Leading health and safety guidance publication?

Only when the emergency services overcome these hurdles of culture and tackle them will an effective health and safety culture start to be embedded across the services. And like any health and safety culture it must be led from the top – a clear statement of policy and commitment by Chief Officers. This needs to be backed up by effective policies and procedures – “real world” policies and procedures that make sense – and effective training. Many other industries have worked hard to establish a positive health and safety culture that fits within that industry – just take the significant leaps in the construction industry over the last 20 years. This approach will be the only effective course of action – rather than some of the “exempt from health and safety law” comments that are circulating (which are quite scary in so far as those making them have really missed the point). I think it is about time we tackled this issue head on and actually started to improve the culture, rather than keep alive this negative attitude.

Slashing The Books!

All the time I hear people cry “health and safety has gone too far” – and in many examples given is the banning of conkers, the risk of personal liability or the restriction on activities for children, including school trips.

Anyone interested in health and safety will know the Government has an agenda to simplify the regulations and guidance, and this month they have done that with the official guidance on school trips, slashing 150 pages of health and safety guidance for schools into 8 pages.

So is this a good thing?

Those that know me will recognise my view on this – yes, it is a good thing.

The more complex we make health and safety in terms of rules, guidance, books, policies, procedures, regulations and so on then the less likely it is to work in the real world.

Can a teacher conduct a risk assessment for a school trip without 150 pages of guidance to help them? I hope so if they are trained properly.

Many school trips are extremely low risk, and the simple application of good risk assessment practice can help any teacher identify the hazards and put in place appropriate levels of controls.

What’s more is that such in-depth guidance simply cannot cover every situation, and the risk is that teachers stop using their experience, training and common sense in favour of a “the guidance says this” approach – think “computer says no.”

Some have branded this move as “potentially reckless” which is a staggering overreaction if nothing else. Of course we need to ensure good health and safety in our children’s school lives – but this is best achieved by having an effective safety system, good risk assessments and staff suitably trained in effective health and safety. These things cost little money and have a real impact on improving safety – huge volumes of text in Government guidance does not.

So lets hope this is one of the first steps in promoting a more practical, realistic and genuinely improved way of looking at health and safety.

 

A Cut Too Far?

Followers of HSE statistics will have noted the provisional fatality figures released today (28 June). They show a 16% increase in worker deaths, which has in turn prompted many in the profession to call on the Government to rethink its cutting of the HSE budget and its attempts to reduce health and safety “bureaucracy.”

So does this rise really show that the Government agenda on rolling back health and safety will result in greater accidents? The answer is not really.

Firstly the figures are so small that anomalies like this occur – 171 workers died in 2010/11, up from the record low of 147 deaths in 2009/10. Every death is a tragedy, but we must remember the difference is 24, a very small figure to use for statistical comparisons.

We must also remember that the trend has always been towards an increase in accidents and fatalities when emerging from a recession.

We must also take note that despite this increase, the 5 year average trend is still pointing down (a much more useful statistical comparison).

However, what this increase does remind us of is the need to never let our guard down on the practical implementation of safety. Whatever changes the Government brings about in legislation or enforcement; good safety is just good business sense.

The responsibility for good safety rests with the employer not Government – and no cut in Government funding or easing of regulation should be interpreted as an approval to reduce safety standards.

Instead, employers must work smarter, more efficiently and more targeted towards real and serious risks. This is achieved through effective risk assessment, risk management and engagement with workers and managers.

And now, more than ever, employers need competent advisors and managers to assist them in their health and safety duties.

So a rise this year does not really condemn the Government’s policy – but it does remind us all on the need to ensure this year’s rise is an anomaly and not the start of an upward trend.

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