Objective 3: Management of health and safety
Objective 3 of the current WISH strategy states: "Gain widespread adoption of safety management systems such as those consistent with HSG 65 principles or compliant with OHSAS 18001. Publication of a simple online self assessment checklist could be used to help organisations identify whether they are meet these standards and provide information to help monitor progress with this objective. Large organisations may choose to benchmark themselves on the CHaSPI index."
Managing health and safety is no different from managing any other aspect of your business. Health and safety law requires all employers to have a health and safety policy as well as adequate arrangements for planning, organising, controlling, monitoring and review. If you employ over five people then those arrangements will need to be in writing.
"Successful health and safety management" HSG65 provides a useful framework for assessment of your management system.
The additional information set out below has been compiled by the WISH forum working group on Objective 3. It is aimed at helping organisations, whatever their size, involved in waste management and recycling assess and improve their safety management systems. Much of the guidance signposted can be applied across all industries as the principles of good health and safety management are not unique to the waste and recycling sector.
For small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro-SMEs (ie those employing less than 250 and 10 employees respectively)
- Use this simple checklist to help you assess your own health and safety management system and prompt you to think about adopting a more formal approach to health and safety if required.
- Consider benchmarking your performance against the CHaSPI SME Performance Indicator
- Learn from case studies how other SME businesses, including some involved in waste and recycling activities, have realised the benefits of improving health and safety.
- Consider if you need some specialist help for your business in terms of competent health and safety advice.
- There are many industry trade associations and professional training bodies working in the waste and recycling sector that can also provide further specialist guidance and benefits to their members. A number of these are members of the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) forum.
- There is more advice available on managing for health and safety.
For larger organisations (ie those employing over 250)
The Corporate Health and Safety Performance Index (CHaSPI) interactive benchmarking tool, referred to in the wording of Objective 3, was withdrawn by HSE in June 2012. The decision was informed by a number of factors, including:
- A reluctance of some users to publish their performance ratings despite the option to publish anonymously, undermining its usefulness as a bench mark tool
- A recent trend towards industry taking a greater lead role in producing sector focused health and safety performance assessment tools, with a move towards tools that provide feedback on company specific performance, and clarity in identifying strengths and weaknesses to inform improvement actions
There are, however, a number of alternative cross-industry performance assessment tools available that larger employers may wish to consider utilising instead. Examples of such tools include (please note this list is not exhaustive and inclusion does not signify HSE or WISH endorsement of the products):
- British Standards Institute (BSI) – H&S Quick-Check self assessment tool which also links to recognised safety management system standards such as BS OHSAS 18001, for example.
- EEF (The Manufacturers' Organisation) - Health and Safety Balanced Scorecard.
- Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) - Quality Safety Audit portfolio