5 Ways to Meet Your Company’s Health & Safety Obligations

Managers and directors have a duty of care to protect the health and safety of the people in their workplace. Occupational laws for health and safety are in operation that provide employers with the responsibility to protect the people in their workforce from dangers. In order to achieve this, they have the responsibility to conduct risk assessments, implement measures to lower risk, and put in control measures as a result of any hazards they identify.

This process is essential and can be difficult. Here are the key steps recommended by www.training365.co.uk that companies must take in order to meet health and safety obligations. 

Due Diligence for Health and Safety Responsibilities

Due diligence for health and safety consists of three different factors. These factors will be taken into consideration if an accident should happen in the workplace. The first is foreseeability. This questions whether a person could foresee what was going to happen. The second factor is preventability. This questions whether the incident could have been prevented. The third factor in the equation is control. In this, the investigation looks at who the responsible person was who could have foreseen or prevented the incident.

These three factors will be investigated if an incident occurs in the workplace. But the crucial issue is the actions taken by the company before the event occurs. Here are the steps to take to ensure that due diligence is carried out.

1. Identify the Hazards

The first step is to identify potential hazards in the workplace. Carry out audits on the machinery, equipment, and processes. Discover whether anything in the workplace could potentially cause an accident in the future.

2. Document the Hazards

Once hazards have been identified, write a procedural policy for the safe use of equipment or machinery. Take potentially dangerous items out of action if there is no reasonably safe way to use them. Document the steps taken to ensure that hazards are identified, and strategies are put into place.

3. Train Staff

Ensure that all staff have the appropriate training to carry out their jobs in a safe manner. The policies developed in step two should be communicated to all workers. Employees should be aware of any safety actions needed for the operation of machinery and equipment. Make sure that documentation is taken of training and communication.

4. Monitor Compliance

Put a system in place to monitor compliance with safety, training, and communication regarding health and safety. Make sure that managers perform the relevant checks and keep records of their actions. Keep records of any incidents and any breaches in health and safety procedures.

5. Report Accidents and Incidents

Encourage an open and accountable environment by allowing workers the freedom to report accidents and "near misses". Make sure that you investigate the circumstances surrounding these incidents, putting into place the correct forms of documentation and ensuring that you rewrite policies if necessary, in order to maintain a safer working environment.