Module 1:

Introducing managing safely

Key learning points

1. Why is it important to manage safely?
2. What are your responsibilities as a manager?

Notes:

Why is it important to manage safely?

Just for a moment, think about a serious accident happening in your organisation.
What would it mean to you and your organisation?

Think about the injured workers, their personal costs, pain and
suffering and the effect on their families. Workers may have
long hospital stays and may never work again.

If it’s shown that the accident happened because of a failure to

manage health and safety risks in the organisation, the regulator may
take action, which in turn may lead to prosecutions, fines and
imprisonment.

There may also be a personal injury claim from the injured person. Maybe that doesn’t
alarm you too much – you’re a reasonably comfortable outfit in financial terms, and
the costs aren’t going to hit you too hard.

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But what about the replacement labour, accident investigation, downtime and increased
insurance premiums? These are much greater than the costs of fines and compensation.
Remember also that insurance won’t pay the costs of criminal fines.

And what happens when the local or even the national press and television get hold of the
story about the accident? What’s the large multinational company that’s recently placed
an order with your organisation going to think?
What will other potential customers,
clients, employees, contractors and the
local and national community think about
your organisation?

You’ll probably find your loss of

reputation will cost a lot more
than those fines.

Notes:

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 Case study

A worker was using an unguarded drilling machine in a small engineering company

employing 15 workers. The sleeve of his jumper caught on the rotating drill, entangling
his arm. Both bones in his lower arm were broken and he suffered extensive tissue and
muscle injury. He spent 12 days in hospital undergoing major surgery and was off work
for three months. On his return he was placed on administrative duties for five months
and he was unable to operate machinery for eight months. The managing director was
prosecuted following the incident and the total costs to the business were around
£45,000. Another cost was that two employees not involved in the accident were made
redundant to prevent the company from going out of business.

Consequently, there are three key reasons to manage safely:

Moral: It’s not acceptable for workers to suffer injury and

ill health as a result of doing their job. Demonstrating that
the organisation cares about staff safety and health will
lead to a happier and more productive workforce.

Case study

In 2000, the pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca started a ‘Well-being’

programme for employees, which focused on the home–work balance, rehabilitation
and treatment, and health promotion. The company benefited tremendously from this
strategy; in the UK alone, absence levels are 31 per cent lower than the UK average,
saving an estimated £5 million per year. There was a 53 per cent reduction in the
number of ergonomic-related health and safety cases per million hours worked by the
firm’s UK employees in the first 6 months of 2003, and a reduction in the number of
work-related stress cases.

Legal: The law requires responsible people in

organisations to assess reasonably foreseeable risks from
the company’s activities and to put in place control
measures that will reduce the risks – so far as is
reasonably practicable. This is quite fair; after all, it’s the
companies that create the risks!

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Financial: As well as reducing the likelihood of fines
and personal injury claims, managing health and safety
well can save money through reduced insurance
premiums and safer and more effective ways of
working. A reputation as a health and safety-conscious
employer can also open doors for you in gaining new
business, retaining staff and recruiting new staff.

Case study

Over the past ten years, management and employees at the GlaxoSmithKline
manufacturing site at Dartford have developed a programme that aims to improve
health and safety through greater transparency and sharing responsibilities. Since
2000, GSK has enjoyed a 40 per cent reduction in employer’s liability claims, thanks
to the success of the programme.

Notes:

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What are my responsibilities as a manager?
OK, so we’ve talked about ‘the company’ so far – now let’s talk about you. As a
manager you should already know that you have health and safety responsibilities.

As a manager, you are in the front line of safety. As the

representative of the employer, you will make
decisions about local safety practice. You are in control
of what really happens.

Responsibility leads to accountability – as a

manager, you can delegate responsibility but you
can’t give away your accountability – you’re ultimately
accountable.

Let’s go back to our opening scenario, where we asked you to think about a serious
accident happening in your organisation. Put yourself in the position of the manager of the
employee who’s had the accident:

• you are accountable for assessing and managing

the risks the employee is exposed to

• you will have to arrange replacement labour, carry out

the accident investigation, report to customers that their
orders have been delayed, and potentially liaise with
enforcement officers, your insurance company and the
media

• you will have to tell your employee’s family that

they won’t be coming home tonight.

When you return to your company, make a list of your responsibilities

and accountabilities as a manager.

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 Case study

An employee was run over by a rough terrain forklift truck while he was handling plants
and helping to unload stillages. It appears that he had to unload stillages of plants in
different places; the driver of the forklift truck drove off without checking that the road
was clear and ran over the employee. The company didn’t have a system of work for
controlling vehicle movement on site. There was also no system for protecting staff
from risks associated with transport. The case against the company and its director
was heard in the Crown Court. The company was fined £10,000 plus costs of £8,853,
and its director was fined £5,000.

This course will help you identify your responsibilities and accountabilities.

You need to know when you need to act, how to act, when not to act, when to pass things on
to more senior managers, and when to call for help because you’re out of your depth.

Notes:

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Quiz
1. On average, ………… people are killed at work every year.

This is approximately ………… people every week.

2. On average, ………… serious work-related injuries occur each year.

This is around one every ………… minutes. A further ………… employees are off
work for over three days for less serious injuries every year.

3. On average, ………… days are lost each year due to workplace injuries or ill health.

4. On average, ………… people leave the workforce each year, never to return, because
of harm suffered at work.

This equates to around ………… per week.

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5. On average,………… managers and directors are convicted each year.

On average,………… organisations are convicted each year and are fined on average
£8,600. However, fines of over £100,000 are not uncommon.

6. On average, ………… per cent of workplace incidents are preventable by

good management.

This means that the number of reportable injuries would be reduced to around 45,000.

7. In general, a manager is ………………… for the day-to-day management of health

and safety risks.

8. Managers are …………………… for their actions and may be required to explain them
to others.

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9. Effective health and safety management can save you money – true or false?

Here are some examples of the benefits reported:

• a saving of £12 for every £1 spent

• A 73 per cent reduction in employee insurance claims
• 18 per cent fewer days lost to injuries
• a 50 per cent reduction in civil claims!

10. Legally, an employer must be insured for at least £…………

The insurance industry pays out around £1.3 billion in compensation each year.

11. Insurance will fully cover the financial losses if a worker is injured and cannot work
– true or false?

.…………………….. – there are/are no financial penalties if you’re injured or ill and

cannot work.

12. What is the cost of workplace accidents to society as a whole in Britain?

More than £………………… – this equates to 5–10 per cent of the trading profits of
all UK companies.

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Getting it right

So health and safety is another thing on your list as a manager, along with budgets,
discipline, communications, legal matters, HR matters, sick leave, annual leave, resources
and targets, to name but a few….

But think about it… Managing health and safety can give you a helping hand
with managing all the other things that you have to deal with. Good health and
safety management can:

• enhance your reputation

• increase your profits

• reduce wastage and insurance premiums

• maintain a happy and healthy team.

In fact, managing health and safety is key to your business. Integrate health and safety
into everything your business does. Treat health and safety matters with the respect they
deserve, just like other risks to your business.

It’s all well and good to say you agree with this, but you also have to live up to what
you say – your actions must match your words. So:

• think about health and safety when planning work

• talk about health and safety with your team

• demonstrate safe and healthy behaviour.

Notes:

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Summary

1. It’s important to manage safely because…

2. As a manager, your responsibilities are…

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