Element 4

Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring

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Learning Objectives
Once you’ve studied this element, you
should be able to:

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1 Discuss common methods and indicators

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used to monitor the effectiveness of

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management systems.

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2 Explain why and how incidents should be
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investigated, recorded and reported.

Explain what an audit is and why

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and how they are used to evaluate a
management system.

4 Explain why and how regular reviews

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of health and safety performance are

needed.
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© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-1
 Contents

Active and Reactive Monitoring 4-3

Introduction to Active and Reactive Monitoring 4-3
Active Monitoring 4-3

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Safety Inspections, Sampling and Tours 4-5
Arrangements for Active Monitoring 4-6
Reactive Monitoring 4-8

Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents 4-11

Introduction to Incident Investigation 4-11
Types of Incident 4-12

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Basic Investigation Procedures 4-14

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Reporting of Events to External Agencies 4-21

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Health and Safety Auditing 4-23
Introduction to Auditing 4-23

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The Stages of an Audit 4-24

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External and Internal Audits

Reviewing Health and Safety Performance

4-26

4-27
Purpose of Regular Reviews 4-27
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Issues to be Considered in Reviews 4-28
Outputs from the Reviews 4-28

Summary 4-30
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Exam Skills 4-31

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4-2 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Active and Reactive Monitoring 4.1

Active and Reactive Monitoring

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IN THIS SECTION...
• Active monitoring is about checking to ensure that standards are met and that the workplace is, in fact, safe and
free of health risks before any unwanted event takes place.
• Safety inspections, sampling and tours are three active monitoring methods that can be used to check
conformance to standards and that play an important role in ensuring that safety standards are acceptable in

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the workplace.

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• Active monitoring methods are often called leading indicators because they give an indication of the direction of

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future health and safety performance.

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• Various factors must be considered when setting up an active monitoring system, such as:

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– Type of inspection, tour or sampling exercise.

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–
–
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Frequency of active monitoring.
Responsibilities for carrying it out.
Competence and objectivity of the person doing the monitoring.
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– Use of checklists.
– Action planning for problems found.
• Reactive monitoring is about measuring safety performance by reference to accidents, incidents, ill health and
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other untoward events that have already occurred.

• Reactive monitoring usually makes use of statistics such as accident rates. These are often called lagging
indicators because they give an indication of the direction of past health and safety performance.
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Introduction to Active and Reactive Monitoring
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Health and safety performance should be monitored. This can be done

using various methods that fall into two broad categories:
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• Active monitoring – checking to ensure that health and safety

standards are correct in the workplace before accidents, incidents, or ill
health are caused.
• Reactive monitoring – using accidents, incidents and ill health as
indicators of performance to highlight areas of concern.
In all workplaces both types of monitoring are useful.

Monitoring should be a line-management function, but remember that

senior management has responsibility for ensuring that effective health
and safety performance monitoring systems are in place.

Active Monitoring
Active monitoring is concerned with checking standards before an unwanted event occurs. The intention is to
identify:
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• Conformance with standards, so that good performance is recognised and maintained.

• Non-conformance with standards, so that the reason for that non-conformance can be identified and corrective
action taken.
There are many different ways of actively monitoring health and safety performance (some of which we will outline
in the following sections). The various active monitoring methods are often called leading indicators.

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-3
4.1 Active and Reactive Monitoring

Leading indicators are indicators that show the direction of travel before unwanted events (such as an accident)
occur. If leading indicators are moving in a positive direction, then the chance of having accidents is reduced.
Conversely, if leading indicators are moving in a negative direction, then the chance of having accidents is increased.

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For example, if safety inspections are being correctly carried out and very few issues are being spotted during
those inspections (because the workplace is being well managed), then this is a leading indicator that is positive.
It indicates that health and safety standards are being met and so there should be a low chance of accidents
happening. However, if there is a decline in the number of inspections being carried out, or the inspections being
done are not being done properly, or there is an increase in the number of defects found, this is a leading indicator
moving in a negative direction. It indicates that health and safety standards are not being met and so there is an
increasing chance of accidents happening.

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In many workplaces, active monitoring plays a crucial role in checking that the standards that should be met are, in

y
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fact, met. It allows management to resolve problems before those problems become critical. It also allows workers
to see that checks are being carried out and perhaps get involved in the checking process. Worker and senior

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management involvement in this helps to reinforce a positive health and safety culture.

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Performance Standards
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Active monitoring of health and safety requires identification of exactly what to monitor and what level of
performance is acceptable, i.e. the performance standard.

Performance standards can be concerned with the physical control of workplace hazards and conditions. For
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example, there are standards that a scaffold structure should meet (i.e. conform to) with regards the work platform,
toe boards and guardrails in order for it to be considered safe (more on this topic later in the course in Element 8).
This can then be actively monitored (checked) by carrying out a routine inspection of the scaffold in order to ensure
that it meets the standard.
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In this way active monitoring is concerned with checking the physical condition of the workplace and the way that
hazards are being controlled.

But you can also could actively monitor health and safety management activities to give a measure of conformance
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to performance standards. For example:
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• Number and quality of risk assessments covering work activities.

• Provision of health and safety training to schedule.
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• Completion of consultative committee meetings to schedule.

• Completion of workplace inspections to schedule.
• Completion of safety-review meetings to schedule.
All of these health and safety management activities are likely to be taking place in the workplace, so it is possible
to assess whether they are happening or not. In most instances, you can also measure the degree to which they are
happening and sometimes even their quality. For example, a standard might be that when contractors start new
work on site there should be suitable and sufficient risk assessments to cover their work. The presence or absence
of risk assessments can be checked. The number of risk assessments can be measured to quantify conformance. The
quality of each risk assessment can be judged. In this way, a full picture of conformance can be built up.

HINTS AND TIPS

Note – risk assessments are not an active monitoring method, but measuring how many were carried out vs.
how many should be completed is. Similarly, training is not an active monitoring method, but measuring the
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percentage of attendees who showed up for the planned training is. This is a subtle but important distinction.
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4-4 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Active and Reactive Monitoring 4.1

Safety Inspections, Sampling and Tours

There are three slightly different methods of active monitoring that we
will cover in the course, each of which has a place in an active monitoring

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regime. (Remember that the actual names given to these methods may
vary between workplaces.)

Safety Inspections
The term ‘safety inspection’ implies an examination of the workplace

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and working conditions so that comparisons can be made to expected
performance standards (whether in-house or a statutory standard).

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Examples include:

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• The routine general workplace inspection to determine if general
standards of health and safety are acceptable, or if corrective action is

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necessary (e.g. a quarterly housekeeping inspection in an office).
•
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The statutory inspection of an item by a competent person to fulfil a
legal requirement (e.g. the annual thorough examination of an item of
lifting equipment).
Weekly inspection by a site supervisor

• The periodic inspection of plant and machinery as part of a Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM) programme
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(e.g. a mechanic inspects the brakes on a lorry on a regular basis to ensure they are not excessively worn).
• The pre-use checks carried out by workers before they use certain items of plant and machinery (e.g. the start-
up checks carried out by a forklift-truck driver).
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All these inspections can be repeated routinely to form an inspection regime, and can all be recorded to provide
evidence of inspection.

General Workplace Inspections

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To focus on the first of these active monitoring methods, one popular way to actively monitor health and safety
performance is to carry out general workplace inspections. These inspections often focus on ‘the four Ps’:
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• Plant – machinery, equipment and vehicles.

• Premises – the workplace and the working environment.
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• People – working methods and behaviour.

• Procedures – safe systems of work, method statements, permits to work, etc.
An inspection might concentrate on one, several or all four of these areas. Systematic general workplace inspection
regimes usually exist in many different forms within different workplaces.

For example, in a distribution warehouse (depot) there might be:

• A daily inspection regime where forklift-truck drivers inspect their own vehicles at the start of each shift – plant.

• A weekly inspection regime where supervisors check that forklift trucks are being driven safely – people.

• A monthly inspection regime where the manager checks the entire warehouse for housekeeping – premises.

• A six-monthly inspection of each forklift truck by a competent mechanic to ensure the safety of the vehicle as a
part of the PPM – plant.
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• An annual formal inspection of the storage racking to ensure structural integrity – premises.
If this series of inspections is in place then it is possible to monitor the degree to which each is being carried out
successfully. In this way, two different types of active monitoring are being carried out: one on the workplace directly
(the four Ps), and one on the safety management system.

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-5
4.1 Active and Reactive Monitoring

Safety Sampling
This is the technique of monitoring conformance with a particular workplace standard by looking at a representative
sample only. If a big enough sample is collected, then there is a strong likelihood that the results of the sample will

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reflect the results for the workplace as a whole.

For example, if the legal standard in a large office complex is that all 1,200 fire extinguishers must be inspected
annually by a competent engineer, then there are several ways to monitor this standard:

• Check the maintenance records to ensure each and every fire extinguisher has been signed off.

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• Check all 1,200 fire extinguishers directly by inspecting every one to make sure it has the competent engineer’s
signature on it.

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• Check a representative sample of, say, 50 extinguishers selected at random from various locations around the

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complex.

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The last method in this example is safety sampling. It provides better evidence of compliance to the standard than
simply checking the engineer’s maintenance records, since they may have signed extinguishers off without ever
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inspecting any of them. It is also far less time-consuming and onerous than checking all 1,200 extinguishers directly.

Safety sampling as an active monitoring method does not guarantee 100% conformance to standard. Instead it
provides an assurance that the standard is being met, or gives an indication of where there are problems with
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conformance.

Safety Tours
A safety tour is a high-profile inspection of a workplace carried out by
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a group or team, including managers. The tour may be formal, but can
also be informal – a walk-around looking at points of interest (usually
unscheduled). The group carrying out the tour should include the manager
of the area being inspected and possibly a worker or worker representative,
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a health and safety specialist, an occupational health specialist and perhaps
an engineer. Ideally the group would also include a senior manager (such
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as a senior operations manager or director).

Unlike a safety inspection, which will often be conducted by one person

and have a very narrow and specific focus, a safety tour usually looks at any
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health and safety issue that come to light during the walk around. It is often
unconstrained and does not simply look at a narrow, predetermined topic or issue.

One of the key features of a safety tour is that the group interacts with workers as they go about their normal work
routines. This is a high-profile, visible event where management have the opportunity to interact with workers
and show their interest in, and commitment to, health and safety to the workforce. This can have a very significant
impact on raising the profile of specific health and safety problems found. Equally importantly it can have a powerful
effect on improving the health and safety culture as it provides an opportunity for managers to not only identify and
discuss problems and issues, but also recognise and praise good performance.

Arrangements for Active Monitoring

Certain factors must be considered before an active monitoring system is
introduced, including:
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• The type of active monitoring – active monitoring is carried out for a number
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of different reasons and different methods examine different aspects of

safety in the workplace. Is this:
– A general inspection of a workplace to ensure legal conformance with a
company standard?
– A sampling exercise to look at a specific type of item or equipment (such
a lifting accessories)?
– A high-profile safety tour of an entire department?

4-6 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Active and Reactive Monitoring 4.1

• The frequency of monitoring – likely to be determined by both the type of inspection and the level of risk. For
example, a general workplace inspection might be conducted in an office once a month, but once a week in
a workshop environment to reflect the higher risk. The frequency will also be affected by the practicalities of
doing the monitoring and the availability of people. Safety tours involving senior managers are often conducted

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monthly for this reason.
• Allocation of responsibilities – those responsible for ensuring that the active monitoring take place should be
identified, as should the people who will be tasked with carrying it out.
• The competence and objectivity of the inspector – essential characteristics of whoever is conducting the
active monitoring; the person should have the necessary training, knowledge and experience. In some instances,
certification to a specific standard will be required. In other situations, all that is necessary is an understanding

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of the workplace, health and safety principles, and a willingness to ask questions. An inspector also needs to be

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impartial and objective in their approach, even when looking at an area that they are very familiar with. Training

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may be required for those who will be conducting inspections.

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• The use of checklists – these are valuable tools for use during the active monitoring process. Checklists ensure
that:

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–
–
–
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All points are covered by the check.
There is a consistency of approach to the process.
There is a form of written record of the monitoring and its findings.
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However, checklists do have their weaknesses, the most important being that an inspector might only deal with the
points on the checklist. They may ignore issues that exist in the workplace if they are not included on the checklist.

• Action planning for problems found – so that appropriate action is taken following the active monitoring to
resolve issues in a timely manner. An inspection system that identifies a problem or issue but then does not
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result in action being taken is a flawed system. There must be clear identification of the:
– Corrective action required.
– Persons responsible for taking that action.
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– Priorities/timescales.
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The active monitoring system can be documented and formalised once procedures based on all these factors have
been agreed upon.
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TOPIC FOCUS
Factors to take into account when determining the frequency of general workplace inspections:

• Statutory requirements may dictate an inspection frequency.

• The activities carried out and the level of risk.
• How well established the process is (e.g. new equipment may require more frequent monitoring).
• Risk assessments may suggest inspections as a control measure.
• Manufacturers may make recommendations in relation to inspection frequency and content.
• The presence of vulnerable workers (e.g. young and inexperienced people).
• Findings from previous inspections, which may suggest compliance concerns.
• Accident history and results of investigations.
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• Enforcement authorities may recommend inspections.

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• Whether workers have voiced concerns.

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-7
4.1 Active and Reactive Monitoring

Example Inspection System

The head office of a bank introduces an inspection system to actively monitor general health and safety standards.
A set of formal arrangements is documented and included in the safety policy of the company. These arrangements

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describe:

• The purpose of the inspection system – to monitor general health and safety standards.
• The frequency of the inspections – once a month for all areas.
• Competence of inspectors – the need for inspecting managers to attend a one-day course on the inspection
system.

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• The persons responsible – managers of a particular level for ensuring that inspections are carried out,

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managers of the next level down for actually doing the inspections.

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• Inspection checklist – a generic checklist that is appropriate to all office areas, which may be tailored by the

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inspector if necessary.

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• Follow-up arrangements – an action plan table is created and included on the inspection checklist.

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TOPIC FOCUS
Typical topic headings that might be included in a generic inspection checklist:
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• Fire safety – including emergency escape routes, signs and extinguishers.
• Housekeeping – general tidiness and cleanliness.
• Environment issues – e.g. lighting, temperature, ventilation, noise.
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• Traffic routes – safety of both vehicle and pedestrian routes.

• Chemical safety – appropriate use and storage of hazardous substances.
• Machinery safety – e.g. correct use of machine guards and interlocks.
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• Electrical safety – e.g. portable electrical appliance safety.
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• Welfare facilities – suitability and condition.

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It is worth noting that students will be carrying out a workplace inspection in the second half of their studies to
identify hazards and corrective actions as part of the practical assessment.

Reactive Monitoring
Reactive monitoring uses incidents, ill health and other unwanted events
and situations as indicators of health and safety performance to highlight
areas of concern. By definition, this means ‘reacting’ after things have gone
wrong. This indicates two weaknesses with reactive monitoring:

• Things have already gone wrong; things are being put right after the
event rather than before.
• It measures failure, which can be a negative aspect to focus on.
Despite these weaknesses, reactive monitoring is a valid tool for an
organisation to use, as long as various forms of active monitoring are being
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carried out as well. Reactive monitoring can be carried out by learning

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lessons:

• From one individual event, such as an accident, dangerous occurrence,

near miss or case of ill health.
• From data gathered from large numbers of the same types of event.
The first method involves event reporting, recording and investigation (see later in this element). The second
method is concerned with the collection and use of statistics.

4-8 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Active and Reactive Monitoring 4.1

HINTS AND TIPS

There is often some confusion about the categorisation of near-misses as active or reactive. While they are

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responding before someone has been hurt, they are still ‘reactive’ as something unwanted has happened, it
just could have been a lot worse.

Reactive monitoring methods are often called lagging indicators, that is, indicators that show the direction of travel
after unwanted events (such as an accident) occur. If lagging indicators are moving in a positive direction then
the chance of accidents has reduced. Conversely, if lagging indicators are moving in a negative direction that is an

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indication that the chance of accidents has increased.

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For example, if the accident rate at a workplace reduces month-on-month over a period of time (because of various
safety improvements introduced in the workplace) then this is a lagging indicator that is moving in a positive

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direction. It shows that the chance of accidents has reduced over recent time. However, if there was an increase in

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the accident rate, this is a lagging indicator moving in a negative direction. It shows that performance is deteriorating
and there has been a loss of control.
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Lagging indicators tell you information about what your performance was in the past. In contrast, leading indicators
(as outlined in the Active Monitoring section) tell you what your performance is likely to be in the future.
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Statistics
Data can be collected and reported about a number of different unwanted
events, such as:
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• Accidents.
• Dangerous occurrences.
• Near misses.
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• Cases of ill health.
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• Complaints from the workforce.

• The number and type of formal enforcement actions taken against the
organisation.
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• The number and value of civil claims for compensation against the
organisation.
• Cost of accidents (e.g. damage repairs).
This data can then be analysed to see if there are any:

• Trends – consistent increases or decreases in the number of certain types of event over a period of time.
• Patterns – collections or hot-spots of certain types of event.
This analysis usually involves converting the raw data (i.e. the actual numbers) into an accident rate so that more
meaningful comparisons can be made.

One commonly used accident rate used to measure an organisation’s safety performance is the Lost-time Accident
Frequency Rate:
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Number of lost-time accidents during a specific time period

No

= × 100,000
Number of hours worked over the same period

(The answer is in units of ‘lost-time accidents per 100,000 hours worked’.)

The reason why a rate might be used rather than the actual numbers is because it allows for a more meaningful
comparison of accident statistics from one year to the next, even though the numbers of workers in the workplace
may have changed or there may be more work to do (and hence more hours worked).

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-9
4.1 Active and Reactive Monitoring

STUDY QUESTIONS
1. Define reactive and active monitoring.

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2. What do we mean by systematic active monitoring?

3. What types of information that might be used in reactive monitoring?

4. What is the purpose of workplace inspections?

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5. What is the difference between a safety inspection and safety tour?

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6. What role does senior management have in workplace inspections?

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7. Why are checklists used in inspections?

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(Suggested Answers are at the end.)

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4-10 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents 4.2

Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents

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IN THIS SECTION...
• Incidents should be investigated for several reasons, perhaps the most important of which is to discover the
causes so that corrective action can be taken to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
• Incidents can be categorised in terms of their outcome: near miss, accident (injury and/or damage), dangerous
occurrence and ill health.

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• The level of investigation used should be determined by considering the foreseeable consequences of the

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incident should it happen again, and not simply by looking at the actual outcome that occurred on this occasion.

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• Basic incident investigation procedure is to:

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– Gather factual information about the event.

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– Analyse that information to draw conclusions about the immediate and root causes.

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–
–
Identify suitable control measure.
Plan the remedial actions.
• Arrangements should be made for the internal reporting of all work-related incidents, and workers should be
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encouraged to do so.
• Records of work-related injuries should be kept.
• Certain types of incident – such as fatalities, major injuries, occupational diseases and some dangerous
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occurrences – have to be reported to external agencies.

Introduction to Incident Investigation

Unfortunately, in spite of an organisation’s best efforts, accidents do
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happen. When they happen, it is important that the incident is reported,
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recorded and investigated in an appropriate and timely manner.

There are many reasons for conducting investigations, but one of the most
important is that having happened once, an incident may happen again;
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and when it happens again the outcome may be as bad as, or worse than,
it was the first time. It is therefore important to understand exactly why
the incident occurred so that corrective action can be taken to prevent a
recurrence. Often the only thing that separates a near-miss or a minor-
injury accident from a serious-injury accident is luck (or chance). The place
where one worker trips and stumbles on the steps one day, may be the
place where another worker will trip, fall and break their arm the next. It
follows that all incidents should be examined to determine the potential
for serious harm, injury or loss. Where this potential exists, a thorough
investigation should be carried out to prevent that potential from becoming actual.

It is also likely that if near-miss events are rigorously reported there will be a far greater number of events to
consider, providing more data, which can help highlight the deficiencies in the safety management system.

This is not to say that all incidents should be thoroughly investigated in great depth and detail – that would
be a waste of time and effort in many cases – but that all incidents should be examined for potential so that a
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decision can be made as to whether a more detailed and thorough investigation is required. This idea is sometimes
No

formalised into an organisation’s investigation procedures.

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-11
4.2 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents

TOPIC FOCUS
Reasons for investigating incidents:

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• To identify the immediate and root causes – incidents are usually caused by unsafe acts and unsafe
conditions in the workplace, but these often arise from underlying, or root causes.
• To identify corrective action to prevent a recurrence – a key motivation behind incident investigations.
• To record the facts of the incident – people do not have perfect memories, and accident investigation
records document factual evidence for the future.

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• For legal reasons – accident investigations are an implicit legal duty imposed on the employer, in

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addition to the duty to report incidents.

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• For claim management – if a claim for compensation is lodged against the employer, the insurance
company will examine the accident investigation report to help determine liability.

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• For staff morale – non-investigation of accidents has a detrimental effect on morale and safety culture

•
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because workers will assume that the organisation does not value their safety.
To enable risk assessments to be reviewed and updated – an incident suggests a deficiency with the
risk assessment, which should be addressed.
• For disciplinary purposes – though blaming workers for incidents has a negative effect on safety culture
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(see Element 3), there are occasions when an organisation has to discipline a worker because their
behaviour has fallen short of the acceptable standard.
• For data-gathering purposes – accident statistics can be used to identify trends and patterns; this relies
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on the collection of good quality data.

Types of Incident
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Incidents can be categorised according to their nature and outcome:
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Accident
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DEFINITION
ACCIDENT

An unplanned, unwanted event which leads to injury, damage or loss.

For example, a worker on the ground is struck on the head and killed by a brick dropped by another worker on a
5m-high scaffold; or, a lorry driver misjudges the turning circle of their vehicle and knocks over a barrier at the edge
of a site entrance, crushing the barrier beyond repair. Note that in both of these examples the acts are not carried out
deliberately. An accident is unplanned. Any deliberate attempt to cause injury or loss is therefore not an accident.

Accidents can be further subdivided into:

• Injury accidents – an unplanned, unwanted event which leads to personal injury of some sort.
• Damage-only accident – an unplanned, unwanted event which leads to damage to equipment or property.
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4-12 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents 4.2

Near Miss

DEFINITION

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NEAR MISS

An unplanned, unwanted event that had the potential to lead to injury, damage or loss, but did not, in fact,
do so.

For example, a worker drops a brick from a 5m-high scaffold and it narrowly misses another worker standing on the

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ground. No injury results and the brick is not even broken. The only thing that separates accidents and near misses
is the outcome of the event. An accident causes loss, a near miss does not.

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Dangerous Occurrence

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DEFINITION
In t o O
DANGEROUS OCCURRENCE

A specified event that has to be reported to the relevant authority by statute law.
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For example, under the UK’s Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
(RIDDOR) certain types of event have to be reported to the relevant authority, even though no injury or ill health
may have resulted. For example, the failure of the load-bearing parts of a crane is a dangerous occurrence. No
person has to be injured by the failure, the failure itself is reportable. This topic is dealt with in more detail later in
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this element.

Reporting of these dangerous occurrences to the relevant authorities is usually a requirement of law in most
countries and regions around the world.
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Work-Related Ill Health
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DEFINITION
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WORK-RELATED ILL HEALTH

Diseases or medical conditions caused by a person’s work.

For example, dermatitis is a disease of the skin often caused by work

activities, especially when the handling of solvents, detergents or irritant
substances is involved.

Work-related ill health includes diseases and conditions related to

exposure to:

• Toxic substances (e.g. lead poisoning caused by exposure to lead

fumes).
• Harmful biological agents (e.g. Legionnaires’ disease caused by
exposure to Legionella bacteria).
t
No

• Physical or ergonomic hazards (e.g. noise-induced hearing loss caused

by exposure to excessive noise).
Dermatitis
• Ergonomic hazards (e.g. upper limb disorder caused by repetitive
handling).
• Psychological hazards (e.g. clinical depression caused by excessive pressure).

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-13
4.2 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents

Ill health can result from a single incident. For example, it is possible to develop dermatitis as a result of a single
exposure to an irritant substance. However, many forms of ill health do not result from a single incident but from
ongoing or long-lasting working conditions or multiple exposures.

l tion
Level of Investigation
The amount of time, money and effort put into an incident investigation should be proportionate to the risk
associated with the incident should it happen again. This risk estimation must be made based on the foreseeable
and possible severity of harm or loss associated with the incident. It must not be based solely on the actual severity
of harm or loss associated with the incident this time.

na u
So, for example, the effort put into investigating an accident that resulted in a worker breaking their arm should not

y
be determined simply by looking at the fact that the outcome was a broken arm (which is, of course, a serious injury).

io ib
The foreseeable and possible severity of harm associated with a repeat event must be taken into account. If a fatal

te r D nl
injury is a very likely outcome from this event (and the worker was lucky to escape with just a broken arm on this
occasion) then more time, money and effort must be dedicated to the investigation process.

at istr
Similarly, the effort put into investigating a near miss must be determined by the foreseeable possible harm or loss if

In t o O
the event happens again. Not simply on the basis that the near miss did not cause any harm or loss. So a near miss
that might foreseeably result in a lost-time injury should be investigated with a proportionate level of investigation.

When determining what level of investigation to apply the risk associated with each incident can be estimated
in order to allocate appropriate resources. As we know from Element 3, risk can be estimated by considering the
C rin ce
likelihood of occurrence and foreseeable severity of harm or loss.

This can be used to determine whether an investigation should be:

RR ep ren

• Minimal – immediate line manager and not excessive time or effort.

• Low – line manager perhaps with some support and more time and effort involved.
• Medium – middle manager with support and significant time and effort.
rn
• High – senior management oversight with team based approach and significant time and effort.
r R fe

MORE...
For more information on types of incident, refer to HSG245 at:
fo Re

hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsg245.pdf

Basic Investigation Procedures

When investigating an accident or other type of incident, there are some basic principles and procedures that can
be used:

• Step 1: Gather factual information about the event.

• Step 2: Analyse that information and draw conclusions about the immediate and root causes.
• Step 3: Identify suitable control measures.
• Step 4: Plan the remedial actions.
However, before the investigation can begin, there are two important issues that should be considered:
t
No

• Safety of the scene – is the area safe to approach? Is immediate action needed to eliminate danger even before
casualties are approached?
• Casualty care – any injured people will require first-aid treatment and may need hospitalisation. This is, of
course, a priority. It is also worth considering the welfare of uninjured bystanders who may be in shock.
Once immediate danger has been eliminated and casualties have been attended to, a decision has to be made about
the type or level of investigation as outlined above.

4-14 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents 4.2

It may be useful for an organisation to develop a checklist to guide the investigator through the process and act as a
memory aide.

l tion
TOPIC FOCUS
Items that could be included on an accident investigation checklist:

• Personal details of the person involved.

• Time and location of the accident.

na u
• Type and severity of the injury sustained.

y
• Whether the injured person had been given first aid, had returned to work or had been sent to hospital.

io ib
• Underlying medical condition of the injured person.

te r D nl
• Task being undertaken at the time of the accident.

at istr
• Working environment as far as weather, standard of lighting and visibility were concerned.
•
•
In t o O
Condition of the floor or ground.
The type and condition of any personal protective equipment that was being worn.
• Details of the training and information received.
C rin ce
• Details of any relevant risk assessments that had been carried out.
• Any previous similar accidents that had occurred.
RR ep ren

Step 1: Gathering Information

• Secure the scene as soon as possible to prevent it being altered.
• Collect witnesses’ details quickly, before they start to move away. In
rn
some cases it may help to remove witnesses from the scene and ask
r R fe

them to wait in a separate area. If there are many witnesses it may

be better to separate them from each other to prevent them from
conferring with each other and developing an ‘agreed’ story.
fo Re

• Collect factual information from the scene and record it. This might be
done by means of:

– Photographs.

– Sketches.

– Measurements.

– Videos. Accident investigator taking

measurements
– Written descriptions of factors such as wind speed, temperature,
etc.

– Physical evidence such as samples, or the equipment that has failed.

– Marking up existing site/location plans.

t

The investigator should come prepared with the appropriate equipment to record this information.
No

• Once the scene has been thoroughly examined, move on to the second source of information: witnesses.
Witnesses often provide crucial evidence about what occurred before, during and after incidents. They should be
interviewed carefully to make sure that good-quality evidence is gathered.

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-15
4.2 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents

TOPIC FOCUS
Good witness interview technique requires that the interviewer should:

l tion
• Hold the interview in a quiet room or area free from distractions and interruptions.
• Introduce themselves and try to establish rapport with the witness using appropriate verbal and body
language.
• Explain the purpose of the interview (perhaps emphasising that the interview is not about blaming
people).

na u
• Use open questions (such as those beginning with What, Why, Where, When, Who, How, etc.) that do

y
not put words into the witness’ mouth and do not allow them to answer with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

io ib
te r D nl
• Keep an open mind.
• Take notes so that the facts being discussed are not forgotten.

at istr
• Ask the witness to write and sign a statement to create a record of their testimony.

•
•In t o O
Thank the witness for their help.

Once witnesses have been interviewed, move on to the third source of information: documentation. Various
C rin ce
documents may be examined during an accident investigation, such as:
– Company policies.
– Risk assessments.
RR ep ren

– Training records.
– Safe systems of work.
– Permits to work.
rn
– Maintenance records.
r R fe

– Site plans, area layout plans.

– Previous accident reports.
Sickness and absence records.
fo Re

Step 2: Analysing Information

The purpose here is to draw conclusions about the immediate and root causes of the incident.

Immediate causes are the obvious causes that gave rise to the event itself.
These will be the things that occurred at the time and place of the accident.
For example, a worker slips on a patch of oil spilt on the floor, injuring their
back as they fall backwards and hit the ground. The immediate cause of
the back injury is hitting the ground, but there are many contributors to this
cause. It is common to think of these in terms of unsafe acts and unsafe
conditions. So here, for example, we might have the slippery oil (unsafe
condition), and the worker walking through it (unsafe act).

Underlying or root causes are the things that lie behind the immediate
causes. Often, root causes will be failures in the management system, such
t

as:
No

• Failure to adequately supervise workers.

• Failure to provide appropriate PPE. There may be more than one cause for
an accident
• Failure to provide adequate training.
• Lack of maintenance.

4-16 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents 4.2

• Inadequate checking or inspections.

• Failure to carry out proper risk assessments.
For example, with the slip we described above, the root causes might be a poorly maintained machine that has

l tion
leaked oil onto the floor, and a poorly inspected and maintained workshop with broken light fittings and inadequate
lighting levels. Here, the worker might be blameless on the basis that, given those conditions, the accident was
bound to happen eventually.

Many of the accidents that happen in workplaces have one immediate cause and one underlying or root cause. If
that one root cause is identified and dealt with, then the accident should not happen again. For example, if a worker
twists their ankle in a pothole in the pavement, then the obvious solution is to fill the pothole in. It might also be

na u
worth asking how long the pothole had been there. If it had been there for a long time, why was it not spotted

y
sooner? And if it had been spotted, why had it been left unrepaired with no interim measure being taken to protect

io ib
people?

te r D nl
These questions might identify an underlying cause, such as inadequate inspection and maintenance, or failure to
put interim measures in place while waiting for maintenance work to be carried out.

at istr
In t o O
In contrast to this single-cause idea, some workplace accidents are complex and have multiple causes: there are
several immediate causes for the accident and each of these has underlying, or root causes. For example, a worker
might be struck by a load being carried by a forklift truck. Immediate causes for such an accident might be:

• Failure to secure the load on the pallet.

C rin ce
• Poor road positioning of the truck close to a pedestrian exit.
• Aggressive braking by the truck driver.
• An inattentive pedestrian stepping out in front of the truck.
RR ep ren

On investigation, each of these immediate causes might have their own separate root causes, such as:

• No training for the driver, who is new to the workplace, has not worked with this type of load before and is
unaware of the load-securing technique required.
rn
• Lack of segregation of pedestrian and traffic routes; no barriers and no markings to separate the two.
r R fe

• Lack of proper driver induction into their new workplace so they are unaware of the layout and position of
pedestrian exits, etc.
fo Re

• Poor maintenance of the truck.

• No refresher training for existing staff, meaning that experienced staff have become complacent.
If there are multiple causes for the accident, then it is important that each of these causes is identified during the
investigation – otherwise, incomplete remedial action will be taken and similar accidents may happen in the future.

Step 3: Identifying Suitable Control Measures

Once the immediate and underlying causes of the accident are known,
appropriate control measures can be identified. It is important that the
correct control measures are established – otherwise, time, money and
effort will be wasted on inadequate and unnecessary measures that will
not prevent similar occurrences in the future.

Control measures must be identified to remedy both the immediate and

underlying causes. Immediate causes are usually easy to identify – if there
t

is a spill of oil on the floor, clean it up; if the guard is missing from the
No

machine, reattach it.

Control measures mean accidents are

less likely to recur

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-17
4.2 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents

Underlying causes can be harder to determine because they reflect failure of the management system. However, it is
essential that the correct control measures to remedy the failure of the management system are identified because
this will help prevent similar accidents occurring in similar circumstance across the entire organisation. For example,
if a worker slips on some oil that has leaked out of a vehicle in the distribution depot, an employer may:

l tion
• Clean up the oil leaking out of the vehicle (the immediate cause), but fail to deal with the underlying cause (lack
of inspection and maintenance). This could lead to more leaks, which in turn may lead to more pedestrian slips
(and perhaps vehicle skids).
• Clean up the oil leaking out of the vehicle and deal with the underlying cause (by introducing a proper inspection
and maintenance system). In this instance, there is a good chance that most oil leaks will be prevented in the

na u
future for all vehicles in the fleet at all locations.

y
Perhaps the most important questions to ask when identifying control measures are:

io ib
• If this action is taken, will it prevent the same accident from happening in exactly the same way at this location?

te r D nl
• If this action is taken, will it prevent other similar types of accident from happening in similar locations in the

at istr
future?

In t o O
If the answer to both of these questions is ‘no’, then you need to identify other control measures.

Step 4: Planning the Remedial Actions

C rin ce
An incident investigation should lead to corrective action being taken, in just the same way as a workplace
inspection will. Remedial actions can be presented in an action plan:

Recommended Action Priority Timescale Responsible Person

RR ep ren

Introduce induction Medium 1 month Warehouse manager

training for all new drivers
rn
r R fe

When the action plan is being prepared, appropriate immediate and interim control measures must be given suitable
priorities and timescales.
fo Re

Unsafe conditions must not be allowed to persist in the workplace.

Dangerous practices and high-risk activities must be dealt with
immediately. This means that immediate action must be taken to remedy
these circumstances when they are discovered. Machinery and equipment
may have to be taken out of action, certain work activities suspended, and
locations evacuated. These responses cannot be left until the investigation
has been completed. They will have to be implemented immediately to
ensure safety while the investigation is in progress.

There may be interim control measures that can be introduced in the short-
to medium-term to allow work to proceed while longer-term solutions are
being worked out. For example, hearing protection might be introduced as
a short-term control measure until the maintenance of a piece of machinery
that is producing excessive noise has been completed. A perimeter guard
might be fitted around an overheating machine that would ordinarily be
protected with a fixed enclosed guard while new cooling units are sourced Hearing protection could be a short-term
t

and delivered. control measure

No

Underlying causes will often demand significant time, money and effort to remedy. It is essential, therefore, that the
remedial actions that will have the greatest impact are prioritised and timetabled first. There may be actions that
have to be taken (to address a management weakness, or to achieve legal compliance) that will not be as effective
in preventing future accidents. These actions should still be taken, but with a lower priority.

4-18 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents 4.2

TOPIC FOCUS
The contents of a typical incident investigation report may include:

l tion
• Date and time of the incident.
• Location of the incident.
• Details of the injured person/persons involved (name, role, work history).
• Details of injury sustained.

na u
• Description of the activity being carried out at the time.

y
• Drawings or photographs used to convey information on the scene.

io ib
te r D nl
• Details of witnesses and witness statements.
• Immediate and underlying/root causes of the incident.

at istr
• Assessment of any breaches of legislation.
•
•
In t o O
Recommended corrective action, with suggested costs, responsibilities and timescales.
Estimation of the cost implications for the organisation.
C rin ce
Recording and Reporting Requirements

DEFINITIONS
RR ep ren

REPORTING

The process of informing people that an incident has occurred – this can be internally within the organisation
or externally to enforcing authorities or insurers, etc.
rn
RECORDING
r R fe

The process of documenting the event.

fo Re

Work-related incidents should be reported internally by workers to

management. The system put in place by an organisation to allow for this
should be described in the Arrangements section of the organisation’s
safety policy.

It is standard practice for workers to verbally report incidents to their

immediate line manager, followed by completion of an internal incident
report form. There are occasions when this simple verbal reporting
procedure is not appropriate, and a more complex reporting procedure then
has to be introduced. For example, a lone-working contractor visiting a
client’s premises may have to report their accident to the client as well as
to their immediate line manager.

Internal Incident Reporting Systems

Internal reporting to line manager
When establishing an incident-reporting policy, the organisation should
t

be clear about the type of incident that has to be reported by workers. It

No

is usual to include a list of definitions in the policy so that workers understand the phrases used. For example, if
the organisation wants workers to report near-misses, it must specify this in the policy and be clear about what the
phrase ‘near-miss’ actually means.

Having established an incident-reporting policy, the organisation must encourage workers to report all relevant
incidents. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why workers do not report incidents.

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-19
4.2 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents

TOPIC FOCUS
Barriers to reporting – reasons why workers might not report incidents:

l tion
• Unclear organisational policy on reporting incidents.

• No reporting system in place.

• Culture of not reporting incidents (perhaps due to peer group pressure).

• Overly complicated reporting procedures.

na u
• Excessive paperwork.

y
io ib
• Takes too much time.

te r D nl
• Blame culture (where a worker feels that they may be treated detrimentally or disciplined for reporting

at istr
any accident or near miss that they were associated with).

•
In t o O
Belief that management does not take reports seriously.

Concern over the impact on the company or departmental safety statistics (especially if this is linked to
an incentive scheme).
C rin ce
• Reluctance to receive first-aid treatment.

• Apathy.
RR ep ren

The organisation should try to remove each of these barriers to ensure that every relevant incident is reported in a
timely manner. Most of these barriers can be dealt with by having a well-prepared, clearly-stated policy, adopting
user-friendly procedures and paperwork, and training staff in the procedures. An organisation can take disciplinary
action against workers who fail to report incidents if they have been given the training and means to do so.
rn
If fatal or major injuries, high-cost events, high-profile incidents or environmental events occur, it will be necessary
r R fe

to notify certain internal personnel immediately. Senior management, human resources, safety and/or environmental
management and worker representatives may all have to be notified. Action by these staff may then be required
to inform external parties as necessary (e.g. the family of the casualty, external authorities, insurance companies,
public relations advisers). These internal and external contact procedures, or escalation procedures, should be
fo Re

documented in the incident reporting section of the safety policy.

Incident Recording
When a work-related incident is reported, a record is usually created of that event (in some instances the report is
filed in written form, so reporting and recording are one and the same thing).

As a minimum, organisations should keep a record of all work-related accidents that result in personal injury. This
is usually dictated by regional statute law and there is often a standard accident record form or book that should be
used. This record must then be kept by the organisation; the length of time that it has to be retained is usually also
subject to statute law.
t
No

4-20 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents 4.2

TOPIC FOCUS
Typical contents of an internal accident record:

l tion
• Name and address of casualty.
• Location of accident.
• Details of treatment given.
• Details of any equipment or substances involved.

na u
• Details of person completing the record.

y
• Date and time of accident.

io ib
te r D nl
• Details of injury.
• Description of event causing injury.

at istr
• Witnesses’ names and contact details.
•In t o O
Signatures.

Separate forms can also take account of near misses and reports of ill health. These do not need to include standard
C rin ce
accident book data as there is no explicit legal requirement to keep a record of most near misses.

Organisations often have separate forms for the recording of accidents (as above) and the recording of accident
investigations. This is an important distinction to make; the accident record is the initial record of the basic facts
of the injury; the accident investigation report is the detailed examination of what caused that injury and why it
RR ep ren

happened (immediate, underlying and root causes) as well as the corrective actions required to prevent recurrence.
These do not have to be recorded in the same document.

Reporting of Events to External Agencies

rn
r R fe

Most countries have statute law that requires certain types of event to be reported to relevant government
appointed agencies. All countries agree that fatal accidents must be reported, however the level of detail of other
types of event that need to be reported differs between countries.
fo Re

Typical reportable events include:

• Accidents resulting in major injury (e.g. an amputation, such as loss of

a hand through contact with machine parts).
• Dangerous occurrences (e.g. the failure of an item of lifting equipment,
such as the structural failure of a passenger lift during use).
• Occupational diseases (e.g. mesothelioma, a form of cancer of the
lining of the lung, as might be contracted by someone exposed to
asbestos).
Other types of event often fall into this reporting regime, such as lost-time
injuries, where workers are unable to perform their normal duties for a
certain time period. Local statute law usually specifies how these reports
are made and the timescales for reporting.
t

Lung cancer can be caused by working

No

with asbestos

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-21
4.2 Investigating, Recording and Reporting Incidents

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has published several international standards on recommended
reporting procedures. The principal reference is the 2002 Protocol to the Occupational Safety and Health
Convention 1981 (P155); this greatly expands on the general reporting standards of Article 4 of the Occupational
Safety and Health Convention 1981 (C155). It is supported by Recommendation 194, which lists types of

l tion
diseases that should be reported to national governments.

MORE...
Further information on incident reporting to external authorities can be found at:

na u
www.ilo.org

y
io ib
www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/report.htm

te r D nl
at istr
STUDY QUESTIONS
In t o O
8. What is the main purpose of an accident investigation?

9. What are the four steps of the investigation process?

C rin ce
10. Identify the categories of staff who might be considered useful members of an internal accident
investigation team.

11. What types of record might be consulted during an accident investigation?

RR ep ren

12. What are the two categories of immediate cause of accidents/incidents?

13. An employee has been hit by a reversing vehicle in a loading bay. What are the possible immediate
causes and root causes?
rn
14. Who is usually initially responsible for reporting accidents and safety-related incidents?
r R fe

15. What actions should be taken following a serious injury at work?

(Suggested Answers are at the end.)

t fo Re
No

4-22 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Health and Safety Auditing 4.3

Health and Safety Auditing

l tion
IN THIS SECTION...
• Auditing is the systematic, objective, critical evaluation of an organisation’s health and safety management
system.
• Preparations have to be made before an audit commences.
• During an audit, three different types of evidence will be sought: documents and records, interviews, and direct

na u
observation in the workplace.

y
io ib
• Audit reports feed information back into the review process so that action can be taken for continual
improvement.

te r D nl
• Audits can either be conducted by external personnel or internal staff. There are strengths and weaknesses to

at istr
both types.

In t o O
Introduction to Auditing
The UK’s Health and Safety Executive publication Managing for health and safety defines health and safety auditing
as:
C rin ce
“The structured process of collecting independent information on the efficiency, effectiveness and reliability of
the total health and safety management system and drawing up plans for corrective action.”
RR ep ren

DEFINITION
HEALTH AND SAFETY AUDITING

A shorter definition is:

rn
r R fe

Auditing is the systematic, objective, critical evaluation of an organisation’s health and safety management
system.
fo Re

Health and safety audits share many common features with financial,
quality and environmental management audits; the basic principles are the
same.

Auditing is a mechanism for verifying that an organisation’s safety

management system is in place and operating effectively. It is:

• Systematic – the audit follows a series of logical steps and stages and
follows a prepared plan.
• Objective – all findings are evidence-based.
• Critical – it highlights areas of non-compliance or non-conformance.
The intention of an audit is to provide critical feedback on the management
system so that appropriate follow-up action can be taken. The audit
process can, therefore, be viewed as rather negative, since it will tend to Audit – structured process of collecting
focus on areas of weakness and non-conformance. In fact, some audits do information
t

not make any mention of any positive aspects of the safety management
No

system at all; they focus entirely on the weaknesses. This is, however,
inherent in the purpose of the audit – to identify weaknesses so that they can be dealt with.

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-23
4.3 Health and Safety Auditing

On the positive side, auditing is a very effective way of enhancing organisational learning. It is an opportunity to
improve:

• The management system.

l tion
• The safety policy.
• The arrangements made for specific issues.
• Health and safety performance.
Auditing is, in effect, another form of active monitoring. A positive audit report (or a verification audit that results in
certification) provides an assurance that health and safety management system is robust and effective.

na u
y
The Distinction Between Audits and Inspections

io ib
te r D nl
An audit focuses on management systems:

• It examines documents, such as the safety policy, arrangements, procedures, risk assessments, safe systems of

at istr
work, method statements, etc.
•

•
In t o O
It looks closely at records, such as those created to verify training, maintenance, inspections, statutory
examinations, etc.
It verifies the standards that exist within the workplace by interview and direct observation.
C rin ce
An inspection is a simpler process of checking the workplace for uncontrolled hazards and addressing any that are
found.

It is important that the term ‘audit’ is used correctly; an audit is the thorough examination of the management
RR ep ren

system, from the documents through to what is happening in practice in the workplace.

For example, we might inspect the fire extinguishers in a building to verify that they are where they should be,
correctly signed, labelled with an in-date inspection, tagged and pinned.
rn
But we can audit the fire extinguisher management system for a site to verify that:
r R fe

• There is an adequate policy on fire extinguishers.

• Annual extinguisher maintenance records are complete and up-to-date.
• Weekly extinguisher visual inspections are being done and recorded.
fo Re

• Training records on extinguisher use are kept and are complete and up-to-date.
• Incident reports are created and kept of any event requiring the use of fire extinguishers.
• Workers appear to understand how to use fire extinguishers correctly.
• The fire extinguishers are in the correct location and are labelled, tagged and pinned as expected.
Most of this information can be gathered by looking at documents and records, but some if it has to be collected by
talking to people and direct observation in the workplace.

The Stages of an Audit

Different audits are run in slightly different ways. What follows is a fairly typical audit process.

Pre-Audit Preparations
t
No

Before the audit starts, the following should be defined:

• The scope of the audit – will it cover just health and safety, or environmental management as well?
• The area of the audit – one department? One whole site? All sites?
• The extent of the audit – fully comprehensive (which may take weeks), or more selective?
• Who will be required – auditors will need to be accompanied during their visit and will need access to managers
and workers for information-gathering, therefore those required for interviews should be notified in advance.

4-24 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Health and Safety Auditing 4.3

• Information-gathering – it is common practice for auditors to ask for copies of relevant documentation before
starting the audit so that they can prepare.
The organisation will have to ensure that the auditor is competent, i.e. that they have the relevant qualifications,

l tion
experience and knowledge to do the job well. This can apply to both internal and external auditors. If internal
staff are used as auditors, sufficient time and resources will have to be allocated so that they can be trained and
developed in that role.

All of these elements of the audit process require the allocation of sufficient management time and resources.

During the Audit

na u
Auditors use three methods to gather factual information:

y
io ib
• Reference to paperwork – the documents and records that indicate

te r D nl
what should be happening and what has happened relevant to a
particular issue.

at istr
• Interviews – word-of-mouth evidence given by managers and workers.
• In t o O
Direct observation – of the workplace, equipment, activities and
behaviour.
Auditors will sometimes seek to collect evidence so that their findings
C rin ce
cannot be refuted; this can be done by copying paperwork, taking
photographs and having a witness to corroborate word-of-mouth evidence.

An auditor’s favourite phrases are: ‘Show me’ and ‘Can you prove it?’
RR ep ren

TOPIC FOCUS
rn
Typical information examined during an audit:
r R fe

• Health and safety policy.

• Risk assessments and safe systems of work.
• Training records.
fo Re

• Minutes of safety committee meetings.

• Maintenance records and details of failures.
• Records of health and safety monitoring activities (e.g. tours, inspections, surveys).
• Accident investigation reports and data, including near-miss information.
• Emergency arrangements.
• Inspection reports from insurance companies.
• Output from regulator visits (e.g. visit reports, enforcement actions).
• Records of worker complaints.

At the End of the Audit

t
No

Verbal feedback is usually provided at the end of an audit; for some audits, this will involve a presentation
to the management team. This verbal feedback will be followed by a written report. The report will make
recommendations for improvement and indicate priorities and timescales.

The verbal feedback and report are usually presented to senior management for action and/or praise, as required.
This is a demonstration of leadership and, in some cases, it is a requirement in the standards being audited. The
management team have the authority and resources to take action where required, and may also need to adjust the
organisational goals and objectives.

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-25
4.3 Health and Safety Auditing

After the audit, the feedback and report may contain a number of findings that require action. These may be
classified according to their significance. For example, in the ISO systems, the feedback is prioritised as:

• Major non-conformance – a significant issue or breach, which requires urgent action. This could result in the

l tion
failure of the safety management system and/or result in injury. In ISO terms, a major non-conformance would
be grounds for refusing certification.
• Minor non-conformance – an issue that is less serious in nature and unlikely to result in injury or a breakdown
of the system. In ISO terms, a minor non-conformance would require corrective action, but certification would be
granted.
• Observations – an opinion given by the auditor, which the organisation could decide to act on.

na u
It is essential that an audit is followed up with action to correct non-conformities. These corrective actions will

y
usually be checked during the next audit. In some auditing systems, this will be done through an interim follow-up

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visit or audit that simply looks at the way that the previous audit recommendations have been addressed.

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External and Internal Audits

at istr
In t o O
Audits are often carried out by safety specialists from outside the organisation. They can also be done by in-house
staff. In many instances both types of audit are carried out at different frequencies by the organisation. There are
advantages and disadvantages to both types.
C rin ce
Advantages Disadvantages

• Independent of any internal influence. • Expensive.

• Fresh pair of eyes. • Time consuming.
RR ep ren

• May have wider experience of different • May not understand the

External Audits types of workplace. business and make impractical
suggestions.
• Recommendations often carry more
weight. • May intimidate workers so get
rn
incomplete evidence.
r R fe

• Less expensive. • Auditors may not notice certain

issues.
• Auditors already know the business so
fo Re

know what can be realistically achieved. • Auditors may not have good
knowledge of industry or legal
• Improves ownership of issues found.
standards.
Internal Audits • Builds competence internally.
• Auditors may not possess
auditing skills so may need
training.
• Auditors are not independent
so may be subject to internal
influence.

STUDY QUESTIONS
16. Define the term ‘health and safety auditing’.
t

17. What are the differences between health and safety audits and workplace inspections?
No

(Suggested Answers are at the end.)

4-26 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Reviewing Health and Safety Performance 4.4

Reviewing Health and Safety Performance

l tion
IN THIS SECTION...
• Health and safety performance should be reviewed by managers at all levels within the organisation on a
routine basis to ensure that management systems are working effectively.
• Reviewing performance relies on data gathered from various sources, such as accident data, inspection reports,
absence data, safety tours and audits.

na u
• Reviews enable action to be taken so that health and safety performance is continually improved.

y
io ib
Purpose of Regular Reviews

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Reviewing health and safety performance is a key part of any health and

at istr
safety management system. The purpose of a review is to identify any key

In t o O
areas that need to be addressed and should be carried out by managers at
all levels within the organisation on a routine basis. Each review is likely to
have a different focus and will be conducted at different planned intervals.
For example:
C rin ce
• A full review of safety management might be undertaken at
the highest level of the organisation (board of directors/senior
management) on an annual basis.
• The management team may meet every quarter to carry out a review to
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ensure that performance remains on track (clearly, reviewing progress

only once a year is not enough!). This information will feed into the
annual review.
• A review of departmental performance might be conducted every Management teams should carry out
rn
month, with the information in the departmental reviews being fed into regular performance reviews.
r R fe

the quarterly management team review.

The essence of the review process is to answer the questions:

• Are we on target?
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• If not, why not?

• What do we have to change?
For example, if the board of directors set an objective for the organisation to achieve a 5% reduction in the lost-
time accident incidence rate within one year, and the board reviews performance at the end of that year and a 6%
reduction has been achieved, then clearly the organisation is on target (for this objective) and a new objective can be
set for the coming year, with the intention of achieving continual improvement.

Effective performance reviews provide information not only to the board of directors, summarising the health and
safety performance of the organisation, but also to the workers. This demonstration of commitment to continual
improvement can boost morale and help establish a positive health and safety culture.

TOPIC FOCUS
t

Reasons why an organisation should review its health and safety performance:
No

• To identify whether the organisation is on target. If not on target, why not?

• To continually improve. What do we have to change so that we continually improve? For example, are
there risks that aren’t being controlled adequately? What needs to be done about them?
• Because monitoring is an essential part of any management system.
• Because reviews are a required part of accreditation to a management system such as ISO 45001.

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-27
4.4 Reviewing Health and Safety Performance

Records of routine performance review should be kept to demonstrate that these reviews are taking place. These
records can themselves be used as a performance indicator and form a data source for the review process.

Issues to be Considered in Reviews

l tion
Reviewing health and safety performance relies to a great extent on having good quality, reliable information about
current and past performance, which usually depends on data gathering. One of the first steps in the review process
is gathering this information and data.

There are a wide range of topics for consideration in the review, including:

na u
• Legal compliance – the organisation must be aware of any legal compliance issues, and therefore the review

y
should recognise any areas of legal non-compliance.

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te r D nl
• Accident and incident data – concerning injury accidents, property-damage accidents, lost-time accidents,
reportable events, etc., often taken from accident records and accident investigation reports, together with

at istr
the review of corrective and preventive actions arising from investigations, to ensure that these have been

•
In t o O
implemented.

Safety tours, sampling and inspections – information and data gathered from general workplace inspection
reports and statutory inspections may provide evidence of conformance or non-conformance to standards.
C rin ce
• Absence and sickness data – concerning work-related ill health; gathered from absence monitoring records or
perhaps the occupational health department (if one exists).

• Audit reports – findings of internal and external audits should be reviewed, which may present detailed and
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comprehensive information on the safety management system and its effectiveness.

• Achievement of objectives – where specific targets have been set for the organisation as a whole or parts of
the organisation, achievement towards these targets can be measured.
rn
• Enforcement action – such as reports from inspectors, enforcement notices and prosecutions.
r R fe

• Previous management reviews – in particular, the completion of actions identified during those reviews.

• Legal and best practice developments – it is important that the organisation remains up-to-date with its legal
responsibilities and responds to any changes. There may also be technological or best practice changes that can
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be taken into consideration to further improve the workplace.

• Other sources – such as:

– Quality assurance reports.
– Results of participation and consultation.
– Communications and complaints from external sources.
– Monitoring data/records/reports.
These performance indicators can then be used to evaluate the performance of the organisation against the required
standards.

These standards might be:

• Legal standards established by legislation.

t

• Organisational standards that go above and beyond legal compliance.

No

Outputs from the Reviews

Various outputs will arise from the review process. Records of management reviews should be retained. There may
be retention durations set within standards, but, in any case, the reviews should be recorded in order to demonstrate
that an adequate review was carried out in accordance with legal requirements (e.g. in Britain, the Management of
Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999). Records of reviews will often take the form of minutes of review
meetings and action plans showing that agreed actions have been completed.

4-28 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Reviewing Health and Safety Performance 4.4

Some organisations will also be required to report annually to shareholders on their health and safety performance
through the annual company report.

Finally, the review process should form part of the continual improvement process of the organisation. Strategic

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targets are set by senior management – these targets are then channelled down through the organisation and
reviewed by line management at different levels:

• Senior management set strategic targets.

• Middle management review performance in the areas under their control and sets targets to bring their area in
line with the strategic targets.

na u
• Junior management review performance and sets local targets that will collectively allow the strategic targets
to be achieved.

y
io ib
This means health and safety reviews, at all levels, must feed directly into action plans. These plans should identify

te r D nl
the actions to be taken by responsible persons by appropriate deadlines. In this way, continual improvement of
health and safety performance can be achieved.

at istr
In t o O
STUDY QUESTIONS
18. Performance review is concerned with ensuring that incident investigations are properly concluded. True
or false?
C rin ce
19. What is the purpose of reviewing health and safety performance?

20. Who should take part in reviews of the occupational health and safety management system?
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21. How often should reviews of the occupational health and safety management system take place?

22. What typical outputs from the management review need to be documented and maintained as a record
of the review process and as evidence of its effectiveness?
rn
(Suggested Answers are at the end.)
r R fe
fo Re
t
No

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-29
 Summary

Summary

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This element has dealt with active and reactive monitoring, investigating incidents and recording and reporting
incidents.

In particular, it has:

• Differentiated between active monitoring (checking to ensure that standards are met before any untoward event
takes place) and reactive monitoring (measuring safety performance by reference to data on accidents, incidents

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and ill health that have already occurred).

y
• Outlined some active monitoring methods (inspections, sampling and tours) and explained the factors that must

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be considered when setting up an active monitoring system.

te r D nl
• Considered the reasons for accident investigation, perhaps the most important of which is to discover the causes
so that corrective action can be taken to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

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•

•
In t o O
Categorised incidents in terms of their outcome: near-miss, accident (injury and/or damage), dangerous
occurrence and ill health.
Described a basic investigation procedure:
– Gather factual information about the event.
C rin ce
– Analyse that information to draw conclusions about the immediate and underlying/root causes.
– Identify suitable control measures.
Plan remedial actions.
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–
• Outlined the arrangements that should be made for the internal reporting of all work-related incidents and the
records of work-related injuries that should be kept.
• Defined the types of incident that have to be reported to external agencies, such as fatalities, major injuries,
rn
occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences.
r R fe

• Defined auditing as the systematic, objective, critical evaluation of an organisation’s health and safety
management system.
• Outlined the steps of an audit process, considered the types of information that might be used as evidence, and
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identified the strengths and weaknesses of external and internal auditing.

• Outlined the part that health and safety performance review has to play in ensuring continual improvement.
• Identified the information sources that might be used in reviewing performance and the role that senior
management has in establishing priorities and resources.
t
No

4-30 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Exam Skills ES

Exam Skills

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Question 1

Scenario
The number of incidents in the organisation has been rising. You, as the organisation’s competent source of

na u
advice for health and safety, are concerned that health and safety standards are slipping. You have decided
to look at some key performance indicators, accidents and safety inspections, to see how they can be used to

y
improve safety performance within the organisation.

io ib
te r D nl
Task: Health and Safety Performance

at istr
Prepare notes on how you will use accident data and safety inspections data to improve the organisation’s
safety performance. (10 marks)
In t o O
Approaching Question 1
C rin ce
Think about the steps you would take to answer this question:

• Step 1 – the first step is to read the scenario carefully. Note in this scenario that the number of incidents has
been rising and you are concerned about health and safety performance. The notes are for yourself, but applying
your analytical skills will cause you to reflect on where/when the notes will be used. Who will be the recipients
RR ep ren

of the information they provide?

• Step 2 – now look at the task. You will be making notes on how accident data and safety inspections data can
be used to improve safety performance. So you need to give the most important features of accident data and
safety inspections.
rn
• Step 3 – next, consider the marks available. In this task, there are 10 marks, so it is expected that around 10 or
r R fe

11 different pieces of information should be provided. There is no signpost as to how the marks are distributed.
Your notes may treat each data set as equally important or one data set as of higher importance. The first data
set will consider how accident data may be used to improve safety performance. The second data set is on
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safety inspections.
• Step 4 – read the scenario and task again to make sure you understand them and have a clear understanding of
how you can improve safety performance using accident data and safety inspections. (Re-read your study text if
you need to.)
• Step 5 – the next stage is to develop a plan – there are various ways to do this. Remind yourself, first of all, that
you need to be thinking about ‘improvements to safety performance’; firstly how accident statistics can improve
performance, and secondly how safety inspections can improve performance. So, the answer plan will take the
form of a bullet-pointed list that you need to develop into a full answer.
t
No

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-31
ES Exam Skills

Suggested Answer Outline

Accident data:

l tion
• Identify trends and problem areas.
• Allocation of resources.
• Benchmarking.
• Show the cost of accidents.
• Focus minds and discussion.

na u
Safety inspections:

y
io ib
• Demonstrate management commitment.

te r D nl
• Involve employees and safety representatives.

at istr
• Prompt actions to safety concerns improve morale.
•
•
In t o O
Check conformance to standards.
Identify problems before an accident happens.
Now have a go at the question yourself.
C rin ce
Example of How the Question Could be Answered
Accident data may be used to improve an organisation’s safety performance by identifying accident trends (e.g. slips
and trips) in specific areas (e.g. kitchens) and to enable management to focus resources on these specific aspects
RR ep ren

to reduce the recurrence rate. The organisation may use accident data to compare itself with a similar organisation
(benchmarking) to establish whether it should be doing more to improve safety, or to establish whether the cost of
not managing safety is reducing the organisation’s market competitiveness. Accident data can be used to calculate
the cost of not managing safety to ensure business cases for safety initiatives can succeed on a cost/benefit
rn
basis. Accident data can be discussed at safety committees or provided as information to employees to stimulate
discussion at team briefings or meetings and to engage employees in safety improvements.
r R fe

Safety inspections carried out by management can be used to improve safety performance by demonstrating
top-level commitment. Safety inspections can also be used positively to involve the employees by inviting them to
fo Re

take part in the inspection (to see failings at first hand) or by holding meetings to discuss the findings from safety
inspections, increasing worker ownership in safety. Safety inspections will identify conformance to standards, giving
management an opportunity to rectify non-conformance before an accident happens.

Reasons for Poor Marks Achieved by Exam Candidates

• Wasting time by concentrating on reasons for collecting accident data and not saying how it can be used to
improve business performance.
• Describing how a safety inspection should be conducted, who should take part and frequency – this is not the
question set and will gain no marks.
t
No

4-32 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Exam Skills ES

Question 2

Scenario

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The Managing Director (MD) of the organisation has been given information you have prepared on the
organisation’s health and safety policy. The MD was particularly impressed with the information, and
sufficiently concerned to believe more needs to be done to manage health and safety. An audit is being
considered by an external body as a way forward. This is, however, an expensive option, so you have been
asked to attend a meeting to give the leadership team a briefing on audits. This will enable a decision on
whether to proceed with the audit.

na u
You are keen that the organisation does proceed down this route of an external health and safety audit. You

y
io ib
decide that your briefing will cover three areas:

te r D nl
(a) the meaning of the term ‘health and safety audit’;

at istr
(b) the key areas that may be covered in an audit; and

In t o O
(c) how the audit findings can be used to improve health and safety performance.

Task: Health and Safety Auditing

Prepare your notes for this meeting with the leadership team:
C rin ce
(a) The meaning of the term ‘health and safety audit’. (2 marks)
(b) The key areas that may be covered within a health and safety audit. (8 marks)
(c) How the findings of a health and safety audit can be used to improve health and safety performance.
RR ep ren

(5 marks)
(Total: 15 marks)
rn
Approaching Question 2
r R fe

Think about the steps you would take to answer the question:

• Step 1 – the first step is to read the scenario carefully. Note in this scenario that you will be meeting the
fo Re

leadership team. This is a good opportunity to improve health and safety at the organisation, so you want to be
convincing when you meet everyone.
• Step 2 – now look at the task. Note that for part (a) of the task you are required to give the meaning of a term,
so you need to provide, without explaining, the meaning of ‘health and safety audit’. Part (b) requires you to pick
the most important features of a health and safety audit. Part (c) requires you to explain how the findings from
an audit can be used to improve performance, so you will need to give a clear account of this process.
• Step 3 – next, consider the marks available. This task has 15 marks available. In part (a) of the task, you are
asked to give the meaning of the term, which is worth 2 marks. So you should be able to provide this meaning in
one sentence. Part (b) is worth 8 marks so you need to explain at least 10 factors to gain all the marks available.
Part (c) is worth 5 marks. This is an important section for you – convincing managers to take action. To improve
the chances of successfully convincing managers, this section should be presented in the form of sentences; you
will need between four and six sentences.
• Step 4 – read the scenario and task again to make sure you understand them and have a clear understanding of
audits. (Re-read your study text if you need to, and HSG65 Managing for health and safety if you can.)
t

• Step 5 – the next stage is to develop a plan – there are various ways to do this. First, remind yourself that this
No

task is all about auditing, what an audit is, what it entails and how audits benefit the organisation. To construct
your sentence for part (a), list the elements in an audit and then write them into a sentence. For part (b), again
list the key factors that the audit will cover so that you can construct your outline answer by placing each factor
into a sentence. Using examples to illustrate your answer will help convince the leadership team (and the
examiner) that you understand the requirements. For part (c), you will need to list how the findings can benefit
the organisation – each bullet-pointed item on this list should have related detail to give you the depth that is
needed to convince the leadership team to take action. So, the answer plan will take the form of bullet-pointed
lists that you need to develop into a full answer.

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-33
ES Exam Skills

Suggested Answer Outline

Part (a):

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• Structured.
• Systematic.
• Critical.
• Independent.
• Information.

na u
• Effectiveness.

y
io ib
• Reliability.

te r D nl
• Corrective actions.

at istr
Part (b):

•
•
•
In t o O
Health and Safety Policy.
Allocation of roles and responsibilities.
Risk assessments.
C rin ce
• Specific hazard control.
• Fire safety.
• First aid.
RR ep ren

• Contractors.
• Accident reporting.
• Consultation.
rn
• Maintenance records.
r R fe

• Recommendations.
Part (c):
fo Re

• Compliance v. non-compliance and reasons for failure.

• Strengths and weaknesses, enabling benchmarking.
• Informing and enabling remedial action.
• Evidence of commitment to health and safety; communicate findings.
• Prioritising and resource allocation.
• Continual improvement.
When you have an answer plan that meets the requirements of the question, have a go at providing a full answer.
You will not be penalised in the exam for poor grammar or spelling, as long as your answer is clear and can be
understood.

Remember, you can always contact your tutor if you have any queries or need any further guidance on how to
answer this task.
t

When you have finished your answer, read the suggested answer below and compare it to your answer.
No

4-34 Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring © RRC International
 Exam Skills ES

Example of How the Question Could be Answered

(a) A structured, systematic, critical review of independent information collected on the effectiveness and reliability
of the organisation’s health and safety management system and suggested corrective actions.

l tion
(b) The key areas to be covered by a health and safety audit would be the organisation’s health and safety policy,
ensuring that one existed and that it was communicated to the employees. The audit should check that roles
and responsibilities for health and safety have been allocated to individuals and that they understand their roles.
The audit can review risk assessments to ensure they are suitable and sufficient, they are current and actions
identified on them completed. The audit should ensure that specific hazards such as manual handling, work at
height or the control of substances hazardous to health are appropriately managed. Auditors can ensure that fire

na u
safety is properly managed with emergency procedures in place. Arrangements for first aid can be audited to
ensure provision is adequate, as well as auditing arrangements for the control of contractors. Auditors may cover

y
io ib
accident reporting both internally within the organisation and external reporting to the authorities. Auditors
should review the arrangements for consultation within the organisation and establish that consultation does

te r D nl
take place. Auditors can cover maintenance records of machinery to establish that guarding to machines is
maintained, as well as those machines with a statutory requirement for maintenance are maintained. Auditors

at istr
should also provide recommendations for improving the existing system.

In t o O
(c) The findings from a health and safety audit may be used to distinguish areas of compliance with legislation
from those areas that do not meet the necessary standard to comply. The audit should also identify the reasons
why non-compliance exists and the nature of the non-compliance. The audit may have distinguished areas of
strength from areas of weakness in the management of health and safety. This may facilitate benchmarking by
C rin ce
management with other organisations to ensure they are managing health and safety responsibilities in line
with industry standards and assist management to direct often scarce resources where they are most required.
The findings from the audit can be communicated to staff to ensure that standards are maintained or improved
and to indicate that management is motivated to be proactive in the provision of a safe place of work, keeping
RR ep ren

health and safety on the business agenda. An audit enables management to follow a programme of continual
improvement by focusing on eliminating deficiencies.

Reasons for Poor Marks Achieved by Exam Candidates

rn
• Confusing an audit with an inspection.
r R fe

• Giving the reasons for carrying out an audit rather than outlining the key areas an audit should cover.
• Providing insufficient detail to meet the requirements of the question.
• Being unable to explain how the findings from an audit can be used to improve health and safety performance.
fo Re

• Not being well prepared – you must read and re-read your study text.
t
No

© RRC International Unit IG1 – Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring 4-35
No
t
fo Re
r R fe
RR ep ren
C rin ce
In t o O
te r D nl
rn y
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na u
l tion
 Unit IG1

Final Reminders

l tion
Now that you have worked your way
through the course material, this
section contains some reminders to
help you prepare for your NEBOSH

na u
open-book exam. It summarises

y
the advice on how to approach your

io ib
revision and the exam itself and has

te r D nl
some hints and tips.

at istr
In t o O
C rin ce
RR ep ren

rn
r R fe
fo Re
t
No

© RRC International Unit IG1: Final Reminders 1

 Unit IG1: Final Reminders

Preparing for the Exam

Open-book exams require advance planning. As you work through your studies, it’s important to familiarise yourself
with the study materials so that, at the time of the exam, you can find what you need quickly. RRC’s course materials

l tion
cover all the syllabus topics but to ensure that you do well in the exam, we recommend doing some additional
reading. The study text provides some useful links to external sources - look out for the ‘More…’ boxes within the
materials, these contain useful links to relevant topics.

MORE...

na u
Further information about health and safety culture can be found on the HSE website at:

y
io ib
www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/topics/culture.htm

te r D nl
‘More…’ boxes provide relevant links to further reading material (taken from RRC’s IG1 Study Text)

at istr
In t o O
At the time of the exam, you should not be reading information from your course materials for the first time or even
re-reading the study text, you will simply run out of time. Being familiar with the materials will give you more time
to concentrate on the scenario and less on frantic searching!

Don’t forget that the normal requirements of an invigilated exam don’t apply, so you can highlight and annotate
C rin ce
your materials to help you locate topics easily and use your notes on the day. The UK Open University webpage has
some great tips on highlighting and annotating materials for revision purposes, and can be accessed at: https://help.
open.ac.uk/highlighting-and-annotating.

Keep your notes organised in advance; by doing so, you will be able to easily identify the relevant parts to compose
RR ep ren

your answers. This will ensure you optimise your time during the exam.

Revising for the Exam

rn
One of the most common misconceptions about open-book exams is that there’s no need to revise for them. In
r R fe

fact, you should study for them just as you would for any other exam! You won’t be asked to recall information in
the same way as for a closed-book exam but you still need the knowledge in order to apply it effectively and you
need to be able to demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes. Remember, the exam presents you with a
problem in the form of a scenario to which you will need to give a solution, so you will need to use your knowledge
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and apply it to solve the problem.

Revision Tips
There is some useful information in your Unit 1 Study Text on how to tackle revision so here is a reminder of the
main points, together with some additional advice.

Using the RRC Course Material

Read through all of the topics multiple times. This might be done by skimming over all of the content of Unit 1 to get
a feel for structure and topics, followed by a more thorough read-through that jumps over the most complex topic
areas, then a detailed read where you attempt to crack the complex topics.

Remember that understanding the information, and being able to remember and recall it, are two different skills. As
you read the course material, you should understand it. In the exam, you have to be able to remember, recall and
apply it. To do this successfully, most people have to go back over the material repeatedly.
t
No

Check your basic knowledge of the content of each element by reading the element Summary. The Summary should
help you recall the ideas contained in the text. If it does not, then you may need to re-visit the appropriate sections
of the element.

2 Unit IG1: Final Reminders © RRC International

 Unit IG1: Final Reminders

Using the Syllabus Guide

Download a copy of the NEBOSH Guide to the course, which contains the syllabus, from the NEBOSH website.

l tion
Map your level of knowledge and recall against Elements 1-4 in the syllabus guide. Look at the content listed for
each element in the guide. Ask yourself the following question:

‘If there is a question in the exam about that topic, could I answer it?’

You can even score your current level of knowledge for each topic in Unit 1 of the syllabus guide and then use your
scores as an indication of your personal strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you scored yourself 5 out of 5

na u
for a topic in Element 1, then obviously you don’t have much work to do on that subject as you approach the exam.
But if you scored yourself 2 out of 5 for a topic in Element 3 then you have identified an area of weakness. Having

y
identified your strengths and weaknesses in this way, you can use this information to decide on the topic areas that

io ib
you need to concentrate on as you revise for the exam.

te r D nl
You can also annotate or highlight sections of the text that you think are important.

at istr
Another way of using the syllabus guide is as an active revision aid:

•
•
In t o O
Pick a topic at random from any of the Unit 1 elements.
Write down as many facts and ideas that you can recall that are relevant to that particular topic. Go back to your
course material and see what you missed, and fill in the missing areas.
C rin ce
Setting Up for the Exam Day
Unlike the former invigilated Unit 1 exam paper, there is no need to
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complete a mock test for this assessment but to increase your chances
of success and improve your confidence, we strongly advise that you
complete a mock exam and get feedback from your tutor to prepare you for
the real exam.
rn
It is also recommended that you study in the same room and environment
r R fe

where you will carry out the exam, to ensure you are comfortable and set
for the exam.

There are some things you can do to ensure you have the best possible
fo Re

set-up for the day:

• Make sure you can sit comfortably so that you are not distracted
by uncomfortable posture. Ensure good lighting and a comfortable
temperature.
• Know where your study materials are so that you spend less time looking for them at the time of the exam.
Have your study materials within easy reach.
• If you live with anyone, make sure they are aware of when you are taking an exam to avoid unnecessary
interruptions and distractions. Placing a friendly sign on your door may be a useful reminder for them!
• Switch off your phone, television and any other devices that may distract you.
• Have water and snacks handy.
• Ensure you can keep your computer charged up.
• If you can’t take the exam at home, book a quiet room with good lighting, charging point and Internet connection.
t
No

© RRC International Unit IG1: Final Reminders 3

 Unit IG1: Final Reminders

What to Do on the Day

On the day of the exam, you will be able to access the exam from 11.00 am UK time by logging in to the NEBOSH
platform and downloading the file. You will have 24 hours to do the exam, starting from when the exam paper

l tion
becomes available. This does not mean it should take you 24 hours to do the exam, nor does it mean that you
have to be working for all that time; the 24-hour window is designed to allow time for you to read and analyse the
exam questions, access your course materials, plan your answers, complete and submit the assessment, as well as
take necessary breaks and fulfill your other everyday commitments. The paper should take around 4 to 5 hours to
complete so make sure you are aware of the time.

na u
So, how do you best utilise this time?

y
This is when your planning, studying and hard work will pay off. You will have your materials ready so you will be

io ib
set up for a strong start.

te r D nl
You are not expected to write more than the current 3,000 words in total. You are allowed a 10% margin - you will
not gain marks for going beyond this, so your answers should be relevant, concise and focused.

at istr
In t o O
RRC would strongly advise that you do not write more than 3,300 words in case examiners choose not to read
beyond 3,300 words and you therefore miss out on marks.

Use your time wisely: work at your own pace but don’t leave everything until the last minute. Review your materials,
draft up your answers and allow time to make amendments. Take time to read the exam questions carefully. Refer to
C rin ce
your prepared materials and notes with the following in mind:

• Your work should be your own, in other words do not copy content without referencing the source or this counts
as plagiarism (more on plagiarism later).
RR ep ren

• Do not communicate with anyone about the assessment.

• Do not ask or allow anyone to proof-read or help you with your work.
Another common mistake when doing an open-book exam is to refer to as many materials as possible; don’t fall into
rn
this trap, you must be selective! Use only the materials that you need - again, this is why preparing them in advance
is so important!
r R fe

Don’t become over-reliant on materials either, you must apply your own knowledge and argument. You want the
materials to support your answer, not take over!
fo Re

For details on how to download and submit your exam, please read NEBOSH’s Technical Learner Guide on the
NEBOSH website.

Approaching the Exam Questions

The open-book exam will test you on your ability to, “demonstrate analytical, evaluation and creative skills as well
as critical thinking” and how you apply your learning to your answers. In other words, you will need to show what
you can do with your knowledge to solve the problems presented to you – and this may take practice.

The following example scenario and suggested answer illustrate how to approach the question, so make sure you
read this section carefully.

Example Scenario
You are a newly appointed health and safety officer for a district council. The council has a fleet of six refuse
t

collection vehicles with 50 team members in the refuse collection team (called Street Scene). One of the employees,
a driver of one of the vehicles, has reported a minor incident. A reversing vehicle has struck another vehicle in the car
No

park causing very minor damage.

The worker has reported the incident to the Street Scene Manager. The manager’s minimal investigation found that
the operator was to blame because insufficient attention was paid when the vehicle was reversing.

The worker was advised to be more careful in the future or disciplinary action would be taken.

4 Unit IG1: Final Reminders © RRC International

 Unit IG1: Final Reminders

At the next health and safety committee for the Street Scene Team you are discussing incident statistics and incident
investigations that have taken place. Some of the committee members (worker representatives mostly) discredit the
investigation into the reversing vehicle incident.

l tion
Task

How would you convince the other committee members to reopen the investigation? (10)

How to Answer the Question

Familiarise yourself with the study text materials/notes/flashcards/mind maps and your notes on incident

na u
investigation. Your notes will guide you to other information on incident investigation such as HSG245 Investigating
Accidents and Incidents. This may be a PDF document on your desktop, or a downloaded version with highlighted

y
io ib
sections from where you have looked at this document before. Try to visualise the scenario. You can use your web
browser to research any terms that you are unfamiliar with.

te r D nl
Read the information provided in the scenario carefully. Consider that the information provided is all relevant

at istr
and there are key indicators given to direct your answer. A key piece of information is that the investigation was

In t o O
“minimal”. Your research will have indicated that a minimal investigation should be used for unlikely or rare
occurrences with the potential for only minor injury. However, the worst possible event involving a reversing
vehicle (especially one as large as a refuse vehicle) would be a fatality. You are advised that worker representatives
“discredit the investigation” and from a minimal investigation it’s likely that the manager only looked for immediate
causes. This is consistent with the worker being blamed and no other causes being followed up. You are asked how
C rin ce
you would convince the “other” committee members to reopen the investigation. The ‘other’ members are likely to
be management or employer representatives because the worker representatives want the investigation reopened.
From your studies you will know that persuasive justification for managing safety can be covered under moral, legal,
and financial reasons.
RR ep ren

You could now consider an ‘answer plan’.

• Incident investigation:
rn
– Purpose of investigation.
r R fe

– Immediate causes.
– Underlying causes.
– Root causes.
fo Re

• Examples of immediate/underlying and root causes.

• How to take the investigation further - ‘5 whys’.
• Persuasive reasons to reopen the investigation:
– Moral.
– Legal.
– Financial.
• Examples of moral, legal and financial reasons.

Suggested Answer
Remember to relate this to the scenario!

The committee members may have little or no experience on investigating accidents. I would advise them that
t

the immediate cause of an incident would be the unsafe acts or unsafe conditions that led to the reversing vehicle
No

striking the other vehicle. A medium- or high-level investigation should establish why this happened.

The committee could be given examples of unsafe acts and conditions that a medium- or high-level investigation
may have revealed, e.g. damage to the vehicle’s mirrors, faulty reversing camera or lack of a reversing assistant.
Unsafe conditions may include poor levels of lighting or reversing too quickly.

© RRC International Unit IG1: Final Reminders 5

 Unit IG1: Final Reminders

A ‘5 whys’ analysis could be used to further establish that the underlying causes themselves were caused by
management system failings such as inadequate training of the worker. These are known as ‘root causes’ and
without establishing the root causes, the incident may be repeated with another vehicle and another worker - but
this time it may be pedestrians are involved and Street Scene would be investigating a fatality. This is morally and

l tion
legally unacceptable.

I would advise that root causes may be organisational failures, job-related matters or personal factors. We may
even find that we have not complied with legislation due to poor maintenance of the vehicle or lack of management
systems of work. I would also advise committee members that monitoring safe systems of work was a legal duty
that required a more complete incident investigation to take place.

na u
Without a clear identification of the causes of the incident corrective action to prevent a recurrence would not be
taken. I could go further and explain that the purpose of investigation is not to find someone to blame but to prevent

y
io ib
a recurrence. This cannot be achieved without the full commitment of everyone in Street Scene.

te r D nl
This answer has 295 words which is within 10% of the target set of our assumed maximum of 300 words for a
10-mark question - so we can keep within the required word count. As you complete your answer, refer to the

at istr
documents and materials you have assembled to remind yourself of incident investigation, and be careful not to

In t o O
copy anything from the materials you have used without referencing it. Keep an eye on the word count to make sure
you don’t go over the allocated amount of words.

Example of an Insufficient Answer

C rin ce
Investigating accidents and incidents explains why you need to carry out investigations and takes you through 4
steps of the process:

• Gathering information.
RR ep ren

• Analysing the information.

• Identifying risk control measures.
• The action plan and its implementation.
rn
Gathering information is about the where and who of the event. Photographs and interviews are ways to gather
r R fe

information. Analysis of the information is what happened and why it happened. Human error should be considered
at this stage. Then you need to identify control measures to prevent a recurrence. When you have identified control
measures, create an action plan using the SMART planning technique
fo Re

Immediate cause: the most obvious reason why an adverse event happens, e.g. the guard is missing, the employee
slips, etc. There may be several immediate causes identified in any one adverse event. Immediate causes include:

• Inadequate safety devices.

• Poor housekeeping.
• Operator error.
• Wearing unsuitable footwear.
The root causes are also known as management, planning or organisational failings.

There are three types of safety cultures: blame, no blame, and a just culture. It’s clear this organisation has a blame
culture and attempting to apportion blame is counterproductive, people become defensive and unco-operative. Only
after a full investigation, not a minimal investigation, should individuals be blamed.

This answer has not used the scenario supplied and is far too general in its approach to attract many marks. It
t

also lacks substance and detail. The explanation given would not encourage the reopening of the investigations
because it has no moral or legal persuasion to convince the safety committee. Bullet-pointed lists do not provide
No

sufficient evidence of your knowledge. The examiner will only have the words you have used to allocate marks
against. What does ‘poor housekeeping’ mean related to the scenario? The examiner cannot guess what you mean
and award marks against what it’s thought you mean. You must be clear in your explanation, so your knowledge is
demonstrated. This answer also uses acronyms, e.g. ‘SMART’. Using an acronym seldom demonstrates knowledge,
it is a far better response to write the words out fully before using the acronym. It would also be clear that
significant sections of the answer are plagiarised from documents produced by the HSE. If the examiner investigated
some of the phrases used, and found they reproduce someone else’s work, further assessment would take place
and a malpractice investigation would be conducted.

6 Unit IG1: Final Reminders © RRC International

 Unit IG1: Final Reminders

Note: The same scenario would be used to ask questions related to safety culture, reporting requirements, active/
reactive monitoring, etc.

NEBOSH Sample Paper

l tion
Now have a go yourself, you can access the IG1 sample paper at:

https://www.nebosh.org.uk/documents/obe-sample-paper-Ig1/.

Plagiarism and Malpractice

na u
You should follow the instructions and adhere to the guidance on the open-book exam. The answers that you

y
submit must be your own. Any cases of suspected plagiarism will be investigated and any breaches will be dealt

io ib
with in line with NEBOSH’s malpractice policy which you can find on the NEBOSH website.

te r D nl
You must ensure that what you submit is your own work and if you quote or paraphrase anyone else’s work, this

at istr
must be referenced or it would constitute plagiarism.

•
In t o O
The following counts as plagiarism:

Inserting another author’s sentences, paragraphs and ideas without referencing them, whether these are
published or unpublished.
C rin ce
• Paraphrasing another author’s work without referencing them.
• Collaborating with someone else (e.g. another learner) and submitting work that is either identical or very similar
to theirs while claiming it was your own work.
RR ep ren

• Paying someone to complete the work for you and submitting it as your own.
• Impersonation - when you ask someone else to complete the work for you and you pass it off as your own.
Your open-book exam will be marked by a NEBOSH examiner and will be scrutinised for plagiarism.
rn
When taking a non-invigilated open-book exam you will need to declare that your submission is your own work and
that you have not received help from anyone else. You will need to confirm you have read, understood and abided
r R fe

by NEBOSH’s rules, by signing a Declaration.

Please note that NEBOSH reserves the right to submit your assessment to a plagiarism detection software package.
fo Re
t
No

© RRC International Unit IG1: Final Reminders 7

 Unit IG1: Final Reminders

References
NEBOSH Open Book Examinations: Learner Guide - Guidance document for preparing for the open book
examination for NG1, IG1, NGC1 and IGC1 units, NEBOSH, 2020

l tion
https://www.nebosh.org.uk/documents/open-book-examination-learner-guide

NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety - Unit IG1: Management of Health and
Safety, RRC Study Text, 2019

Note-taking techniques, The Open University, 2020

na u
https://help.open.ac.uk/highlighting-and-annotating

y
io ib
International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety - Qualification guide for learners, NEBOSH,

te r D nl
2019

at istr
https://www.nebosh.org.uk/qualifications/international-general-certificate/#resources

In t o O
Open Book Examinations Technical Learner Guide, NEBOSH, 2020

https://www.nebosh.org.uk/documents/open-book-examination-technical-learner-guide

HSG245 Investigating accidents and incidents, HSE, 2004

C rin ce
https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsg245.pdf

OBE Sample Paper IG1, NEBOSH, 2020

RR ep ren

https://www.nebosh.org.uk/qualifications/international-general-certificate/#resources

Policy and Procedures for Suspected Malpractice in Examinations and Assessments, NEBOSH, 2019

https://www.nebosh.org.uk/documents/malpractice-policy-v14-sep19/
rn
r R fe
fo Re

Good luck!
t
No

8 Unit IG1: Final Reminders © RRC International

 Unit IG1

Suggested Answers to Study Questions

l tion
No Peeking!
Once you have worked your way
through the Study Questions in this

na u
book, use the Suggested Answers

y
on the following pages to find out

io ib
what you got right (and where

te r D nl
you went wrong) to improve your

at istr
understanding.

In t o O
C rin ce
RR ep ren

rn
r R fe
fo Re
t
No

© RRC International Unit IG1: Suggested Answers to Study Questions 1

1
Suggested Answers to Study Questions

Element 1: Why We Should Manage Workplace Health and

Safety

l tion
Question 1
(a) Health can be simply defined as the absence of physical and psychological disease.
(b) Safety is the absence of risk of serious personal injury or the state where the risk of harm has been eliminated or
reduced to an acceptable level.

na u
(c) Welfare means access to basic facilities such as toilets, washing stations, drinking water, changing rooms and
places to prepare and/or eat food and drink.

y
io ib
Question 2

te r D nl
The three reasons why an organisation should manage health and safety are moral, financial and legal reasons.

at istr
In t o O
Question 3
Insured costs (any three from the following): damage to plant, buildings and equipment; compensation paid to
workers; medical costs; legal costs arising from a claim for compensation.
C rin ce
Uninsured costs (any three from the following): production delays or downtime; loss of raw materials; accident
investigation time; criminal fines; sick pay for injured workers; overtime to make up for lost production; hiring and
training new employees; loss of customers, clients and contracts as a result of damage to business reputation.
RR ep ren

Question 4
Any three from:

• To provide workplaces and work equipment, and use work methods, which are safe and pose no risk to health.
rn
• To provide appropriate instructions and training.
r R fe

• To provide necessary supervision.

• To put in place health and safety arrangements adapted to suit the size and nature of the undertaking.
fo Re

• To provide any necessary personal protective clothing and equipment free of charge.
• To ensure that the hours of work do not adversely affect employees’ safety and health.
• To remove any activities causing extreme physical and mental fatigue.
• To stay up to date with knowledge in order to comply with the above.

Question 5
Any two from:

• Take reasonable care of their own safety and that of other people who might be affected by the things that they
do and the things that they fail to do.
• Comply with safety instructions and procedures.
• Use all safety equipment properly and not tamper with it.
t

• Report any situation which they believe could be a hazard and which they cannot themselves correct.
No

• Report any work-related accident or ill health.

2 Unit IG1: Suggested Answers to Study Questions © RRC International

 1
Suggested Answers to Study Questions

Question 6
The consequences for an employer of non-compliance with health and safety responsibilities include:

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• Enforcement action or prosecution through the criminal courts by the relevant authorities (enforcement agency).
These criminal actions are normally brought by the state.
• Compensation claims from any injured/ill people, perhaps resulting in action through the civil courts. Civil action
is normally started by the injured person themselves.

Question 7

na u
An employer owes a duty to their own employees, other people (both workers and non-workers) who may be in

y
their workplace, other workers who may be carrying out work on their behalf outside of the workplace, and other

io ib
people who may be outside their workplace but affected by the work.

te r D nl
Question 8

at istr
The criteria to assess the suitability of a contractor may include:

•
•
In t o O
Their health and safety policy.
Example risk assessments and method statements.
C rin ce
• The qualifications and training records of staff.
• Membership of professional organisations.
• Test and maintenance records for plant and equipment.
RR ep ren

• References from other past/current clients.

• Accident history, such as RIDDOR-reportable accident rates.
• Enforcement action history.
rn
• Proof of adequate resources.
r R fe

• Insurance.

Question 9
fo Re

In general terms, when a contractor is working in a client’s workplace, the client would be responsible for the
workplace and environment, and the contractor for the job that they are carrying out. Both parties would be
responsible for the health and safety of their own workers, but they would also be responsible for the health and
safety of other people who might be affected by their work. So, the contractor would be responsible for the safety
of the client’s employees if they were carrying out work that might injure the client’s employees; and the client
might be partly responsible for the safety of members of the public if they might be injured by the work that the
contractors were carrying out. In this way, the duties and responsibilities are shared by both the client and the
contractor.
t
No

© RRC International Unit IG1: Suggested Answers to Study Questions 3

2
Suggested Answers to Study Questions

Element 2: Health and Safety Management Systems and

Policy

l tion
Question 1
The elements of ISO 45001 are:

• Context of the organisation (framework).

• Leadership and worker participation (framework).

na u
• Planning (Plan).

y
io ib
• Support (Do).

te r D nl
• Operation (Do).
• Performance evaluation (Check).

at istr
•
In t o O
Improvement (Act).

Question 2
The role of ‘evaluation’ in the ILO OSH-2001 OHSMS is to ensure that the organisational arrangements, health and
C rin ce
safety standards and operational systems and measures are working effectively and, where they are not, to provide
the information required to revise them.

Question 3
RR ep ren

The health and safety policy of two organisations, both undertaking similar work, might be different because the
policy is a reflection of the particular circumstances of each organisation; so any variations in size, nature and
organisation of operations, etc. will mean that the health and safety policies will also vary. It may also be the case
that senior managers have very different visions for the health and safety performance of their organisations.
rn
r R fe

Question 4
The three key parts of a health and safety policy are the General Statement of Intent (or Statement of General
Policy), the Organisation section (or Organisational Roles and Responsibilities), and the Arrangements section.
fo Re

Question 5
The person at the very top of the organisation, such as the managing director or chief executive officer, should sign
the policy statement, indicating the organisation’s commitment at the highest level.

Question 6
All workers have certain health and safety responsibilities; they must act responsibly and safely at all times, and do
everything they can to prevent injury to themselves and to others (such as fellow workers, visitors and members of
the public) and co-operate with their employer.

Question 7
A safety organisation chart shows the hierarchy of roles and responsibilities for health and safety within the
organisation and the lines of accountability between them. It should show the position of health and safety
t

practitioners and other competent people who advise the organisation. It should also show any committees or staff
No

forums with a health and safety remit.

4 Unit IG1: Suggested Answers to Study Questions © RRC International

 2
Suggested Answers to Study Questions

Question 8
The circumstances that might give rise to reviews, either of general policy or specific aspects of it, include:

l tion
• Changes in the structure of the organisation, and/or changes in key personnel.
• A change in buildings, workplace or worksite.
• When work arrangements change, or new processes are introduced.
• When indicated by a safety audit or a risk assessment.
• Following enforcement action or as the result of the findings from accident investigations.

na u
• Following a change in legislation.

y
io ib
• If consultation with employees or their representatives highlights deficiencies.

te r D nl
• If requested by a third party.

at istr
In t o O
C rin ce
RR ep ren

rn
r R fe
fo Re
t
No

© RRC International Unit IG1: Suggested Answers to Study Questions 5

3
Suggested Answers to Study Questions

Element 3: Managing Risk – Understanding People and

Processes

l tion
Question 1
Your definition should cover the main points given in the element:

• safety culture is the shared attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviours relating to health and safety; or
• safety culture is the way that all the people within an organisation think and feel about health and safety and

na u
how this translates into behaviour.

y
It can be positive or negative.

io ib
te r D nl
Question 2

at istr
A worker’s peers exert influence over their behaviour through peer group pressure. This is the process by which

In t o O
social groups form in the workplace, group behaviour is established (‘norms’), and then social pressure is exerted to
force individuals to comply with the group behaviour. There will usually be one or more group leaders who influence
the group to a very high degree.

Question 3
C rin ce
Benefits Limitations

• Permanent record. • Indirect.

RR ep ren

• Can be referred back to. • Impersonal.

Written communication • Can be written carefully, avoiding • Immediate feedback not available.
jargon.
• Language/literacy issues may exist.
rn
• Widely distributed with ease.
r R fe

• Personal and direct. • Language barriers.

• Immediate feedback. • May not be heard.
Verbal communication
fo Re

• Allows exchange of views. • Information may be missed.

• No written record.

Question 4
Graphic symbols (such as the pictogram showing a person moving through a fire escape door and an arrow to show
the direction of travel found on an emergency escape route sign) are used to communicate simple but essential
health and safety information to people. They are used because they do not require the person to read text and they
therefore avoid literacy or language barriers.
t
No

6 Unit IG1: Suggested Answers to Study Questions © RRC International

 3
Suggested Answers to Study Questions

Question 5
Workers can be involved in the improvement of workplace health and safety by:

l tion
• Encouraging their participation in safety committees and other safety meetings.
• Asking for their suggestions for improvements (perhaps using a suggestions box or similar scheme).
• Involving them in the selection of PPE and other equipment.
• Providing them with hazard-spotting and defect-reporting systems.
• Encouraging their participation in safety tours and inspections, audits, risk assessments, accident investigations

na u
and the development of procedures and safe systems of work.

y
• Involving them in the presentation of safety training, and the supervision/mentoring of new employees,

io ib
particularly young persons.

te r D nl
• Including them in the design or selection of safety posters.

at istr
Question 6
In t o O
The first priority in induction training should be to set out what to do in the event of a fire or other major incidents,
and the general instructions and procedures to be followed for safe movement around the workplace. These are the
priorities. The induction training can then move on to other topics.
C rin ce
Question 7
There are various times when training should be provided, including:
RR ep ren

• When people change their job, where new rules and procedures need to be followed.
• When there are significant changes to work equipment, substances or activities.
• Refresher training.
rn
• After an accident, or near miss.
r R fe

• When the law or standards change.

Question 8
fo Re

The organisational factors, the job factors and the individual factors. Collectively these are the three ‘human factors’
that influence safety-related behaviour.

Question 9
The key job factors that can impact on safety-related behaviour include (any four from):

• The task being done and how well or badly it has been designed.
• Workload such as number of tasks and deadlines.
• The environment in which work takes place and how comfortable or uncomfortable this is.
• The design and functionality of displays and controls that a worker has to use in order to do the job.
• The suitability of any procedures that the worker has been provided with.

Question 10
t
No

Workers might not perceive risk at work because of: the influence of illness; personal inexperience; poor quality
education and training; drugs and alcohol; fatigue; stress; interference from PPE that has to be worn; or interference
form the workplace environment (such as high noise levels).

© RRC International Unit IG1: Suggested Answers to Study Questions 7

3
Suggested Answers to Study Questions

Question 11
The distinction is important because hazards will always exist in the workplace and, usually, it is not possible to
eliminate them. Risk can be controlled and reduced. This is a central principle of health and safety management.

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Question 12
The purpose of risk assessment is to eliminate hazards, or reduce risk to an acceptable level so as to prevent
personal injury and ill health, to achieve legal compliance, and to reduce the costs associated with losses.

Question 13

na u
y
The techniques used for identifying hazards include task analysis, examination of legislative requirements and

io ib
associated guidance, examination of manufacturers’ information and analysis of incident data.

te r D nl
Question 14

at istr
Internal data sources include: accident records; medical records; absence records; risk assessments; maintenance
In t o O
reports; joint inspections with safety representatives; audits, surveys, sampling and tours; safety committee meeting
minutes.

External data sources include: national legislation (e.g. regulations); safety data sheets from manufacturers and
C rin ce
suppliers; enforcing authority publications such as Codes of Practice and Guidance Notes; manufacturers’/suppliers’
maintenance manuals; national/international standards (BS, BS-EN and ISO standards); information from local
safety groups; information from trade associations; information from journals and magazines.

Question 15
RR ep ren

The five categories of health hazard are: physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and psychological.

Question 16
rn
The five steps involved in risk assessment are:
r R fe

1. Identify the hazards.

2. Decide who might be harmed and how.

fo Re

3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions.

4. Record the findings and implement them.

5. Review the assessment and update, if necessary.

Question 17
Apart from office workers, people or groups who might require special consideration during a risk assessment in an
office environment include maintenance staff, cleaners, contractors, visitors, young workers, lone workers, new and
expectant mothers, and disabled staff.

Question 18
The two factors used to estimate risk level are the likelihood of harm occurring and the severity of the likely harm.
t
No

Question 19
Residual risk is the level of risk remaining after the application of safety precautions.

8 Unit IG1: Suggested Answers to Study Questions © RRC International

 3
Suggested Answers to Study Questions

Question 20
The general hierarchy of control is:

l tion
• Elimination.
• Substitution.
• Engineering controls.
• Administrative controls.
• Personal protective equipment.

na u
Question 21

y
io ib
Things that might trigger the review of a risk assessment include: changes in legislation; a significant change in

te r D nl
work practices and processes; installation of new machinery and equipment; new information becoming available on
the hazards/risks; recurring accidents or patterns of ill health; enforcement action; results of monitoring/auditing; or

at istr
employment of a category of personnel (e.g. disabled) not previously taken into account.

In t o O
Question 22
The type of sign represented by each pictogram:
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(a) Mandatory action – must put litter in bins.
(b) Prohibition – not drinking water.
(c) Safe condition – drinking water.
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(d) Warning – radiation hazard.

Question 23
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Personal protective equipment should be used when it has not been possible to eliminate the hazard or reduce risk
to acceptable levels by the use of engineering controls, working methods or administrative controls. PPE is a last
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resort.

Question 24
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Five management controls that should be considered for the control of risks created by temporary works are:

• Risk assessment.
• Communication and co-operation.
• Appointment of competent persons.
• Emergency arrangements.
• Welfare provision.

Question 25
A safe system of work is a formal procedure that results from a systematic examination of the tasks of a work
process, in order to identify all the hazards and define methods of working that eliminate those hazards, or minimise
the risks associated with them.
t
No

Question 26
Involving workers in the development of safe systems of work contributes to strengthening the safety culture
because it enables them to gain a deeper understanding of hazards and risks, and of the way in which safe systems
of work will minimise those risks. It also encourages ownership of key controls by the employees involved in their
development. It is an example of worker engagement which is a fundamental building block of a positive health and
safety culture.

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Question 27
Technical controls are those that are applied directly to the hazard itself in order to minimise the risk. Procedural
controls define the way in which work should be carried out in relation to the hazard. Behavioural controls define

l tion
how the individual operator, or groups of workers, must act in relation to the hazard.

Question 28
Instruction, training and supervision form a part of safe systems because only people who have been given
appropriate training and instruction will understand the SSW and consequently should be allowed to undertake
the work. Supervision is necessary to ensure that staff follow their instructions and training and correctly apply the

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SSW.

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Question 29

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Permits to work are formal documents specifying the work to be done, the hazards, and the precautions to be taken.

at istr
Work can only start when safe procedures have been defined and put into place. The permit provides a clear written
record, signed by a responsible manager or supervisor, that all foreseeable hazards have been considered and all
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the necessary actions have been taken. It should be in the possession of the person in charge of the work before
that work can begin.

Question 30
C rin ce
The four key sections of a typical permit are:

• Issue.
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• Receipt.
• Clearance/return to service.
• Cancellation.
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Question 31
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The main objective of an emergency procedure is to ensure the safety and health of staff and others who might be
affected by the emergency. In some instances, minimising other losses associated with the emergency will also be a
priority. Preventing an escalation of the emergency may also be important.
fo Re

Question 32
Typical emergencies that may require the development of emergency procedures include fire or explosion; bomb
threat; spillage of a hazardous substance; release of a toxic gas; outbreak of disease; severe weather or flooding;
multiple casualty accident; or a terrorist/security incident.

Question 33
The factors that might need to be considered when determining the first-aid facilities for a workplace are:

• The physical size of the organisation.

• Number of employees.
• Distribution of the workforce (e.g. number of buildings on a site, number of floors, etc.).
t

• The type of business and what hazards are inherent in it (an office is different from a foundry).
No

• Remoteness of the site from emergency medical services.

• Provision for non-employees, e.g. shoppers, schoolchildren.
• Needs of specific groups of employees (e.g. trainees, young workers, disabled persons).
• Cover for first aiders during annual leave.
• Shift patterns.
• Peripatetic employees.

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Element 4: Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring

Question 1

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Reactive monitoring is where accidents, near misses and other unwanted events are used to identify trends and
patterns in accident history. Active monitoring is where existing conditions are checked to identify and correct sub-
standard matters before any sort of incident occurs.

Question 2

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Systematic active monitoring involves the planned, regular examination of conditions in the workplace as a matter of
routine.

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Question 3

te r D nl
Lots of types of information can be used for reactive monitoring such as numbers of:

at istr
•
•
•
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Accidents.
Dangerous occurrences.
Near misses.
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• Cases of ill health.
• Complaints from the workforce.
• Formal enforcement actions taken against the organisation.
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• Civil claims for compensation against the organisation.

• Cost of accidents, e.g. damage repairs.

Question 4
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The purpose of workplace inspections is to ensure that the control measures are operating effectively and that they
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are appropriate to current conditions in the workplace.

Question 5
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Safety inspections are routine examinations of workplace conditions carried out by a competent person(s) (e.g. the
weekly inspection of a workshop by the workshop supervisor). Safety tours are high-profile walk-abouts carried out
by a team of people, including senior managers, with the intention of interacting with workers and discussing their
health and safety concerns and issues.

Question 6
Senior management has responsibility for ensuring that effective workplace inspection regimes are in place and
are operated effectively. This will include receiving reports and overseeing/agreeing action. In addition, the visible
involvement of senior managers in safety tours is to be encouraged for the commitment it demonstrates towards
safety and the effect on the promotion of a positive health and safety culture.

Question 7
Checklists help ensure a consistent, systematic and comprehensive approach to checking all the safety elements to
t

be covered during an inspection.

No

Question 8
The main purpose of an accident investigation is to find the cause, with the intention of preventing a recurrence.

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Question 9
Four steps of the investigation process:

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1. Gather factual information about the event.

2. Analyse that information and draw conclusions about the immediate and root causes.

3. Identify suitable control measures.

4. Plan the remedial actions.

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Question 10

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The categories of staff who may be useful in an internal investigation might include the immediate line manager

te r D nl
(of the injured person, or of the area where the accident took place), a member of senior management, a worker
representative, a safety officer/practitioner, an engineer, and technical expert, if relevant.

at istr
In t o O
Question 11
The types of records to be consulted during an accident investigation might include:
C rin ce
• Inspection and maintenance records.

• Risk assessments.

• Safe systems of work, or permits to work.

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• Environmental measurements.

• Medical records.

• General and specific safety reports and analyses that relate to the circumstances.
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• Training and other personnel records.
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• Minutes of safety committee meetings.

Question 12
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The two categories of immediate cause of accidents/incidents are unsafe acts and unsafe conditions.

Question 13
An employee has been hit by a reversing vehicle in a loading bay:

Immediate Causes Root Causes

• Mechanical failure (faulty brakes). • Inadequate maintenance procedures.

• Driver failed to see pedestrian. • Inadequate lighting or driving in poor weather conditions.
• Pedestrian not wearing high-visibility jacket. • No rule about high-visibility jackets, or not enforced.
• Driver’s vision restricted by goods. • Lack of housekeeping arrangements.
t

• Human error on part of driver or pedestrian. • Lack of banksman/signaller.

No

• Lack of training and awareness.

Question 14
The person usually initially responsible for reporting accidents and safety-related incidents is the worker involved
or, if they are not able to, a colleague. In some circumstances it might be the first aider who gave treatment or the
immediate line manager. Company policy will dictate which option is best.

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Question 15
Following a serious injury at work, the following actions should be taken:

l tion
• Make the area safe (in some circumstances, this might need to be done first so there is no risk to those giving
assistance).
• Ensure casualty is treated with first aid, and then further medical treatment if necessary.
• Isolate the scene so evidence is not disturbed.
• Inform the victim’s next of kin.

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• Notify enforcing authority, if relevant.

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• Arrange any necessary counselling or support.

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te r D nl
• Set up investigation team:
– Collect evidence, including photographs, measurements, etc.

at istr
– Take statements from witnesses.
–
–
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Determine immediate and root causes.
Report findings, making recommendations to prevent recurrence.
• Inform safety representatives, and issue internal information.
C rin ce
• Advise insurers.
• Implement recommendations, revise work procedures and risk assessments.
RR ep ren

• Monitor situation and review as necessary.

Question 16
Health and safety auditing is the structured process of collecting independent information on the efficiency,
rn
effectiveness and reliability of the total health and safety management system and drawing up plans for any
corrective action necessary. Or, alternatively, the systematic, objective, critical evaluation of an organisation's health
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and safety management system.

fo Re
t
No

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Question 17
Differences Between Audits and Workplace Inspections

l tion
Audit Workplace Inspection

• Has the aim of assessing the health and safety • Has the aim of assessing the use and effectiveness
management system of an organisation. of control measures.
• A long process involving the examination of the • A relatively short process looking at practices in
entire management system. part of the workplace.

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• Based primarily on review of documentary • Primarily based on observations, perhaps involving

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evidence, backed up by some observations and very limited scrutiny of paperwork and interview of

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interviews of personnel at all levels. operators.

te r D nl
• Long, comprehensive report that records areas • Short report identifying key corrective actions
of concern and weaknesses in the management required.

at istr
system.
•

•
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Detailed planning required; requires considerable
resources.
Typically done annually.
•

•
Only limited planning, and main resource required
is the inspectors’ time.
Usually done on a daily, weekly, monthly, or
quarterly frequency.
C rin ce
• Aims to improve systems at a high level, with the • Focuses on activities and equipment at operational
ultimate effect of improvements cascading down level, though remedial actions may address system
to operating level. Is a strategic tool, addressing faults.
long-term progress.
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Question 18
True, performance review is concerned with ensuring that incident investigations are properly concluded – but it
is concerned with more than just this one aspect of reactive monitoring. It encompasses the review of all forms of
rn
health and safety performance and, where there are deficiencies, taking corrective action.
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Question 19
The purpose of reviewing health and safety performance is to ensure that the organisational arrangements, health
fo Re

and safety standards and operational systems and measures are working effectively and, where they are not, to
identify the corrective actions needed.

Question 20
Senior management should review the operation of the occupational health and safety management system to
ensure that it is being fully implemented and that it remains suitable for achieving the organisation’s policy and
objectives.

Reviews should be instigated by senior managers but also involve managers, supervisors and occupational health
and safety specialists. It may also be appropriate to involve safety representatives or representatives of employee
workplace safety in the review process, particularly if the health and safety committee is the forum where part of the
review takes place.

Question 21
t

The frequency at which reviews should take place will depend on various factors such as the level of risk inherent
No

in the workplace and the rate of change taking place there. Typical review frequencies for a medium risk, slowly
changing workplace might be:

• Monthly at a local level – involving local management and supervisors.

• Three-monthly at a divisional/departmental level – involving middle management levels.
• Annually across sites or the organisation as a whole – at board level.

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Question 22
Typical outputs from the management review that need to be documented and maintained as a record of the review
process and as evidence of its effectiveness include:

l tion
• Minutes of the review.
• Documented revisions to the health and safety policy and health and safety objectives.
• Specific corrective actions for individual managers with target dates for completion.
• Specific improvement actions with assigned responsibilities and target dates for completion.

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• Date for review of corrective action.

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• Areas of emphasis to be reflected in the planning of future management system audits.

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te r D nl
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In t o O
C rin ce
RR ep ren

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t
No

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