Jacksons ensure businesses exceed their statutory requirements when it comes to keeping their employees safe .
and assist them in achieving the ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Standard . ISO 45001 is the world ’ s international standard for occupational health and safety , while not a legal requirement , it can be an indication of best practice and a good safety culture in an organisation .
Mark says : “ It ’ s not just the big organisations who need advice on Health and Safety issues .
“ We work with big national companies and really small companies with two or three employees from a wide range of sectors including construction , education , energy and waste management , healthcare , local government , manufacturing and transport .”
Implementing the ISO 45001 standard has a number of benefits , beyond simply reducing accidents and incidents .
“ By having a system in place that identifies the risks in a business and puts effective controls in place , you ’ re going to reduce your accidents and incidents straight away ,” Mark says .
“ Something that is also quite key at the moment is , it reduces staff absences .
“ There are no accidents and stress is reduced because of the work environment , so
that improves staff presence at work .
“ In the recruitment market at the moment , it ’ s really difficult to employ and retain staff , so making sure that your current staff are healthy and able to attend work is really important .”
Businesses who implement the standard can also benefit from reduced insurance costs .
“ One client I dealt with had experienced a number of accidents over two or three years and when they came to renew their insurance , the company weren ’ t going to insure them ,” Mark says .
“ I went in and worked with the company and we got a commitment to put this standard in place and on the basis of that , the insurance company agreed to reinsure them – so that was a good outcome .
“ Obviously , if you ’ re reducing your accidents , insurance premiums will also come down .”
Mark is also a firm believer that having the standard in place improves the culture of an organisation , which in turn improves staff morale and engagement with health and safety practices .
Putting the standard in place also creates and understanding of the rules and regulations businesses have to comply with , which means they are less likely to fall foul of them and be prosecuted .
It can also enhance your reputation in the eyes of others .
“ When you put the standard in place in your organisation , you can stand out in the market , which is especially important in procurement ,” Mark says .
“ A lot of procurement exercises ask whether you have any recognised standards around quality or health and safety .
“ If you ’ ve got this standard , it puts you ahead of the pack when you ’ re bidding for work with prospects .”
Mark explains that the key principles to the standard are plan , do , check and act .
In the planning phase , an employer looks at its occupational health and safety risks and what opportunities exist to reduce them .
Once you ’ ve done that , you put objectives and processes in place to control those risks .
Checking involves monitoring and measuring your activities around risk reduction and ensuring that they are working , while the ‘ act ’ element involves continuous improvement .
Mark adds the ‘ plan , do , check , act ’ cycle is also recommended by the HSE in the UK . “ It ’ s widely recognised as an effective approach to managing health and safety ,” Mark says .
Given that 7,600 people die every single day around the world because of work-related accidents or work diseases it seems it is an important approach to take .
Even Mark , with his 25 years ’ experience in health , safety and environmental issues , admits he was “ quite staggered ” by this huge figure , published in a report by the international labour organisation .
Thankfully , implementing the ISO 45001 standard is a good starting point for firms to ensure they don ’ t become one of these horrific statistics .
For more information , visit jacksons-hs . com .
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