NEWS
HEALTH AND SAFETY IS
NOT AN ACHILLES HEEL
If you believe the media coverage, most people in Britain see health and safety
as synonymous with petty regulations that do little other than interfere with
their daily lives. ‘Nanny state’ the newspapers cry as school children are banned
from playing conkers and warnings are added to items as simple as pin badges.
T
he reality of the situation is that health and safety
plays a vital role in industry. To explain this and
better understand the rules we have in place today, it
is necessary to consider the past and the evolution of the
legislation.
THE BIRTH OF HEALTH AND SAFETY
Britain’s first health and safety legislation came in the
form of the 1833 Factory Act. This was designed to prevent
the exploitation and injury of children in the work place.
As working environments and conditions changed, the
Act evolved until 1974 when it was replaced by the Health
and Safety at Work Act which remains the primary piece
of legislation covering occupational health and safety in
Britain.
By placing the focus on the duty of care on employers
but also encouraging staff involvement, the Act created a
modern, collaborative system.
FINDING THE MIDDLE GROUND
Many companies look at health and safety as something
that needs to be balanced alongside productivity. The
implementation of safety measures and staff training can
often be regarded as a bottleneck consuming time, labour
and budget.
However, data from the Automation’s Safety Maturity
Index suggests the notion that health and safety limits
productivity is false. This line of thought is echoed by
Richard Evens, Commercial Director of the British Safety
Council:
“Companies need to be doing more than simply ticking
boxes when it comes to health and safety. Investment in
equipment and technology, as well as a company culture
that cares for the welfare of employees, is essential for
companies to benefit from the cycle of better safety leading
to better productivity.”
6
HSE INTERNATIONAL
Findings suggest that companies ranking in the top
20 percent of aggregate performance, recorded just 2%
unscheduled downtime. They also had an injury frequency
rate 18 times lower than the average company, suggesting
health and safety can be followed without having a
negative impact on productivity.
POSITIVE APPROACH – POSITIVE RESULTS
An excellent example of positivity towards health and
safety legislation is the gas company Transco. A study
carried out by the HSE discovered the huge effect a
complete overhaul of company culture towards health and
safety had.
The report noted a reduction in time lost due to injuries
by 80%. This saw savings around £4.5 million directly
from this reduced injury rate. In addition, it observed a
boost in staff morale alongside a marked improvement in
stakeholder relationships.
In marked contrast, turning away from health and safety
often results in declining performance. A tragic example of
this came in the high profile case of the NHS run Stafford
Hospital trust. In 2015, the Trust made the news when it
pleaded guilty to breaches that had resulted in the deaths
of four patients. This example is extreme but it clearly
demonstrates not just how important the implementation
of health and safety is in business, but the devastating cost
of neglecting it.
DON’T MISS OUT
As we have discovered, health and safety is far from a
restriction or a limitation to business if it is embraced and
coupled with investment in proper training.
With a better understanding of the intentions behind
health and safety it can offer huge positive returns across
all areas of a company in terms of profit and efficiency, as
well as employee health.