Workplace transport safety An employers' guide - ARRI Lighting Rental

Organising for safety
Health and Safety
Executive
126 Establishing responsibilities and relationships is a very important part of
securing safe working practices and promoting a culture of safety.
127 To secure and maintain a safe workplace, everyone from senior managers to
individual employees needs to be aware of their individual responsibilities for safety,
and act accordingly.
Control, co-operation and consultation
128 The main aspects to controlling safety in the workplace are as follows:
Take overall responsibility
129 Employers need to take responsibility for safety and show their commitment by
example and in everyday decisions. For example:
n by holding regular (weekly or monthly) meetings with employees and safety
representatives (if you have these), to discuss current work activities and
associated safety issues. Meetings are usually more effective if they have a
chairperson, a clear agenda, and when actions and deadlines are recorded in
minutes;
n by making regular and noticeable tours of the workplace, including inspections
of vehicles, roadways and behaviour, to check that there are no obvious
hazards in the workplace and that safe working practices are being followed.
You should report on both good and bad features of managing risks in the
workplace; and
n by making sure that formal or informal work-related discussions with employees
always include safety issues.
130 A clear and simple procedure for reporting faults, hazards and incidents (often
known as a ‘near-miss reporting scheme’) can help prevent serious accidents.
131 An accident reporting system is essential for you to meet your legal duties to
report some accidents. It is also valuable for monitoring how effective measures to
prevent accidents are, and making sure that all accidents are reported to managers.
However, it is important that managers do not use the accident reporting system to
blame people as this may discourage employees from using it.
Allocate specific responsibilities
132 Responsibilities for health and safety management need to be clearly
allocated. It is vital that all employees, contractors, subcontractors, visiting drivers,
maintenance staff and other workers clearly understand their responsibilities for
maintaining a safe workplace and safe working practices.
133 There are various ways of achieving this, for example by:
n including safety responsibilities in employees’ job descriptions, and in contracts
with contractors and companies whose employees drive on site;
n including safety issues and responsibilities in the information, instruction and
training given to people who are new to the workplace;
n raising safety issues and responsibilities while supervising employees and being
in daily contact with them; and
n displaying safety notices or bulletins, risk assessment findings and the results of
safety inspections, where people can clearly see them.
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