Unit A July 06

Front 1

An organisation is proposing to move from a health and safety management system based on the Health and Safety Executive’s HSG65 model to one that aligns itself with OHSAS 18001. Outline the possible benefits and disadvantages of such a move.

Back 1

publicity value; improved customer perception; international recognition; a clearer standard for benchmarking, and commitment to continual improvement. Marks were also available for recognising that external registration and independent external assessment would be available and that a more prescriptive system is easier to assess.
Examples of possible disadvantages could have included the fact that HSG65, unlike OHSAS 18001, is the system recognised and used by the enforcement authorities in the UK and they are likely to audit an organisation against this system, as much of the published guidance in the UK refers directly to HSG65 and not OHSAS 18001. Other marks were available for the direct on-costs of changing a system; how time consuming the model can be; the cost of external registration; the likelihood of increased paperwork to satisfy assessors and that the model may be too sophisticated for small to medium sized enterprises. In addition since the 18001 system is often used alongside the other ISO standards of 9001 and 14001 there is a possibility that those auditing it may not be health and safety specialists.

Front 2

Witness interviews often form an important part of the information-gathering element of an accident investigation. Outline those elements of good-practice interview technique that would help to obtain the best quality of information from witnesses to an accident event.

Back 2

putting the witness at ease; explaining the purpose of the interview and the need to record it; use of appropriate questioning technique to establish key facts and summarising and checking agreement at the end of the interview.

Front 3

Explain the principles and methodology of a Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Study.

Back 3

purpose of a HAZOP is to identify deviations from intended normal operation.explain the need for a team approach with specialists from relevant disciplines and a team leader but omitted the need to define the scope of the study; breaking the process into elements and to use the study at design stage or on modification. deviations are prompted by the use of guide words.

Front 4

A maintenance worker was asphyxiated while working within an emptied fuel storage tank.
A subsequent investigation found that the employee had been operating without a permit-to-work, despite it being an organisational requirement for this type of task.
(a) Explain why a permit-to-work system would be considered necessary in these circumstances.

Back 4

risk assessment would identify the need for a permit-to-work; the task is high risk; precautions may be complex; control and communications systems may be required, hazards may be introduced during the task and the task is non-routine work

Front 5

(b) Explain the possible reasons why the permit-to-work procedure was not followed on this occasion.

Back 5

lack of information, instruction and training and lack of effective communication were identified by many candidates as possible reasons why the procedure was not followed. Many candidates also identified a poor health and safety culture, routine violations and pressure to complete the task as possible reasons. Marks were also available for: permit not specific for task undertaken; permit system too bureaucratic or over-used; absence of competent person to authorise permit; potential hazards not fully identified or understood; controls to be followed not clear or specific; and difficulty of organising controls before starting work.

Front 6

(a) Explain the reasons for establishing effective consultation arrangements with employees concerning health and safety matters in the workplace.

Back 6

Statutory requirement for consult via safety rep HSWA section 2(4) & 2(7); develop ownership for safety measures amongst employees; improve perception about the value &importance of H&S; gain input of employee knowledge to ensure more workable improvements and solutions; encourage submission of improvement ideas by employees

Front 7

(b) Outline the range of formal and informal consultation arrangements that may contribute to effective consultation on health and safety matters in the workplace.

Back 7

establishment of safety committees; consultation with union appointed safety representatives; consultation with elected representatives of employee safety; planned direct consultation at departmental meetings, team briefings or similar; consultation as part of accident/incident investigation or as part of risk assessment; day to day informal consultation by supervisors with employees at the workplace; tool box talks; use of departmental/team meetings for ad-hoc consultation on safety issues; discussion as part of safety circles or improvement groups; and use of staff appraisals, questionnaires and suggestion schemes.

Front 8

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 presents a number of opportunities for individuals to be prosecuted for breaches of duties under the Act. Assuming that the individuals are employed within a large public limited company (plc), outline the circumstances under which they may be prosecuted for such breaches.

Back 8

sections 7, 8, 36 and 37 offences gained high marks. Several of the better answers made reference to Armour v Skeen [1977] to explain the use of Section 37. Credit was also given for other relevant offences under Section 33 of HSW Act such as obstructing an inspector.
Sections 36 and 37 were commonly misunderstood. Section 36 is used when the commission of an offence by any person is due to the act or default of some other person. That ‘other person’ may be charged and convicted, whether or not proceedings are taken against the first mentioned person. Like Section 37, this section enables an individual at fault to be prosecuted for the offence of the employer and is particularly relevant for managers and supervisors who may cause other persons to commit offences through their instructions. Directors and senior managers can be prosecuted as individuals having committed an offence and also have special liabilities through Section 37 of the HSW Act. The actual effect of Section 37 is that it enables an individual to be prosecuted for the offence of the employer thereby attracting the greater penalty attached to the employer offence

Front 9

A poor organisational safety culture is said to correlate with higher levels of violation by employees.
(a) Explain the meaning of the term ‘safety culture’ and briefly outline the organisational characteristics of a positive safety culture.

Back 9

communications founded on mutual trust; committed resources for safety purposes; management visibility; strong participation by all employees; a shared perception of the importance of safety; not compromising safety for production; high quality training; recognition of good safety practice; focus on learning rather than blame; and clear evidence of senior management commitment.

Front 10

(b) Explain the meaning of ‘violation’ and the classification of violation as ‘routine’, ‘situational’ or ‘exceptional’.

Back 10

a ‘violation’ is a deliberate deviation from a rule, procedure, instruction or regulation gained marks although many failed to address this aspect of the question and only explained the classifications. A routine violation involved continually breaking a rule or procedure to the extent that it becomes the normal way of working. This can be due to the belief that the rule no longer applies or because there is a desire to cut corners to save time. In the case of a situational violation, rules are broken due to pressures from the job, such as insufficient staff for the workload or the right equipment not being available. Exceptional violations are rare and only happen when something has gone wrong. To solve the problem a rule is broken and a risk is taken in the belief that the benefits outweigh the risks.

Front 11

(c) Outline the reasons why a poor safety culture might lead to higher levels of violation.

Back 11

a lack of a shared perception about the importance of safety could lead an individual employee to violate a rule or procedure because they are driven by their perception of what is really important or, they may be influenced by peer pressure. A belief or perception that rules are not important, or that production is more important, could also lead to higher levels of violation.

Front 12

Outline the desirable design features of controls and displays on a control panel for a complex industrial process aimed at reducing the likelihood of human error.

Back 12

Design features of controls - keep number to a minimum; ensure sufficient number to control the state of operation; change of system state should only occur after operating a control; should require a positive action of the control with immediate feedback to the user; system restart should only occur after operating a control after a deliberate or non-intentional stop; stop function =easy to activate & override start and adjust controls; all controls = visible, positioned and ordered logically so as to follow the process & be within easy reach of the operator; labelling, shape or colour can be put to effective use to ensure controls are easily identified. The type of control should be appropriate to the degree of control required, for example a lever may be more appropriate than a knob. Recognised conventions should be followed such as up for off, green for on and clockwise to increase. Controls positioned next to their respective displays are also desirable.
Design features for displays = clearly visible and labelled & show steady state; clearly indicate change, match expectations & attract the appropriate sense such as flashing to draw visual attention; appropriate type of display for the reading, ie analogue or digital; all dials should be in similar position for “normal” operation. Markings on dials and the application of different colours can be used to indicate abnormal situations. Additional design features include shielding bulbs from strong ambient light; shielding glass dials from glare and placing displays against a panel of neutral colour. Displays kept to a minimum; safety critical displays =separated from other displays.

Front 13

A child has fallen from scaffolding on a construction site after gaining access to the site under the perimeter fencing. Outline the actions that might be available to the child’s parents in seeking compensation for the injuries sustained and, with reference to the incident, explain the tests that would have to be satisfied for the actions to succeed.

Back 13

Tort of negligence = construction company? owed child a duty of care? Breached duty? Foreseeability = risk of trespassers on site; prevent children gaining entry = reinforced fencing, closing off access to the scaffolding and providing site security.
demonstrate breach of duty led to the injury = British Railways Board v Herrington [1971] which set the precedence of the duty of common humanity to trespassers; the Wagon Mound case for foreseeability of harm and Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] which established the neighbour principle relevant in this context as building equipment and sites allure children.
civil claim for tort of breach of statutory duty it = duty is imposed by the statute on the defendant; the claimant is one of the classes of persons to whom the statutory duty is designed to protect; the injury sustained was the kind the statute was designed to prevent; the defendant was in breach of duty, the breach led to injury and the action is not statute barred.
Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 = Regulation 10 requiries a health and safety plan (that takes into account risks to persons other than employees who may be affected by construction work); and Regulation 16 that requires the principal contractor to take reasonable steps to ensure that only authorised persons are allowed on site. In addition the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 require the perimeter of a construction site to be identified by suitable signs.
Occupiers Liability Act 1984extends the duty of care to trespassers where the occupier knows there is a risk of danger on his/her premises; knows trespassers may be on premises or in the vicinity of danger; and the risk is one of which the occupier should reasonably be expected to provide protection against.

Front 14

(a) Explain the purposes and benefits of collecting ‘near miss’ incident data.

Back 14

near misses represent failures in the safety management system that could be investigated to improve the system or recognised the importance of near miss data in identifying underlying causes of accidents. Marks were available for explaining that near miss data can: help to identify inadequate procedures and breaches of law; provide sufficient data for analysis; help to identify trends; increase safety awareness and improve safety culture.

Front 15

(b) Outline the factors to consider when developing and implementing a system for reporting ‘near miss’ incidents.

Back 15

providing a clear definition of ‘near miss’; consultation with employees; information and training for employees; building a fair blame culture; ease of reporting; establishing clear reporting lines; the need for line management investigations; and identifying and implementing remedial action. Reporting back to persons and groups involved in a timely and positive way is also an important consideration in addition to the need to collate reports on incidents, analyse data and monitor the system.

Front 16

(c) Outline the limitations of using accident/incident data as a means of measuring health and safety performance.

Back 16

incident data is a measure of failure not success and therefore focuses on the negative rather than the positive aspects of health and safety performance. Historic measures of performance cannot predict future performance and the incident data measures effectiveness of previous safety measures not new measures in the short term. Data is also subject to random fluctuations or the number of accidents in a workplace is often too small to be used as reliable performance indicators. The absence of accidents does not necessarily indicate that procedures are safe and data based on injury severity not potential seriousness of an accident must be treated with caution. In addition, incident data cannot be used to identify high consequence, low probability risk and it does not reflect chronic health issues.

Front 17

(a) Summarise the essential elements of a legally enforceable contract.

Back 17

requires an offer by one party and an acceptance by the other; intention to create legal relations; it may be oral or written (except for some contracts such as the sale of land); legal consequence (eg money or undertaking particular work or actions); both parties involved must have the legal capacity (eg adult (for trading contract); mentally incapacitated at time, etc) with genuine consent given to the terms of the contract (eg no misrepresentation of the terms); must not be contrary to public policy (eg a contract to commit a crime).

Front 18

(b) Describe, with examples, the general types of health and safety-related issue that may be relevant for inclusion in a contract between a client and a contractor undertaking work on the client’s site.

Back 18

compliance with relevant legal requirements, a requirement on the contractor to comply with the client’s site safety rules and to attend site induction training. Both the client and the contractor should nominate contacts and be required to define safety responsibilities, develop and consult on safety plans, risk assessments, method statements, etc. Generally candidates did not mention the entitlement of the client to monitor the contractor activities, to stop unsafe work at the contractor’s expense or to exclude any person acting unsafely. The contract should also establish client and contractor responsibilities, eg for welfare facilities and emergency procedures. The responsibility of the contractor to provide safe plant and equipment, properly tested in accordance with statutory requirements, should also be included. Marks were also available for explaining the requirement to provide competent personnel and the need for insurance such as Employer’s Liability and Public Liability. Reference to the client prohibiting sub-contracting without authority would also have gained marks.

Front 19

(c) Explain, with reference to relevant case law, the circumstances in which an employer may be held vicariously liable for the negligent act of a contractor.

Back 19

Mersey Docks and Harbour Board v Coggins and Griffith (Liverpool) Ltd [1946].An employer may be held vicariously liable for the negligent act of a contractor if the employer authorises the negligent act or the contractor is carrying out an act over which the employer has some control. When deciding on the issue of control consideration must be given to who is giving instruction and the level of skill and supervision. In the case of Mersey Docks and Harbour Board v Coggins and Griffiths (Liverpool) Ltd [1947] the employers of a crane driver remained vicariously liable for his negligence because the hirer did not have direct control over the way he operated the crane.