Unit A Jan 08

Front 1

(a) Regulation 5 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 places legal duties on employers in respect of health and safety management arrangements. Outline the duties concerned.

Back 1

Management Regs 5 = employers to make appropriate arrangements base on the size of the organisation for effective planning, organising, control, monitoring, and review of preventative and protective measure. Employers with five or more employees must have their arrangement in writing.

Front 2

(b) Explain how compliance with the corporate risk management principles set down in the ‘Turnbull Report’ on ‘Internal Control’ could support good health and safety management in an organisation.

Back 2

Turnbull Report describes an approach to risk management that includes all business risks. Compliance with the principles in the report requires the preparation of clear policies which highlight management’s commitment; risk evaluation through a process of risk assessment; management processes that control risk to an acceptable level; effective monitoring arrangements; clear communication and reporting arrangements; a process of internal audit and annual review of risk controls at Board level and a statement to shareholders on outcomes.

Front 3

Explain the ‘domino’ and ‘multi-causality’ theories of accident causation, including their respective uses and possible limitations in accident investigation and prevention.

Back 3

The domino model can assist in the structuring of accident investigations. Heinrich - Ancestry / social environment; Fault of person; Unsafe act/Unsafe Condition; Accident; Injury. Bird & Loftus developed Heinrich model to include management influence & search for underlying causations – Lack of management control; Indirect causes; Immediate causes; Event; Injury/Damage. Benefits -Structured accident investigation; Bird & Loftus version encourages the search for underlying causes. Limitations - Simplistic straight chain thinking; Heinrich model restricts the findings of underlying causes. Multiple causation - May be more use than one underlying cause; Not only if happens in sequence; Thorough accident investigation requires all cause to be identified; Look at all factors including culture, management; Failings usually interact with each other causing incident, can be major. Benefits - Thorough accident investigation; Identification of all underlying causes including effects of managers and management systems; Encourages the use of a more systematic accident analysis such as fault tree analysis . Limitations - complex process, requires more time & resources to identify the full causation; practical difficulties in reaching a decision on the extent of an investigation

Front 4

(a) A mixing vessel that contains solvent and product ingredients must be thoroughly cleaned every two days for process reasons. Cleaning requires an operator to enter the vessel, for which a permit-to-work is required. During a recent audit of permit records it has been discovered that many permits have not been completed correctly or have not been signed back.
Outline possible reasons why the permit system is not being properly adhered to.

Back 4

Lack of competence - permit issuer/receiver; level of training and information – permit issuer/receiver; poor H&S culture – lack of management commitment; routine violations - cutting corners to save time and/or energy; pressure to complete the task and the complexity and impracticability of the system which makes it difficult to understand; inadequate level of supervision; lack of routine monitoring; non-availability of the permit issuer - to “sign back”/cancel the permit.

Front 5

(b) A sister company operating the same process has demonstrated that the vessel can be cleaned by installing fixed, high pressure spray equipment inside the vessel which would eliminate the need for vessel entry. You are keen to adopt this system for safety reasons but the Board has requested a cost-benefit analysis of the proposal.
Outline the principles of cost-benefit analysis in such circumstances. (Detailed discussion of individual cost elements is not required).

Back 5

Identify overall value of proposal to xxx; Compare the cost of implementing the proposal; Cost and benefits both converted into monetary values; Cost of benefit in terms of prevention of death, injury and ill health; Cost adjusted for different time scales of implementation and benefits that may occur; Compare the proposal to current system in use; Finally the calculated monetary values are compared and a decision is reached.

Front 6

Outline a range of external individuals and bodies to whom, for legal or good practice reasons, an organisation may need to provide health and safety information AND in EACH case, state the broad type of information to be provided.

Back 6

enforcing authorities; emergency services; customers; members of the public; visiting contractors; transport companies; solicitors or courts; trade associations and trade unions; shareholders;
required by RIDDOR or as part of inspection or investigation activities
inventories of potentially hazardous/flammable materials used the on the or stored on the site; means of access and egress
health and safety information on articles and substances they might use for work activities; information on emergency action plans for major hazards advised on safe working arrangements and procedures; waste disposal contractors who should be given information on controlled or hazardous waste produced by the organisation
information on the precautions to be taken in transporting hazardous substances from the organisation’s site
information regarding civil claims and other employers who by virtue of MHSWR must be advised of risks to their health and safety arising from the activities of the organisation
on performance and social responsibilities (good practise)
organisation’s level of performance as far as health and safety was concerned

Front 7

Describe, with practical examples, the statutory duties set down in Section 4 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Your answer should contain a description of the duty holders, the duties concerned and those whom the Section is designed to protect.

Back 7

The section imposes duties on persons in control of non-domestic premises which are made available to others, who are not their employees, as a place of work or as a place where plant or substances are provided for their use.
The duties include ensuring that the premises, the means of access and egress to them and the plant and substances provided for use are safe and without risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable The measures that it will be reasonable to expect the duty holder to take will depend both on the degree of control which they have and on reasonable foreseeability.

Front 8

An advertising campaign was used to promote improvement in safety standards within a particular organisation. During the period of the campaign the rate of reported accidents significantly increased, and the campaign was considered to be a failure. (a) Suggest, with reasons, why the rate of reported accidents may have been a poor measure of the campaign’s effectiveness.

Back 8

Accidents may have previously been under-reported; raised awareness may have led to previously unreported accidents now being reported, but that, in the absence of other data, it is almost impossible to tell whether or not the increase is ‘real’

Front 9

An advertising campaign was used to promote improvement in safety standards within a particular organisation. During the period of the campaign the rate of reported accidents significantly increased, and the campaign was considered to be a failure. (b) Outline FOUR proactive (active) monitoring techniques which might be used to assess the organisation’s health and safety performance.

Back 9

Safety inspections - involving physical inspections of the workplace to identify hazards and unsafe conditions; Safety audits - involving the systematic critical examination of all aspects of an organisation’s health and safety performance against stated objectives is carried out; Safety tours -involving unscheduled inspections to observe the workplace in operation without prior warning; Safety sampling- involving a partial amount of a potential group/area is examined to establish facts that can indicate the standard of compliance of the whole;

Front 10

(a) Outline the principles, application and limitations of Event Tree Analysis as a risk assessment technique.

Back 10

Event Tree Analysis is based upon binary logic and is often used to estimate the likelihood of success or failure of safety systems. It starts with the initiating event and ends with the probability of a situation being controlled or not. It is limited by the lack of knowledge of component reliability and other data and since it considers only two possibilities – success or failure – it does not take into account partial downgrade (ie limited success).

Front 11

(b) A mainframe computer suite has a protective system to mitigate the effects of fire. The system comprises a smoke detector connected by a power supply to a mechanism for releasing extinguishing gas. It has been estimated that a fire will occur once every five years (f=0.2/year). Reliability data for the system components are as follows: (refer to data). (i) Construct an event tree for the above scenario to calculate the frequency of an uncontrolled fire in the computer suite.

Back 11

diagram construction required

Front 12

(b) A mainframe computer suite has a protective system to mitigate the effects of fire. The system comprises a smoke detector connected by a power supply to a mechanism for releasing extinguishing gas. It has been estimated that a fire will occur once every five years (f=0.2/year). Reliability data for the system components are as follows: (refer to data). (ii) Suggest ways in which the reliability of the system could be improved.

Back 12

choosing more reliable components or using components in parallel. . Credit was given for recognising that the detector was the least reliable component and so would be a logical first choice for such techniques. Installing a second independent but parallel system was also a way of improving the reliability of the system.

Front 13

An employee suffered a fractured skull when he fell three metres from storage racking as he was loading cartons onto a pallet held on the forks of a lift truck. A subsequent investigation found that the managers of the company were aware that it was common practice for employees to be lifted up on the forks of the vehicle and for them to climb up the outside of the racking.
(a) Outline the legal actions that might be available to the injured person in a claim for compensation, and the tests that would have to be made for the actions to succeed.

Back 13

Action for negligence. Duty of care was owed to them; the duty was breached; injuries occurred as a result of the breach. The employer had not done everything that could reasonably be expected to prevent a foreseeable accident in that a safe system of work had not been provided. Wilsons & Clyde Coal v English [1938]. Breach of statutory duty. prove that he was within the class of persons the statute was designed to protect (he was an employee acting in the course of his employment); that his injury was of the type that the requirements of the statute were intended to prevent; that a duty was placed on the defendant which he had failed to meet and that the injury sustained was a direct result of this failure. He would have to counter any argument that the legislation involved did not allow for civil action to be taken: e.g. the Work at Height Regulations 2005, The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.

Front 14

An employee suffered a fractured skull when he fell three metres from storage racking as he was loading cartons onto a pallet held on the forks of a lift truck. A subsequent investigation found that the managers of the company were aware that it was common practice for employees to be lifted up on the forks of the vehicle and for them to climb up the outside of the racking. (b) Explain the meaning of ‘general’ and ‘special’ damages that may be awarded in the event of a successful claim AND give examples of the factors that are considered in calculating their value.

Back 14

General damages are based on estimated financial costs, such as loss of future earnings and ongoing medical costs, as well as sums awarded for pain and suffering and the reduction in the claimant’s quality of life and amenity. The amount awarded for this last item will depend on such factors as age, lack of mobility, degree of disfigurement, inability to pursue sports, hobbies and other interests, and diminished eligibility for marriage and other social relationships. Special damages may be awarded where the exact sum is calculable such as itemised legal expenses, the loss of earnings prior to trial and the costs that have accrued in making alterations to property as a direct result of a disability resulting from a workplace accident.

Front 15

(a) A fatal accident at work has occurred. Identify the authorities that might be involved in investigating the accident or in initiating and/or conducting criminal prosecutions AND outline the involvement of each authority in these circumstances.

Back 15

England and Wales = accident investigated by HSE or Local Authority who would subsequently decide whether to prosecute for breaches of the HSW Act or Regulations; conduct summary proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court or brief a barrister if the case was to be heard on indictment in the Crown Court. Police might also investigate the circumstances of the accident with respect to manslaughter or suspicious death and refer their findings to the Crown Prosecution Service to make a decision whether a prosecution for manslaughter should proceed. A Coroner may request a separate investigation into the death of the individual/individuals would be carried out.

Front 16

(b) Following an initial investigation into a fatal accident at work, an enforcing authority inspector wishes to make a further visit to the workplace where the accident occurred so that statements can be taken from witnesses and others, including the Managing Director. Prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 is being considered.
The Managing Director, who was controlling work at the scene when the accident occurred, has refused permission for the inspector to make a further visit and to take statements. Outline the specific powers of inspectors that are relevant to this issue and the possible courses of action that the inspector may pursue.

Back 16

inspectors have the power to enter premises at any reasonable time, taking with them another authorised person if this is thought necessary and also a member of the police if obstruction is anticipated; to require any person to answer questions and to sign a declaration of truth as to their answers (though statements which may incriminate the interviewee, such as the Managing Director in this case, would not be admissible as evidence in any subsequent prosecution); and to be entitled to reasonable facilities and assistance from the person in control of the premises. The possible courses of action that the inspector might pursue include re-visiting the premises with a colleague or police officer to take statements; consider arranging interviews with witnesses at an alternative venue; carrying out a voluntary interview of the Managing Director under caution; and prosecuting the Managing Director both for obstructing him/her in the course of his/her duties and for preventing other persons from being interviewed by him/her. Candidates seemed to have difficulty in deciding what was required for this part of the question. Instead of referring to the specific powers and courses of action to deal with the obstructive Managing Director, they gave a general inventory of the inspector’s powers.

Front 17

(c) With reference to relevant cases, describe the legal difficulties that had arisen in trying to secure convictions for corporate manslaughter under common law (and which have lead to the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007).

Back 17

Identify gross negligence in an individual acting at “controlling mind” level within an organisation. Difficult to identify that individual + more difficult in organisation with large and diffuse management structures. Cumulative management failings amounting to gross negligence were not sufficient to meet the specific legal criteria for conviction. Herald of Free Enterprise, the Southall rail crash and Lyme Bay.

Front 18

(a) Outline the meaning and relevance of the following terms in the context of controlling human error in the workplace:
(i) ‘ergonomics’; (ii) ‘anthropometry’; (iii) ‘task analysis’.

Back 18

Ergonomics – design of equipment, task and environment to take account of human limitations and capabilities; Anthropometry – collection of data on human physical dimensions and its application to equipment design; Task Analysis –breaking down of tasks into successively more detailed actions and the analysis of the scope for human error with each action.

Front 19

(b) Excluding ergonomic issues, outline ways in which human reliability in the workplace may be improved. In your answer, consider ‘individual’, ‘job’ and ‘organisational’ issues.

Back 19

Individual = selection, skills, qualifications and aptitude; provision training (during induction & to meet job specific needs); consideration of special needs; monitoring personal safety performance; use workplace incentive schemes; assess job satisfaction (questionnaire); provide health surveillance; counselling service - effects of stress. Job = introduce task analysis for critical tasks; design work patterns/shift to minimise stress/fatigue; use of job rotation to counter boredom; introduce good communication arrangements between individuals, shifts and groups; use sufficient number of personnel to avoid constant time pressures. Organisation = development of a positive health and safety culture; provision of good leadership example & commitment; introduce effective health and safety management systems; maximise employee involvement in health and safety issues; ensuring effective arrangements for employee consultation; introduce procedures for change management; provide adequate level of supervision.

Front 20

A forklift truck is used to move loaded pallets in a large distribution warehouse. On one particular occasion the truck skidded on a patch of oil. As a consequence the truck collided with an unaccompanied visitor and crushed the visitor’s leg.
(a) State, with reasons, why the accident should be investigated.

Back 20

Establish causes both immediate and underlying causes; To ensure future preventative actions can be defined and implemented; Assess compliance with legal requirements; Demonstrate management commitment; Information gathered from investigation can be used to evaluate whether current precautions are adequate, also SSOW and existing risk assessments are they adequate; Investigation could provide useful information for evaluating the costs of accidents; Assess whether further training and/or supervision is required; Obtain information/evidence for any future civil claim

Front 21

A forklift truck is used to move loaded pallets in a large distribution warehouse. On one particular occasion the truck skidded on a patch of oil. As a consequence the truck collided with an unaccompanied visitor and crushed the visitor’s leg. (b) Assume that the initial responses of reporting and securing the scene of the accident have been carried out. Outline the steps which should be followed in order to collect evidence for an investigation of the accident.

Back 21

Take photos, make sketches take measurements of scene; Obtain and CCTV footage that may be available; Look at any relevant procedures that are in place; Look at any RA/SSOW in place; Look at training records that may exist for people involved in accident; Identify environmental factors that could have contributed to the accident e.g. poor light, noise, wet conditions; Identify immediate causes/underlying causes; Interview all parties involves ASAP, e.g. injured party, witnesses

Front 22

(c) The investigation reveals that there have been previous skidding incidents which had not been reported and the company therefore decides to introduce a formal system for reporting ‘near miss’ incidents. Outline the factors that should be considered when developing and implementing such a system.

Back 22

Clearly definition of ‘near Miss’; Who will report near misses; Training required; Consultation with employee; Provision of information, instruction and training; Building of a fair blame culture; Ease of reporting, clear, straight forward format; Define reporting lines to ensure actions are implemented; Positive feedback for reporters