Health & Safety News Brief Occupational Health & Safety Information Service
(OHSIS) November 2004

Health & Safety Commission (HSC)
Regulation and Recognition Towards Good Performance in Health and Safety - a consultation document

This consultation document explores ways to improve standards of work-related health and safety. It looks at the methods the main regulatory bodies, the Health and Safety Executive and Local Authorities, use to influence employers and others who have legal duties. Comments are to be returned to the HSC by Friday 24 December 2004.

The HSC’s aim is to achieve “workplace health and safety that leads the world”. To this end the document contains 13 “intervention techniques” used by the HSE and LA and with the resources available to these parties the HSC is wishing to prioritise the techniques that make the greatest impact.

The interventions looked at are:

• Partnership – between HSE, LA, Employers, Trade Unions etc. to seek commitment to targets, preparation of guidance, information exchange
• Motivating senior managers – encouraging them to achieving continuous improvements in health and safety
• Supply chain – encouraging the large organisations at the top of the supply chain to use their influence to raise standards in organisations further down
• Design & supply – working with those who can improve health and safety by improving the design of processes or products
• Sector & industry wide initiatives – stimulating whole sectors or an industry to sign up to initiatives to combat key risks
• Working with those at risk – working with safety representatives, trade unions and other organisations that represent people put at risk by work activities
• Education & awareness – seeking ways of getting messages and advice early to key target groups
• Recognising good performance – HSE & LA will not intervene where there is proper management of risks
• Inspection & enforcement – LA & HSE will use all tools available to them
• Intermediaries – influencing trade bodies, insurance companies, investors, etc that can influence duty holders
• Best practice –encouraging development of best practice examples to show to others
• Incident & ill health investigation – identifying the necessary immediate and underlying causes and taking the necessary enforcement action
• Dealing with issues of concern & complaints – encouraging duty holders to be active in dealing with concerns and complaints

The HSC welcomes comments using either their standard paper format or via www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cdinterventions.htm.