Basic Documentation
An initial meeting and tour of the premises to see work practices will probably be sufficient to assess the company Health & Safety documentation and in particular:
– The Health & Safety policy statement, organisation/roles & responsibilities, and arrangements
– Risk assessments, procedures and safe systems of work/method statements
– Policies on such subjects as asbestos, cold water services, traffic management and workplace transport
– Health & Safety management system where detailed
Audit of Health & Safety Systems
The initial review of Health & Safety documentation can be followed up with an in-depth audit, where the safety system of each department can be looked at to assess if the policies, procedures and safe systems of work are relevant and are being adhered to.
Where not, the audit report will highlight any shortcomings or gaps and make recommendations for continuous improvement allocating tasks to individuals and within specific but reasonable time limits.
Audits will also cover employer duties with regard to the welfare services for employees.
Staff training will be reviewed and how the employees co-operate with management on all Health & Safety matters
Risk Registers
Many businesses now operate risk registers as recommended by the Turnbull Report.
Ardent has experience in setting up both strategic and operational risk registers which are management tools to assist in the prioritisation of resources: human, time and money.
Once set up risk registers will become “owned” by certain managers within the business and they should assist in board and management meetings to ensure high-risk activities have been identified and that there are plans in place to reduce their possible impact.
Additionally, Ardent has experience in the writing of Business Continuity Plans although do not currently hold a membership of the Business Continuity Institute.
Writing Health & Safety Documentation
Where internal resources are scarce or where there is a shortage of competent people, policies, risk assessments, procedures and safe systems of work can be drafted for management to agree.
This could also apply to emergency procedures and evacuation instructions, the training of staff to be fire wardens and instruction of all employees on the evacuation drill.
Periodic Reviews
In an organisation there will always be a requirement for the review of Health & Safety.
This service can be provided but the frequency would depend on the level of change within the business or where legislation has been enacted.
The normal frequency is once a year but some enterprises will require reviews more often.