DASH - Director Action on Safety and Health
Measuring and Reporting on Corporate Health and Safety Performance
Annex 5
Summary of main views expressed in response to RoSPA’s consultation document
There appeared to be broad agreement that board level leadership of OS&H is essential and that good OS&H management standards must be seen as a key business objective.
There seemed to be agreement about the need for a multi-dimensional approach to H&S performance but there was no consensus about what the key dimensions are ( for example, integrity and performance of management systems, levels of control of principal risks, ‘near misses’, levels of harm - injury and ill health - and loss, enforcement experience etc). ‘Culture measurement’ was seen as an emerging technique which could complement other measures.
There was a variety of views about the relevance of lost time or reportable injuries as key indicators, especially in SMEs and individual divisions of companies. (Most seemed to agree with the criticisms of over-reliance on Lost Time Injury as set out in the RoSPA document but accepted that this is the one bit of information which many organisations tend to collect.)
There was a general view that audit is essential but there was a variety of views about how to ensure it is meaningful and whether or not it should be mandatory.
Similarly there was a variety of views about the case for an H&S management standard , although in general there was opposition to the idea of a ‘certificatable’ standard. There was agreement about the case for targets but a strong view that they must be business and sector specific as well as relevant to SMEs.
Internal reporting on performance was seen as vital to keep all employees informed and engaged. Although there are some exceptions, there seemed to be a general acceptance that external H&S performance reporting is beneficial but there was much opposition to the idea of a mandatory (and certainly a prescriptive) requirement that would inhibit organisations from adopting the most relevant approach. There was some support for headline reporting in annual reports with separate reports on H&S, possibly integrated with reporting on environment.
There were several ideas about promoting best practice , principally benchmarking and dissemination of good guidance. There were many other useful pointers to company experiences, sector approaches like that of the Chemical Industries Association’s ‘Responsible Care’ programme, the operation of schemes in the environment area (Business in the Environment Index, for example) and linkage to reporting on sustainability and holistic business risk management etc.
The body of evidence arising from consultation provides an important resource for further careful study and is available on request from RoSPA.
|
RoSPA is a registered charity: Registered Charity No: 207823 Patron: Her Majesty the Queen RoSPA Head Office: Edgbaston Park, 353 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7ST, UK |
 |