DASH - Director Action on Safety and Health
Measuring and Reporting on Corporate Health and Safety Performance
Background
Reducing risk, harm and loss
While Britain has a good health and safety performance based on international comparisons of reported occupational injuries and disease (ILO, 1998), there is still massive scope for further reduction in levels of risk, harm and loss associated with work activity across the whole economy. This is particularly true for small and medium size firms: 95% of all UK businesses now employ fewer than 50 employees, accounting for over 45% of the workforce. (HSE: 1995a)
The scale of occupational accidents and ill-health suggests that of work related harm is substantial with annual trends remaining fairly static (HSC, 1999). ). For instance:
- In 1998/99 there were 257 fatalities involving workers or the self employed and 393 fatalities involving members of the public resulting from accidents which were related to work (HSC, 1999). This figure is based on reports made under the Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (HSE 1996).
- According to estimates derived from evaluation studies currently being undertaken for the Government’s independent Work Related Road Safety Task Group, between 800 and 1,000 fatalities may be occurring annually in accidents which have ‘at-work’ vehicle involvement.
- The Labour Force Survey suggests that, in 1998/99, around a million workers suffered a workplace injury. Nearly 400,000 of these accidents were reportable to enforcing bodies (HSC, 1999).
- In 1998/99 there were around 14,000 cases of premature death attributed to past exposure to occupational hazards including asbestos, coal dust and carcinogenic agents.
- The prevalence of self-reported work-related illness in Great Britain in estimated to be around 2 million based on the SW195 (HSE 1998a) survey of self-reported work related ill-health. Prominent occupational health concerns include musculoskeletal disorders; stress (depression, anxiety and stress ascribed disease) and lower respiratory disease (HSC, 1999).
The Labour Force Survey suggested that, in 1995/96, occupational injury and ill-health accounted for around 24 million lost working days with 27, 000 people being forced to give up work. The associated costs to the British economy and to society as a whole were estimated to range from £3-4 billion and from £10-14 billion respectively. These costs each account for about 0.6-1.2% and 1.4-2.0% of the Gross Domestic Product (HSE, 1999).
HSE studies have indicated that about 70 per cent of reportable accidents could have been prevented had employers ensured that reasonably practicable precautions were put in place. (HSE 1995b)
‘Revitalising’ health and safety
The Government’s and the HSC’s plans for ‘Revitalising Health and Safety’, (HSC/DETR, 1999) and their associated plans for occupational health (‘Securing Health Together’ - SHT) (HSC 2000a) announced in June, set out an ambitious framework for strengthening the health and safety ‘system’ (e.g. policy making, laws, management by employers, workforce involvement, workplace inspection, research, information, training, etc). The plans set overarching national targets for improvement. These include a 10 per cent reduction in the incidence of fatal and major injuries and a 20 per cent reduction in work related ill health by 2010, with half of these to be achieved by 2004.
Key elements of the strategy include: establishing closer partnership between the ‘key players’ and enhancing the factors which currently ‘drive’ the system, including: regulation and enforcement; claims for damages; workforce and public expectations; and business self interest (for example, reducing costs to businesses due to accidents and work related ill health and demonstrating excellence in health and safety management for commercial and other purposes).
‘Revitalising’ and SHT address a wide range of issues, many of which parallel and overlap the RoSPA’s own policy agenda. Some of these include:
- raising OS&H awareness generally;
- stepping up enforcement;
- ‘naming and shaming’;
- looking at the possibility of enabling private OS&H prosecutions;
- looking at the feasibility of introducing innovative penalties such as compulsory retraining of managers and directors and other kinds of remedial programmes;
- making directors more directly accountable for health and safety performance;
- setting out a statutory code for directors and making a single director responsible for reporting to and from the board on OS&H matters;
- working towards setting a health and safety management ‘yardstick’;
- getting the insurance industry more involved in promoting and supporting OS&H management;
- empowering safety representatives;
- making occupational health a central feature of all future health and safety and public health strategies, including making OS&H part of local Health Improvement Plans (HIMPs) and providing services via Primary Care Groups (PCGs);
- making rehabilitation a clear priority;
- using the supply chain as a route for encouraging clients to require smaller companies to raise their health and safety management standards;
- getting all Government Departments and public bodies to become OS&H exemplars;
- insisting on evidence of high OS&H standards in all government procurement procedures, particularly in construction;
- producing a ‘ready reckoner’ to help companies assess the likely cost effectiveness of investment in OS&H;
- incentivising better health and safety performance through grants and tax incentives;
- embedding safety and risk concepts in education at all levels, including via the National Curriculum and in the education of safety significant professionals;
- developing ‘joined up’ approaches with other departments and agencies; and
- working with Regional Government and the new Small Business Service (SBS) so that health and safety becomes an integral part of the development of every new business.
On the other hand, there are many other specific issues not mentioned within ‘Revitalising’, including joint DETR/HSE work on occupational road risk, stress, violence, safety in major transport modes, accident investigation and the entire range of on-going HSC/E hazard focused policy and enforcement work.
The importance of director leadership
A fundamental challenge in meeting the national headline targets in ‘Revitalising’ will remain that of enhancing the competence of organisations (and in particular of managers) to address health and safety as an integral part of business management. Strengthening the leadership role and influence of board level directors will be particularly important. this is especially so in large organisations because of their potential to influence health and safety in smaller businesses via the supply and contracting chain.
A particularly significant recommendation in ‘Revitalising’ is that all large companies - beginning with the top FTSE 350 and all Government and public sector employers - should begin to report on their OS&H performance to a common standard in 2002 and 2001 respectively; to be followed in 2004 by all companies employing more than 250.
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