Advice Pack for Smaller Firms
Sheet 3: Think about the last accident or near miss which happened in your company
What was the immediate cause?
For example:
- Slip or Trip on the level
- Fall from Height
- Fall of Materials
- Manual Handling Heavy Loads
- Contact with Moving Machinery
- Site Transport
- Electricity
- Flammable substances
- Other cause
What were the underlying causes?
For example:
- Controls absent or inadequate
- Poor planning
- Poor supervision
- Lack of competence
- Lack of information
- Poor control of operations
- Poor communication
- Other
How much did it (could it have) cost?
For example:
- Lost time (wages)
- Lost production
- Investigation costs
- Remedial actions
- Material losses
- Higher insurance premia
- Fines
- Lost contracts
- Lower workforce morale
- Other costs
How could it have been prevented?
For example:
- A better health and safety policy
- Proper risk assessment
- Training
- Use of personal protective equipment
- More information
- Better co-ordination
- A health and safety management review
- A Health and Safety Management Review
What action did you take?
For example:
- Reporting to HSE
- Investigation
- Review of controls/procedures
- Other
IF YOU TOOK NO ACTION, CAN YOU SAY WHY?
And what about ill health caused through work, for example:
- cancers (from exposure to asbestos and chemicals);
- dermatitis (skin disease);
- asthma (from exposure to dusts and chemicals);
- back injury (from unsafe manual handing);
- upper limb disorders (from repetitive manual work);
- deafness (from exposure to high noise levels);
- vibration white finger (from vibrating tools);
- mental health problems (due to stress).
Are you sure that you are not damaging employees’ health? Health problems caused through work are a bigger problem than accidents.
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