It will never happen to me…

1. It will never happen to me… Jayne Hayward … we don’t have accidents

2. “I’ve been doing this job for over thirty years and I’ve never had an accident” • “If we put everything in place that we’re supposed to we’d never get the job done” The ostrich syndrome

3. No accidents may lead to ‘false sense of security’ • Under-reporting • ‘we are safe’ mindset • Lack of knowledge about the risks …. We don’t need SMS because we don’t have accidents Why do we feel this way? COMPLACENCY

4. Case study - Guard interlocking SUMMARY An employee severed his arm in a rotary valve to which access had been gained through a hatch. He had been trying to clear a blockage. The crop had blocked the cyclone causing the line to shut down. He opened the access door in cyclone to clear wet product, which wasn't dropping correctly onto conveyor. Instructed by the shift supervisor he then opened another lower inspection hatch. He was somehow grabbed by the conveyor. As he tried to put his arm out to grab the edge of the hatch, he missed and his arm went into valve. As a result his arm was severed below the elbow including two fingers across top of hand - arm put back on and two fingers plus thumb. All it takes is a moment in time…

5. The Domino Theory • immediate causes: • the agent of injury or ill health e.g. • the blade • the substance • the dust etc. • root causes: • the failure from which all other failings grow • (often remote in time and space from the adverse event e.g. • failure to identify training needs and • assess competence • low priority given to risk assessment etc. • Lack of maintenance/inspection • underlying causes: unsafe acts and unsafe conditions e.g. • the guard removed • the ventilation switched off etc. Source: HSE/HSG45

6. Man slipping on a patch of oil Inadequate maintenance Inadequate housekeeping Lack of supervision and monitoring Inadequate health and safety management Management not being committed to health and safety Accident investigation Source: HSE/HSG45

7. Moral (human costs) Injured party Physical injury Loss of livelihood Social life affected Company Stress of dealing with aftermath Stress over potential litigation Cost of accidents Financial Criminal/Civil litigation Damage to equipment Loss of personnel/skill-set Hidden costs Downtime Time for the investigation Increased insurance costs Decreased morale of workforce Negative publicity Legal Criminal proceedings Civil law suits

8. Key annual figures 2011/12 173 fatalities 111K RIDDOR reportable injuries 1.1m work-related illness 212K over-3-day absence injuries occurred (LFS) 27 million working days lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury £1 insured costs £8 > £36 Hidden/uninsurable costs Workplace injuries and ill health (excluding cancer) costs to society an estimated £13.4 billion in 2010/11 Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/

9. Andrew Pursey aged 21 years Andrew used the spike of the fore end loader to bring a large, half ton bag of fertiliser from the storage barn and then positioned it behind the fertiliser spreader at the rear end of the main vehicle. The spreader tractor was parked with its engine off but Andrew left the engine running on the other vehicle and did not put the handbrake on. He then went between the two vehicles to slit the fertiliser bag. He had his back to the older vehicle and because the yard was on a concrete slope it crept forward, gathered speed and crushed him between the two vehicles. His mobile telephone was in the spreader tractor cab and he could not summon help.

10. Prevention is better than cure Safety Management Systems Pro-active management Trained personnel Horizon scanning Effective communication Employee involvement in decision making Positive safety culture Rewarding safe practice Disciplinary procedures Safety meetings / tool-box talks The cost of ‘putting things right’ far outweigh the cost of preventing an incident from happening in the first place

11. DOCUMENTATION Pro-active management QUESTIONS OBSERVATIONS

12. Drivers for pro-active risk management Compensation claims Perception of stakeholders Adverse publicity Loss of business Fee for Intervention

13. Fee for intervention • Exceptions • Self-employed – except S3 • Does not apply to Companies regulated by a LA, also; • licensable work with asbestos (for licence holders) • work activities involving biological agents at specified containment levels In operation from 1st October 2012 Brought in as an incentive to operate within the Law Focus on high risk organisations HSE charge £124 per hour for inspections/investigation where there is found to be a ‘material breach’

14. Material breach ‘A material breach is when, in the opinion of the HSE inspector, there is or has been a contravention of health and safety law that requires them to issue notice in writing of that opinion to the duty-holder’ Guidance available on HSE website HSE47 (Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse47.pdf)

15. Mitigating the impact of workplace accidents Policy and procedures for managing incidents Trained personnel / allocated duties Appropriate level of First Aid cover – early intervention First Aiders trained in specific occupational risks e.g. hazardous chemicals De-fibrillators available

16. Changes to First Aid Guidance applies from 1st October 2013 (currently in draft form) The requirement for HSE to approve the training and qualifications of appointed first-aid personnel to be removed Training Providers will be required to meet certain standards set by HSE Legal requirement for employers to ensure they have an adequate number of suitably trained first aiders (or appointed persons) in accordance with their first aid needs assessment remains unchanged Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l74draft.pdf

17. 6th April 2012 Changes to RIDDOR Reporting Previously reported injuries that subsequently result in a fatality are reportable under RIDDOR by telephoning the incident contact centre (ICC) or by submitting a duplicate form online… Increase in period from over 3 consecutive days lost-time injury to over 7 consecutive days Details of over 3 day injuries (listed in the Regulations) must still be formally recorded CONSULTATIVE DOCUMENT Proposals to simplify/clarify RIDDOR reporting requirements (CD243) Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l73.pdf

18. Discussion points……