Working-at-height operations require ongoing monitoring and support as these activities account for almost 30% of fatal injuries incurred in an industrial working environment, according to the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The HSE employs over 100 representatives to work in conjunction with businesses in developing guidance, supported by “world-class science” that provides a continuous line of development, says HSE British Embassy in Dubai HSE international liaison head Elaine Harbour.
Drawing on nearly 200 years of experience, having been initiated as part of the Factories Act, the HSE was created in 1975. She says that over time, the HSE has taken on responsibility for a “rich mix” of industries, from farms to factories, roller coasters to refineries and from major multinational businesses down to the smallest of enterprises. This has helped the HSE build an appropriate knowledge base in its implementation and enforcement of health and safety regulations.
“We currently regulate about 1.5-million premises across the UK, with about 500 000 being temporary, such as construction sites; this brings an extensive range of activities and different attitudes that we face,” notes Harbour.
She adds that, over its 40 years of existence, the HSE has developed a goal-based framework for health and safety regulations, with “massive improvements in the performance of safety records” being implemented within the industry. For example, Harbour states that 651 fatalities of employees in the workplace were recorded in 1974 in the UK, which is a stark comparison to 142 employee deaths recorded in 2015. “That is just below five deaths per 1-million workers. Another way of looking at that is 500 years of lives saved,” she adds.
The goal-based framework was developed according to Lord Alfred Robens’ ideology, which uses two fundamental principles: those that create the risk are best placed to manage it; thereby placing responsibility on the business for managing its own risks, and proportionality; which is an evidence-based approach where actions reflect the level of exposure.
To assist small and low-risk businesses, Harbour says the HSE provides straightforward guidelines and tools that enable these businesses to quickly access information on what is required to manage risk.
On the other end of the spectrum, where major hazards are more likely, businesses that are exposed to greater levels of risk need to provide evidence of their understanding and competence with health and safety regulations. “The major point here is that the business has to do the thinking, they cannot simply just comply with a set of rules,” says Harbour, adding that this approach provides the HSE with a system in the UK to enable safe production while also encouraging continuous improvement, innovation and change of health and safety protocol.
In addition, she says the goal-based framework of regulations has also led to a 75% decrease in nonfatal injuries in the workplace since 1974.
Workplace incidents that are still occurring require investigation, says Harbour, pointing out that investigations into any workplace incident assist the HSE in understanding what happened and in the development of measures to prevent such an incident from occurring again.