INTRODUCTION
A number of legislation has been put in the United Kingdom regarding health and safety practices. This laws have been implemented to improve safety in businesses and organizations. There are several approaches and control systems which can be put in place to manage hazards.
UNITED KINGDOM LEGISLATION
In the United Kingdom, strict guidelines have been placed to ensure safety in the workplace. The act gives employers a legal mandate to make sure that the safety and welfare of their employees are in place. They should strive to make them safe. They are required to carry out the necessary precautions to keep employees in a safe working environment.
Employers should do risk awareness to protect their employees from any risk that may arise in future and be able to take precautions. The risk assessment should be able to identify possible accidents in the business. It should also identify the worth of the accident and be able to look for measures against the accident. They should be able to have an effective plan in case of occurrence. When the employers’ identify the risk and they have more than five employees, they should put down the risk and note the employees it may affect. This information should be shared with the employees. They should create protocols to be followed in case of an emergency. Employees should use the information given to add more measures to keep them safe.
Ranking of control. This law necessitates the employer to do risk prevention by use of a definite measures. They should take the following required measures in order of priority. They should get rid of the risk. If they are unable to, they should replace the process with another one that harbours less risk or put in place measures that that will decrease the risk. If this two cannot be undertaken, they should change the machinery used or the design to reduce the possibility of risks. If they are unable to do this, they should clear away all the employees who would be affected. All in all, they should undertake measures that protect the employees.
Employers should ensure that they report all injuries and incidents that lead to death or missing work for more than three days to the Incident Contact Centre. Incidents that involve members of the public that lead to them going to the hospital directly must be reported. Employers are also required to negotiate with their respective representatives in their businesses. These representatives have the right to analyse any incident or complain brought to them. They can examine the workplace and raise any concerns they have with the employer. They can get information in order to assist employers with the safety issues. Employers are also required to discuss safety and health issues with the employees.
APPROACHES TO PROMOTE SAFETY MANAGEMENT AND CULTURE
Effective communication. Business should enhance their flow of communication. Messages about safety measures should be received by everyone. They should ensure that they pass messages in a way that everyone receives it and on time. There should be addition of other forms of communication to enhance it. They should communicate about how they are planning to handle safety issues, guidelines that should be followed to ensure that injuries and destruction of properties can be avoided. There should be also information on how to respond in case of an accident.
Good leadership. Leaders should demonstrate good skills, attitudes and behaviours concerning safety practices. They should lead the others effectively by encouraging their staff to participate in discussions on which safety measures they should employ. When staff participate, their views are also included and they feel important. Leaders should lead by example by doing it first. If they are to wear a mask, they should start in order to motivate the workers to do the same. Leaders should follow up to ensure that the guidelines set are followed by each and every person.
Setting clear guidelines. There should be clarity in the guidelines set. They should be easy to implement and should not contradict each other. They should be readily available to everyone and most of all, should apply to everyone. They should adopt behaviours that go hand in hand with the set guidelines. All who follow the guidelines to the latter should be appreciated with praise or an award to show the other personnel the importance following the laid down regulations.
Promotion of a positive attitude towards safety measures employed. Positive attitude should be encouraged throughout the business. When a positive and open environment is created, people feel safe to talk and correct their colleagues. They should foster values that lead to positivity. When employees have a positive attitude, implementation of safety culture becomes very easy hence enhancing safety in the workplace.
There should be ownership of responsibilities. Each person should be accountable for their own actions. Everyone should understand what their work is and the reasons it needs to get done. They should adhere to the rules and regulations of their workforce. They should be able to take action in case any accident occurs. They should be able to take responsibilities of any hazard that occurs caused by them.
There should be increment in awareness on matters of safety. There should be awareness on preventive measures and handling of incidents that occur. This can be done by enhanced communication done orally or written. The information should be accurate and clear. Listening should be part of it. Everyone should listen carefully and integrate the information passed on to them. After listening they should be able to implement and take action on what was being said.
Enhanced and effective implementation. Leaders should follow up on the tasks people have been given. They should ensure that everything said is done. In this process, they are able to identify areas that need more improvement. With this, they should be able to take the necessary measures to correct them. They should analyse what is happening around them to ensure everything is going on as planned.
MANAGEMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS
Hazards can be managed in various ways. One, the business can eliminate the machines and equipment that causes injuries. It can also remove the employees to ensure they are not hurt. They can also put preventive measures to avoid the occurrence of the hazard. By doing this, the management can control the hazards that tend to face them and continue promoting safety culture.
CONCLUSION
As seen, the United Kingdom has put up a lot of measures to promote health and safety culture among organizations. There legislations have helped reduced a lot of hazards. Business can employ a lot of approaches to curb occupational hazards. They can place mechanisms which help them promote safety among the workplace.
References
Fernandez-muniz, B., Mantes-peon, J. M., and Vazquez-ordas, C. J. 2007. Safety Culture: Analysis of the casual relationship between its key dimensions. Journal of Safety Research, 38, 627-641
Prue, D. M., and Fairbank, J. A. 1981. Performance feedback in organizational behaviour management: A review. Performance Feedback in Organizational Behaviour Management: A Review. Journal of Organizational Behaviour Management, 3, 1-16
Vredenburgh, A. G. 2002. Organizational safety: Which management practices are most effective in reducing employee injury rates. Journal of Safety Research, 33, 259-276.