ARE YOU PLAYING GAMES WITH STAFF SAFETY? Accidents in the workplace, however minor, must be reported but are they always brought to the attention of senior management? Likewise, incidents of any kind should be recorded and reviewed. Unfortunately, in both cases, many are not. Why? Many serious accidents happen because staff are reluctant to report an incident or minor accident in the workplace. They worry that they will be blamed and so keep quiet, allowing the root cause to go unnoticed by senior management whose responsibility it is to set the health and safety procedures in place. All too often this comes down to a failure to recognise the importance of accident reporting. Operators, line managers and senior staff must communicate to ensure the safety of everyone working at the premises. Over 90% of accidents in the workplace can be firmly placed at the feet of management. Their failure to manage risk is the root cause that, through a series of related effects, leads to an incident or accident that could so easily have been prevented. Known as the domino effect, the route from cause to effect is easy to follow: root cause underlying causes unsafe condition unsafe act accident For instance, imagine you work in a warehouse where goods are moved around using fork lift trucks. One day, while walking through the warehouse to retrieve some paperwork from the office, a member of staff receives injuries in an accident with a truck. Who is to blame? The staff member? The fork lift truck driver? The manager in charge of the warehouse? Looking at the domino effect in reverse, the accident could have occurred because: unsafe act – pedestrians and trucks were in the same area unsafe condition – the driver may have been using an unfamiliar truck underlying causes – no pedestrian segregation, driver trained on wrong type of truck, supervisor not aware of responsibilities root cause – job descriptions out of date, training requirements not regularly reviewed, induction failures on job transfer If you are lucky the final effect is an incident rather than an accident but nevertheless still a serious failure. Who was to blame for it? In the end it has to be the fault of the management in not ensuring that the basic procedures of risk assessment and training have been carried out. However, if minor incidents are not reported then it is difficult for the management team to recognise potential problems and find ways to overcome them. Accident reporting is a vital management tool and all members of staff must be encouraged to report any problems for their own safety. You can read more about the reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations on the link below. ****** Accident reporting

INVESTIGATING THE INCIDENT When the worst happens and an accident does occur, what should you do? Well, the first thing is not to cast immediate blame on anyone until you know the exact cause of the accident. Things are not always what they seem! There are some basic steps you should follow to get to the root cause; finding the reason for even a minor incident could alert you to a potential major problem. Deal with any immediate effects of the accident Preserve the scene Take photos and measurements Discover who was involved and how Collect together documentary evidence of - policies and procedures - work instructions - training records - clothing requirements Understand whether all the above were being closely adhered to Do not rule out the influence of drink or drugs use Ask whether those involved were fit and well before the accident occurred Check the structures had been inspected and maintained to schedule Rebuild the accident on paper Understand what influences could have changed procedures Correlate the results and come to a conclusion Communicate the results to your workforce Of course, once you know the root cause you will need to put changes in place to prevent a similar occurrence happening again but it is important to make sure that the changes do not have an impact on any other procedures and cause problems elsewhere. Most importantly, recognise that there is nothing you can do to change what happened; you can only deal with the consequences and make sure it never happens again. Getting your staff involved in the investigation and in finding solutions to the problems will help to prevent any repeat. If you have any questions about accident investigation or would like a qualified Health and Safety professional to carry out an investigation for you, contact David Associates on 01908 370303. ******

SING FOR YOUR (CHRISTMAS) SUPPER Sadly no-one got all the Christmas carols named in our cryptic quiz last month but thanks to everyone who entered and especially to Derek for his highly inventive answers! For those of you still scratching your heads and looking for answers, here they are. 1. NOT TWICE IN COMMONER LADY’S TOWN - ONCE IN ROYAL DAVID’S CITY 2. CARPENTER TELLS OF BUILDING THE FLEET - I SAW THREE SHIPS 3. ADESTE FIDELES - O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL 4. ORIENTAL ROYAL TRIUMVIRATE - WE THREE KINGS 5. SIR, BE QUIET! - SILENT NIGHT 6. SURPRISED AT SIZE OF PLACE IN EAST - O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM 7. ORDER MANAGER TO ENTER - AWAY IN A MANGER 8. LISTEN TO THE NEWS FROM ABOVE - HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING 9. TAKING TO THE ROAD AFTER PASSING TEST - THE FIRST NOEL 10. VIEWER OF STEPHEN’S FEAST - GOOD KING WENCESLAS For the new year, a new challenge! Below are 10 word puzzles for you to solve; all the answers contain the word ‘new’ and / or ‘year’. For example: Discovered a country - NEWFOUNDLAND Good luck. 1. Does anyone keep these? 2. Primate’s Eastern term 3. 366 D I A L Y 4. Home away from home 5. Not yet two 6. So mixed up, pray when PAYE is suggested 7. So good they named it twice 8. Plant the old and harvest the new 9. Daily print 10. Pining? The first set of correct answers returned to us by Friday 15 February 2008 will win the solver a free five point review of their written Health & Safety policy. Don’t have a written policy? Then you need to call David Associates now on 01908 370303. ******

MYTH OF THE MONTH Myth: Safety Experts’ New Year resolution is to make the life of business people as miserable as possible The reality: Not according to businesses. Those who have had contact with HSE were asked about their helpfulness: 90% of employers and chief executives/ senior directors rate HSE as helpful 90% of chief executives/ senior directors consider that health and safety requirements benefit their company as a whole 100% of clients say David Associates Ltd have helped them Cartoon courtesy of HSE website ****** Myth of the month