SDP Summer School Dublin City University Wednesday 22nd August

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SDP Summer SchoolDublin City
UniversityWednesday 22nd August

• Reflections on Occupational Health and Safety
• Shay Bannon

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Overview

• What is occupational health and safety?
• Types of occupational hazards
• Case for good safety management
• Reasons for poor safety systems in schools
• Creating a Safety Culture within schools
• Safety Management Systems (SMS)
• Open forum

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Definition of Occupational Health

• The maintenance and promotion of workers
  health and working capacity
• The improvement of working environment and work
  to become conducive to safety and health
• Development of work organisations and working
  cultures in a direction which supports health and
  safety at work.
  
• 
  (ILO, 1998)

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Definition of Occupational Health

• Occupational health views people in the
  context of their work and their working
  environment, in other words in the full knowledge
  of the products and processes with which they
  have been working. General health lays stress on
  treatment the primary though not necessarily
  exclusive emphasis of occupational health is
  prevention.
• 
  
• 
  (Barrington, 1983 p. 213)

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What is occupational health and safety?

• It is
• the promotion and maintenance of the highest
  degree of physical, mental and social well-being
  of workers
• the prevention of adverse health effects due to
  working conditions
• the protection of employees from risks resulting
  from factors adverse to health

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What is occupational health and safety?

• the placing and maintenance of workers in an
  occupational environment adapted to physical and
  mental needs
• the adaptation of work to humans.
• Occupational health and safety encompasses
  the social, mental and physical well-being of
  workers, that is the whole person.

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Types of occupational hazards

• Chemical hazards
• Physical hazards
• Biological hazards
• Psychological hazards
• Hazards associated with the non-application of
  ergonomic principles

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Economic case for Health and Safety

• Costs Iceberg
  
• 
  1 insured costs
• 
  Waterline
• 
  

10 to 45 uninsured costs
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Insured costs

• Covers civil liabilities only (compensation
  claims for injury, ill health and damage)
• Can cover legal costs
• Can cover interruption to work of school
• Does not cover criminal liability or fines
  imposed by courts.
• Claims cause insurance premiums to rise.

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Uninsured (hidden) costs

• Costs to injured person or their family
• Treatment and lost teaching time costs
• Investigation costs, writing reports and filling
  forms
• Costs of finding/training suitable/qualified
  replacement
• Lower staff morale
• Negative publicity (local media, newspapers, HSA
  etc.)
• Costs to State (occupational injury benefit paid
  by taxes!!)

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Human Costs

• Circa 60 fatalities per annum according to HSA
• Injuries that result in pain and suffering
• Loss of income
• Medical costs doctors/prescriptions
• Inconvenience of trips to consultants, doctors,
  hospitals having to be driven disruption to
  other family members
• Potential for negative relationships with Board,
  Principal and staff
• Possibility of long term medical problems and
  inability to return to work.

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Benefits to schools of good safety management

• Fewer accidents/injuries/lost time/claims
• Fewer disruptions to delivery of learning and
  teaching
• Protects welfare of staff and students
• Lower or stable insurance costs
• Ensures legal compliance
• Reduces liability of Board and individuals
• Happier and healthier working environment.

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Reasons for poor safety systems in schools

• No appreciation of costs of accidents or injuries
  or the benefits of good health
• Time! Time! Time!
• Lack of funding for safety changes
• Health and safety separate from other functions
• Marginalisation of health and safety
• Not my job
• Lack of communication and listening

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Reasons for poor safety systems in schools

• Fear of devolved or shared leadership in school
• Health and safety not planned in projects (i.e.
  purchasing of equipment building projects)
• Perceived lack of understanding of hazards and
  risk assessments
• Cause of work-related diseases very often
  difficult to determine
• Culture of lack of trust and fear exists within
  school
• Not knowing where to start. No Safety Culture.

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Safety Culture

• What is a safety culture?
• Culture is a combination of an organisation's
• Attitudes 
• Behaviours 
• Beliefs 
• Values 
• Ways of doing things
• The other shared characteristics of a particular
  group of people.

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Safety Culture

• Successful companies hold the view that health
  and safety is a key value and way of life.
• The way we do things around here
• Health and safety management protects people
  from harm and also contributes to business
  success
• Most accidents are preventable

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Safety Culture Indicators

• Accidents
• Absenteeism
• Sickness rates
• Staff turnover
• Legislative compliance
• Staff complaints.

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Janssen example of a Safety Culture

• What are the key elements of the safety culture
  within Janssen?

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Creating a Safety Culture within schools

• Leadership and commitment from the top that is
  genuine and visible (Walk the walk)
• Conviction among staff that high standards of
  safety are desirable and achievable
• Identification and assessment of hazards and the
  creation of preventative systems
• Immediate rectification of identified
  deficiencies
• Health and safety a line management issue

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Creating a Safety Culture within schools

• Safety Policy sets out high expectations
• Comprehensive set of safety practices
• Setting of realistic and achievable targets that
  are monitored and measured
• Active participation by all employees in decision
  making
• Ownership of health and safety permeates all
  levels of the school achieved through
  training, staff and student involvement and good
  communication

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Creating a Safety Culture within schools

• All incidents are thoroughly investigated
• Safety behaviour embedded in school planning
  process
• Effective accountability systems specific,
  measurable, achievable, reasonable, unambiguous
• Good safety behaviour is a condition of
  employment
• Existence of a continuous improvement culture
• Annual health and safety report.

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Safety Management System (SMS)
Initial review current situation
analysis
Auditing Reviewing performance
Measuring performance
Policy and commitment
Implementation and operation
Planning
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Components of an effective SMS

• Has a clear purpose and agreed objectives
• States what is required in terms of performance
  and expectations from everybody
• Is appropriate to the nature and scale of the
  health and safety risks within the school
• Includes a commitment to continual improvement

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Components of an effective SMS

• Is documented, implemented and maintained
• Is communicated to all employees
• Is readily available to all interested parties
• Is renewed periodically and corrective action is
  taken immediately when required.

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• Open forum and questions