Posted By Neil Pearson
Hi Laura,

I suggest you include the following wording or similar: "All managers are responsible for the health & safety of all work and areas over which they have control or shared control." The idea is that they are responsible, but of course there are support services such as H&S, personnel, maintenance etc.

The more specific issues they should control include:
risk assessments and progressing actions arising;
ensure risk assessment of new work, products, etc before it takes place;
accident investigations and actions arising;
workplace, equipment and other inspections, and actions arising;
ensuring H&S in new projects and developments;
control competence and training of all staff;
consult with and brief staff on policies, procedures and new developments;
take at least joint responsibility for work of maintenance, contractors etc in their area;
monitor issues such as stress, health, etc in their staff.

This is off the top of my head but you get the idea. I suggest you decide what you want it to say, then propose it to a meeting of the managers. You will struggle if they are presented with a fait accompli - it will just get their backs up.

Posted By Stuart C
I have some examples of good policies clearly set out responsibilities for managers. I will mail them to you.

Did you also want information re directors responsibilities?

Posted By Nigel Hammond
I recently updated our responsibilities. I based it around the 5 main headings of OHSAS 18001: Policy, Planning, Implementing, Monitoring and Reviewing.

So each level of the organisation has a two page list of responsibilities based on those headings - starting with the directors. You need to read OHSAS 18001 - which is available from British Standards Institute. It is as dull as ditch water to read but if you take a few days to really study it, it all makes alot of sense and gives you the bigger picture of how all the different aspects of health & safety link together - better than HSG65. IOSH provide a 1-day course on it as well.