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Posted By Phillipe
Health and Safety has a huge wingspan in terms of who and what it covers. What I would like to know is what does it mean to you, those who practice it every working day?
I'll start...
...it is about making a positive difference to the working lives of ordinary people and those who may be exposed to their actions...
Any one have an opinion?
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Posted By Richie
For me, H&S is:
A system of sensible risk management with the goal of achieving (and sustaining) positive health in the workforce whilst not unduly affecting others.
Richie
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Posted By holmezy
"people come to work in the morning and go home at the end of the day in the same condition"
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Posted By Tabs
To me, it is a legal and moral ideal of safeguarding workers and others from harm in the course of a business or activity. It derives from the principal of leaving the place of work, or activity in at least as good a condition as you arrived in.
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Posted By P.R
Keeping people safe at work, free of accidents and work related illnesses and, of course, ensuring no breaches of the law.
Also ensuring that the company's business does not suffer financial loss due to the above.
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Posted By Steve B
For me it is very simple,
Sending each employee home in the same condition they arrived this morning.
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Posted By Gareth W Jones
To me Health and Safety is...Trying to keep people safe in work and at home, ask employees how they act outside of work (In their home environment, I have heard some scary stories!!)
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Posted By Ron Hunter
In too many instances it can be effectively reduced to "and safey", with the health bit not fully taken on board, particularly where the effects are chronic &/or cumulative.
Yes,I could go home in the same condition today, next week and over the course of the year; but what about 5, 10 or 15 years due to long term exposure to vibration, noise, iritant, dust etc. etc.
Short term goals such as reduced accident rates etc can also tend to pull focus away from true costs & longer term issues, including the value of occ. health surveillance strategies.
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Posted By holmezy
Ron,
my somewhat flippant statement does tend to get the message across, however, I take on board your comments and would add to my origional statement something like
"during every day of the working life with us and also, ensure continuation of good health after they have left".
Will that do?
Goung for a beer now, feel free to join me, in fact, its your round!!
Holmezy
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Posted By Pete48
Preventing injury, protecting health and promoting welfare.
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Posted By Pete48
Or another definition that I have just remembered from the Piper Alpha enquiry.
"HSW is not an intellectual exercise, it is a matter of life and death. It is the sum of our contribution to HSW management that determines whether the people, we work with every day, live or die."
I gulped the first time I heard it and just did again!
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Posted By Ron Hunter
Hi Holmzey, I nursed my half pint of shandy 'til closing time, but didn't see you.
I was only trying to pull the discussion into a wider social perspective. Too much discussion these days about working days lost and major >3 day accidents, and not enough about what I think is a larger problem for the UK, i.e. people forced to leave work due to occupational ill-health.
Nothing wrong with your statement per se, and I've used it myself!
The HSe's "FIT3" (Fit for work, fit for life, fit for tomorrow) Strategic Delivery Program will hopefully redress the balance.
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Posted By holmezy
Ron,
I totally agree with you, however, in my experience if someone asks for a definition, as soon as you start making it more than one sentence, or it has too many words in, people start to switch off or think you are lecturing them, so simpler the better works for me. Most people seem to understand the "going to work and going home" bit.
Sorry about the shandy episode. I was otherwise engaged helping the barmaid understand the basics of "manual handling".
Holmezy
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Posted By Merv Newman
I'm OK on the H&S definitions : "ensuring that employees go home in the same state of H&S as they arrived" (what do you do if they arrive drunk ?)
But I won't take on board the "welfare" bit. (think "welfare state") For me that is more family and personal relationships.
Because of the nature of our job people do come and talk to us of their private problems. The least we can do is listen and, maybe, offer gentle advice.
But it is not actually in our job description.
Discuss
Merv
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Posted By Gareth W Jones
I cannot see how we expect to change the habits of employees in work, if we do not educate and train them to look at the way they conduct themselves at home, I agree it is not in our job description, but I know the benefits I have seen in my company to the safety behavioural training have cascaded to our employees home life.
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Posted By holmezy
Merv,
I assumed that most people don't come to work drunk, as do most people assume that they wont have an accident, so a bit of poet license there, but I take your point. Spose its the same as under the influence of drugs?
Surely we are responsible to a limited degree for their welfare, but I accept that we probably dont own the best set of shoulders for a cry on.
If you consider "welfare" to mean health and wellbeing at work, (or connected to) then yes, if its the "free milk" and "aunty Ethel needs a new hip" then No.
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