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#1 Posted : 16 January 2009 11:02:00(UTC)
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Posted By Martin Savage
I'm trying to establish a plan for our H&S structure in a widely dispersed company with about 20 separate entities across the UK.

Currently, there are H&S reps in smaller entities and H&S Managers based in larger entities. Total 3 Regional H&S Managers. One of the H&S Managers is based at a site with 400 employees, he has a H&S advisor and a part time administrator supporting him.

I am trying to benchmark how many employees a H&S Manager can reasonably cover effectively, given that the only local support in the smaller entities is a local H&S rep.

Is there a benchmark ratio I can use?
My thinking is approx 1 H&S Manager to 250 employees (no admin or advisor support)
1 to 400 with 1 advisor & part time admin.

Any thoughts on this?
Are there any established ratios?
What are your experiences?

Many thanks

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#2 Posted : 16 January 2009 11:29:00(UTC)
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Posted By Descarte
In my experience the answer is not simple, having worked on multiple sites, some had 5000+ employees and perhaps 5-6 safety advisors and 1 manager therefore nearly a 1000:1 ratio, another had 120 staff a safety manager, advisor and assistant ratio then roughly 40:1

IMO it would depend on the risks on site, if purely office based then you could expect a higher ratio (100's : 1), if high risk and higher workload or enforcement then a lower ratio.

Also depends on the level of work which the advisor is doing, if any work such as DSE, risk or COSHH assessment is completed by trained staff members or safety reps, levels of supervision required etc.

Des
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#3 Posted : 16 January 2009 12:06:00(UTC)
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Posted By Ron Hunter
Competent persons in the ratio of 1:1000 employees is one often referred to in LA circles, and may be measured as a "full-time equivalent" where some spend a proportion of their time assisting the employer with compliance.
I wouldn't count "reps" in this though - they have no duty in law in this regard.
Irrespective of in-house numbers, there are often times when specialist help is required from external sources (e.g. occ. health and hygiene, asbestos consultants, CDM-C, Fire Safety Consultants, etc.)
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#4 Posted : 16 January 2009 12:11:00(UTC)
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Posted By BJP
My experience is purely office-based environment and with no full-time H&S reps on site(they are always based in one site but cover other duties as well) I use a ratio of 1:75 maximum.
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#5 Posted : 16 January 2009 12:19:00(UTC)
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Posted By Martin Savage
Thanks for the replies so far.

It would seem like many other things it's "down to risk assessment" and every company and situation is unique, to be judged on its own circumstances.

Any further thoughts appreciated though.

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#6 Posted : 16 January 2009 13:15:00(UTC)
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Posted By peter gotch
Hi Martin.

Yes, down to risk assessment.

The more competent the managers and the rest of the workforce, the less the need for H&S professionals.

Regards, Peter
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#7 Posted : 16 January 2009 13:49:00(UTC)
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Posted By John Fraser

Peter

What you have said is correct in my experience, regarding the more staff that are trained ( in construction health and safety ) the less need for a H & S Professional - although that basically does not help the safety professional when there is no work for him or her to do ! Basically they could be shown the door.

John
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