Hi I've just heard that the H&S management bible is to be re-written. I guess it's a good idea, given it's apparently 19 years old. Something for SME's coming in early 2011 RoSPA have some ideas on their site about the changes. They're suggesting more focus on people rather than systems and a single policy/risk assessment approach. Has IOSH had any requests for input? What would members like to see?

My understanding is that HSE have not yet produced consultation documents but do intend to consult before the end of the year. A colleague did point me in the direction of this press release Revising Successful Health and Safety Management HSG 65 HSE is revising the well known guide used by organisations and safety practitioners to plan and assess their occupational health and safety management systems. The existing publication is now 19 years old and will be updated to reflect the modern business approach to managing in general and to recognise the changed business environment. The new guide, to be published early 2011, will be for managers of medium to larger companies and show a routmap from getting started to achieving best practice. The guidance will focus much more on how to manage, using people, rather than on management by systems. Many use and continue to support the POPMAR (Policy, Organising, Planning, Measuring, Auditing and Reviewing) process which will have a part to play in the new guidance. It will be a free downloaded publication, but much associated guidance will be web based. A new website was launched recently to carry this information; http://www.hse.gov.uk/managing/index.htm. Views and contributions are very welcome either through your trade organisation or the website above.

There is already a comprehensive system in place for consultations from other stakeholders such as the HSE that IOSH get involved in! Home page for consultations: http://www.iosh.co.uk/in...ation/consultations.aspx IOSH Process for consultations: http://www.iosh.co.uk/in...onsultation_process.aspx Live consultations:- http://www.iosh.co.uk/in.../live_consultations.aspx Closed consultations http://www.iosh.co.uk/in...losed_consultations.aspx Archived consultations http://www.iosh.co.uk/in...hived_consultations.aspx

This is the first I have heard of this. Looking at the HSE website all I could find was adiscussion document dated Jan 2010 which was looking at the options in relation to HSG65-leave it as it is, scrap it and leave it to things like BS OHSAS 18001 and come up with a new ‘Reduced’ & Refreshed-HSG65. Then nothing. I tried the link to the HSE consultation pages but it was broken. If they have produced new guidance it would be civil service record (6 months for a new policy document: unheard of!) and I am concerned that IOSH and its members have apparently not been involved.

The HSE Board indeed considered a paper presented by the HSE regarding what to do with HSG 65 in its January 2010 meeting. Unfortunately, the minutes of this meeting does not include any "below the line" papers that this was, hence there is no public information of the outcome, but we can deduce that the Board agreed for Option (iii) i.e. "Refresh and reinvigorate the regulators position on managing for H&S - update HSG65 to fit the current context and position it within a new ‘offer’ from the regulator." Refer to:- http://www.hse.gov.uk/ab...010/270110/pjanb1012.pdf In most cases, before embarking on a "public" consultation, the HSE "pre-consults" a smaller group of stake holders (such as IOSH, BSC, ROSPA etc) to get a steer on what questions to ask and changes. It is not possible for these stakeholders to then consult their entire membership at the "pre-consult" stage, assuming that there is going to be a "public" consultation anyway". The stakeholders during the pre-consult stage usually use their expert resources (but do not consult the full membership) to direct thier steer to the HSE. For example, IOSH amy to use its Policy & Technical Dept and its links to experts that have been involved in producing IOSH guidance ( e.g. Systems in Focus). It appears that ROSPA has gone public with this so as to get support for its own particular steer on the future of HSG 65. Refer to:- http://www.rospa.com/occ...tion/hsg65-guidance.aspx