This may be a stupid question but are these two terms (in H&S lingo) the same thing?

For example the HSE's publication 'Five Steps to Risk Assessment INDG 163' states that its contains notes on good practice which are not compulsory but which may be useful. I would consider this document Best Practice for carrying out a Risk Assessment

Take for example the case of fitting RCD devices to domestic electrical installations. Good practice (and indeed a minimum requirement as it happens) would be to fit 2No. Devices in order split the installation into two halves to limit the number of circuits out of use in the event of a failure on one circuit, say a 5x5 split. Upstairs lighting and downstairs lighting off different devices. However, best practice would be to have individual devices, one for each circuit so only the damaged circuit is out of action in the event of a fault and hence minimum disruption and a lot easier to fault find (so works out cheaper if a problem does occur).

Rob

This will always be a vague one, and the terms can be identifed through a variety of ways (pretty much what Kate stated).

I dare say Zimmy's example is actually of compliance and then good / best practice (if it's a legal minimum it cannot be good practice!).

Generally speaking I'd define good practice as that which goes above the legal minimum and is a general industry standard (so this would be contained in guidance documents (generally HSE guidance) and by identify what the industry as a whole do.

Best practice however is that which goes the extra mile, an example maybe OHSAS accredited systems and / or working to a British Standard (often more onerus than guidance) and again when looking at the industry norms best practice would be that which is not common but which goes further than the majority.

As kate, my definition of Best practise is a higher standard than good practise - 'The best practise would be the best of the good ones when compared apples for apples'.

Surely, the dictionary will illuminate the way forward here.

Best practice uses an absolute pronoun. Best is not quantifiable, nor is it divisible. By contract, good practice in not absolute and can be quantified, good, very good, exceptional, reasonably good, even not very and nowhere near good! This implies variability in quantum, and therefore in interpretation, thus there can be several ways to achieve good practice but only one to achieve best practice.

If you do ever achieve nirvana - best practice - and someone does better then your version of best practice no longer exists and the accolade must be transferred to another. All that remains is the scope of assessment. Is best the best ever, everywhere? Or is it just best in my undertaking, among my contemporaries, in this country, or perhaps measured internationally?

Best is best. It is an absolute term, but the denominator can still be varied.

I'd say not, the way I see it (based on my training / experience etc.) is that there are 3 categories (in an OHS sense):

- Compliance: doing the minimum required to "stay clear of the law". Compliance is exactly that, complying with what is required.
- Good practice: Going above compliance and doing things that are not necessarily legally required but what industry does and is deemed generally as a better standard of performance
- Best practice: as already detailed

Ian, whilst I see where you're coming from I do feel the 3 terms above have a general consensus definition in relation to OHS (at least within my organisation and colleagues in the sector).

Why can't the legal minimum be good practice? If it is not good practice why if it there at all then. Would it not be considered bad practice not to be compliant?

Come to think of it though, when I suggest going further than the line in the sand called compliance I have been slammed on here for wanting to spend too much money for going further than that required. Funny old world :-)

As it is said 'The only Zen to be found on the top of a mountain is the Zen you take with you'

Good fun this H&S init :-)

"The best practices of the few become the good practices of the many".

As usual I cannot remember the source of this description so apologies for not referencing it properly.

Nonetheless it shows clearly that they are both the same thing and yet different; it really just depends on when you discover the practice and start to use it.

So when the HSE guidance on risk assessment was first published it may well have been seen as best practice (though I never thought it was) but now it sits as good practice (and I still don't like it).

One would hope that all legal minima reflect what is accepted by society as good practice. As Ian B has pointed out there can be variations in 'good' so that doing more than the legal minima, or indeed achieving a duty by methods other than those generally used by others, can still be described as good practice rather than best practice.

Don't you just love semantics;-)

p48

Surprised no one has mentioned the page on HSE website titled "Assessing compliance with the law in individual cases and the use of good practice" available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/theory/alarp2.htm

My interpretation is that Good Practice is most relevant where an ALARP demonstration is required.

If there are specific legal requirements (e.g. examples provided by Zimmy) it is probably fair to say that good practice is the same as minimum legal requirement.

Best practice is mentioned by HSE. It would be a situation where additional time and effort has been put in to go beyond ALARP