Lloy In the absence of a response I will comment, most multi-national organisations based in the UK use the same HSQE systems in other parts of the world. How rigidly they are applied is a moot point. However, if you comply with UK/EU laws then you will almost certainly comply with foreign countries h&s laws. That said, you will still need to do some homework on what other countries specifically require which may not be part of the normal UK/EU policies and practices. How you achieve consistency across the board I could not say, except I believe you are thinking on the right lines.

Hi Lloy, looking at something similar myself. Could you share with me what your proposed H&S org structure (chart) looks like so I can glean some idea on what resources of qualified H&S employees are required at each site / country? or if you are planning to outsource H&S to a management company. many thanks

We developed our own minimum requirements. Simple and HS(G) 65 based but not UK legislation based. We instructed business to comply with these requirements at the absolute minimum. If business want a hand developing a policy then fine but in general local requirements (the local policy/arrangements) should be developed as businesses see fit; to suit local requirements and culture rather then thrusting something upon them. Let them have the freedom to get on with it but with the understanding that they would be audited annually against the minimum requirements. We also put a strong emphasis on leadership. Think carefully about a global H&S committee, is it simply a talking shop for safety people to waffle - sorry, share good practice? - there is no legal requirement and it could annoy people as an expensive waste of time if approached incorrectly, instead would leadership be better involved in some kind of regular update on performance and discussion as part of the highest level management meeting? Feel free to PM me.