I would appreciate any help with reference to a H&S report that has been requested by our Chairman to be delivered during the quarterly Board meetings. I am unsure of what should be included in this report or if there is a standard format it should take. Obviously, I am pleased that the Board are starting to take an interest in the company H&S but would appreciate your comments in order to supply the information and therefore to promote the importance of H&S at this level? Any help greatly appreciated. If anyone has templates or their own reports which they would be willing to share (with the details removed of course!) I would also be grateful. Thanks Duncan

Duncan, I'd agree with Kate in that the layout / format of the report really is organisation specific so find out what they want (or currently expect). The topics will also depend on what you currently measure, how many sites you have etc. You may also use some form of indexing score to provide an overal snapshot in a single figure. You want to ensure that all thea mesures are presented in a clear form. Make use of both leading and lagging indicators. An example of the info that we provide to our board monthly and annually: - Overall Business Performance * Accident stats with various analysis (by category / type of accident / type of injury / IP type) * Safety audit result (as an amalgamated figure) * No. observations completed by operational management * Enforcement activity (positive / mixed / negative) * Costs to date (department spend etc.) * Insurance claims analysis (EL / PL / number / type / value) * Statutory inspection status (analysis of current number AE / AN / BD / OK plus description of any AN / AE) - Site Performance * Sites grouped (due to size) and the above anaylsis detailed for each region * various analysis and comparisons between sites - Relevant industry news / legislative changes / case law Hope this may provide a steer, the majority of what you'll want to include will be down to your current processes and data gathering - you may do alot more than we do or alot less, and this will be reflected in your report.

Duncan Drop me a PM and I will send you the format I use for board reports if you like. Covers the items the other posters have rightly suggested. Jonty

I suggest you need a 'sponsor' Board member - not only to tell you the sort of thing they expect, but also to give you private feedback on your presentation. A good start would be the person who asked that you do this, and be open about the fact that you aren't sure about would benefit from some guidance - whilst also being ready to say you've consulted peers via this Forum. You could also look at the IOSH Guide on Reporting Performance, which includes internal reports. It's written in terms of annual publications, but might give you some ideas of ways to measure performance that aren't just negative, i.e. things we got wrong!

I would go along with the "Board Sponsor" mentioned above. If you have never done a report before it is important to get it right so you don't get too long a list of further information requests for the next one. From my point of view my Board only wants to see "Assurance" that things are or are not as they should be on a monthly basis - with an extensive and in detail annual report. Picking up on what others have also said about format - generally there will be standard format already in your organisation - ask your "Board Sponsor" or alternatively the person that pulls together all the documentation for board meetings, usually an admin type person and a mine of information.