How do I know if I am compliant on site?
A recent survey of Green Hat clients found that the single biggest fear of Directors and Senior management that gives them sleepless nights is the fear of a serious accident or incident on one of their sites.
The best way to avoid this is to be proactive and plan ahead.
An old African proverb says:
‘Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up and knows that it must run faster than the fastest Lion or it will be killed.
Every morning in Africa a Lion also wakes up knowing that it must outrun the slowest Gazelle, or it will starve to death.
Therefore, it does not matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle, when the sun comes up you had better be running.’
Hopefully you won’t have any actual Lions on your site, but it is true to say that each morning you should be prepared for the day ahead.
A simple, cost effective and quick way of assessing whether you are compliant is by having an independent site inspection or audit.
By having one of these you can:
Demonstrate Legal Compliance and help fulfill your obligations under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Have an unbiased Assessment of your health and safety practices by an industry leading organisation.
Measurement – of the on-site effectiveness of your health and safety policies and practices.
Benchmarking – between sites and with comparable companies.
Reduce potential HSE involvement – helping reduce the implications of HSE involvement as enforcement action may lead to prosecution, and in many cases, substantial costs.
Obtain Peace of Mind – to help satisfy yourself
Why do you need health and safety site inspections?
Construction safety inspections help identify hazards and provide opportunities to fix problems before injuries and accidents can occur. They are focused on supporting the project teams in understanding the legislative and best practice requirements and assist them in rectifying any shortcomings and identifying opportunities for improvement in a practical and sensible manner.
Independent site inspections mean that you have an unbiased assessment of your projects and are free to focus your energy on your core business knowing that your sites are being inspected and reducing the likelihood of them being a danger to your workforce, visitors or to the general public.
How can I get help or advice?
If you need help or guidance on construction matters please do not hesitate to give us a call on 01792 293736 or contact us via email on enquiries@greenhat-consulting.co.uk.
Written by:
Paul Griffiths
AIOSH ACIEH
Senior Health & Safety Consultant
