I recently dealt with an small organisation that wanted support with its Health and Safety.  I found the normal situation when I reviewed their existing policies and procedures:  whilst they wanted to do the ‘right thing’ for their employees and customers, time was their enemy.  They were entirely focused on making their business survive and make a profit.

You sensed that a few times they had started to look at health and safety, but didn’t know where to start and so had put it back down the priority list.  So it remained nagging away at the back of the mind of their Managing Director.

I gave them the same advice that I give to almost every organisation that I deal with.  Start in three main areas.  Keep it simple.

Health and Safety Policy

Write a Health and Safety Policy and make sure your employees know what’s in it.  You can get a template off the excellent Health and Safety Executive website (http://www.hse.gov.uk/).  Once it’s done, keep it up to date.

Risk Assessment

Undertake an assessment of the possible hazards.   Document what they are, what you are currently doing to minimise the chances of them happening and  log the actions you will be taking over the coming months.  Again there is a easy-to-use template to follow on the HSE website. http://www.hse.gov.uk/

Then – and here’s the challenge – implement the action plan.   Easy to write but few organisations in my experience get to it.

Train and raise awareness

Finally, raise awareness of health and safety responsibilities and provide suitable training to employees on safety at work.  Do it and log that it has been done.  Work procedures are great because they offer evidence that guidance is being given.

Doing these basics diligently creates a strong foundation.  We support organisations in these, and many other, health and safety areas but the HSE website http://www.hse.gov.uk/ offers a great point of reference.