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News Release from: Pilz Automation Technology | Subject: Understanding the workings of HSE
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 28 November 2005
Understanding the workings of HSE
During visits the HSE will focus on risks that have already been identified as national priorities - such as slips, trips and falls, or machines not being properly isolated prior to maintenance.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is always keen to promote itself as an organisation that provides advice and guidance to help people manage risks in the workplace, and if one looks at the range of publications and tools the HSE has produced over the years, it cannot be denied, says the organisation, that efforts are made in this direction Nevertheless, there inevitably comes a point where the HSE inspector decides that his or her verbal - or written - advice is not being acted upon diligently, or that an offence has been committed, and the only reasonable course of action is prosecution through the courts
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 28 Jul 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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Statistics have just been released by the HSE for offences and prosecutions in 2004/2005.
Recent years have seen a fall in the number of prosecutions, but this has to be considered in the context of the decision taken in 2003 to split the HSE's resources 60:40 between proactive and reactive work, and the fact that Great Britain's workplace health and safety record is, on the whole, still improving.
Clearly the HSE - and its enforcement partner, the local authorities - do not have the resources to investigate every incident, and bear in mind that not all incidents are reportable.
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So how and why does the HSE choose to visit a particular workplace? The overriding principle is that visits are targeted, based on risk and 'reward' (ie where the impact will be greatest).
One of the main reasons for a visit is that there is evidence of poor health and safety performance in a particular business or sector.
During such visits the HSE will focus on risks that have already been identified as national priorities - such as slips, trips and falls, or machines not being properly isolated prior to maintenance.
Hazardous industries - such as offshore, nuclear and explosives - mostly operate under safety case or licensing regimes that require an HSE assessment in advance.
So this is another reason for businesses to receive a visit.
Elsewhere, visits might well take place to investigate a specific incident or complaint.
Even so, only the most severe are tackled in this way, or those linked to current nationwide campaigns.
Occasionally visits are used to assess the risks in new businesses or premises, as part of a geographical, sector-specific or risk-specific campaign, or as random 'spot checks' on compliance.
In addition, some visits are used to keep the HSE abreast of new developments and processes or for training purposes.
And should something be found during one of these visits, what happens next? So long as the situation is not serious, normally the first course of action is to provide face-to-face expert advice to the dutyholder in order that the issues can be addressed.
If requested, this advice can also be confirmed in writing.
For more serious breaches of the law, however, the inspector may issue a notice on the dutyholder.
An improvement notice requires remedial action to be taken within a specified time limit, whereas prohibition notices are issued if the inspector believes there is a serious risk of personal injury.
An immediate prohibition notice stops the work activity immediately and requires that remedial action is taken to deal with the risk before the activity is restarted.
A deferred prohibition notice, on the other hand, stops a work activity within a specified time limit.
In the worst cases, where there has been a death, the police will lead a joint investigation with the HSE (or the local authority) to see if there might be a charge of manslaughter (or culpable homicide in Scotland).
If not, the HSE (or local authority) takes over and investigates the death under health and safety law.
A decision to prosecute will depend on whether there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction, and whether such a prosecution will be in the public interest.
In the year 2004/2005 the HSE brought 712 prosecutions, which was 26 per cent fewer than the number brought in 2003/2004, albeit with 95 per cent of the prosecutions resulting in convictions.
Interestingly, the average penalty was £18,765, which is a 31 per cent increase on the figure for 2003/2004, with the largest penalty being £2million for a rail company.
Note that local authority prosecutions are in addition to the HSE's figures.
The HSE states that around 90 to 95 per cent of its prosecutions take place following an investigation into a specific incident, mainly as a result of a report under RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995).
Because of the HSE's decision to shift the balance of its resources towards proactive measures, around 24 per cent fewer incidents were investigated in 2004/2005 compared with the previous year.
For the same reason, the number of enforcement notices served in 2004/2005 was 8445, which was around 25 per cent lower than the average figure for the years between 1998 and 2004 (the peak was over 13,324 in 2002/2003).
Looking at the manufacturing sector, 2617 improvement notices were served in 2004/2005 (down 14 per cent compared with the previous year), 680 prohibition notices were served (down 22 per cent), and the average penalty per offence was £8368 (down 3 per cent).
The HSE's report 'Health and Safety Offences and Penalties 2004/2005' is available as a free PDF to download from the HSE's website.
Bear in mind, of course, that the total cost to a business of an accident will be substantially greater than the fine.
Lost production, cancelled orders, legal fees, damage to reputation, time spent during investigations and in court will all be considerable.
Remember, the cost of an incident is likely to be far greater than the cost of compliance with health and safety legislation.
Pilz Automation Technology has consultants with competencies that enable them to work with manufacturing companies to help ensure that machinery meets current safety requirements.
To request more information about machinery safety consultancy services, please contact Pilz.
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