Regulations in the UK and most other developed countries make it a legal requirement for businesses to have practices in place when it comes to health and safety. These come in the forms of various documents and processes that must be put in place.
For those who are new to a HSE role, we have outlined some of the health and safety fundamentals that must be put in place.
- A health and safety policy
The first step towards good health and safety management is to have a good health and safety policy in place. This gives responsibility to given parties on the management of HSE in the workplace and helps keep your business in check legally.
- A proper risk assessment
Once a rounded health and safety policy has been developed, carrying out a risk assessment in your company’s workplace will highlight any current health and safety issues. Risk assessments give you a good opportunity to work out what areas you should keep an eye on when it comes to managing the health and safety of your business.
- An understanding of RIDDOR
Before you move on to some of the more interesting concepts around health and safety you should ensure you have a good understanding of the statutory instrument RIDDOR.
Standing for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, they are aimed at guiding employers towards reporting incidents in the workplace. It will help your business from a legal and HSE stand-point.
- An understanding of COSHH
Once you have a working understanding of RIDDOR you should have a look at COSHH. This statutory instrument covers the various substances that need to be considered and managed from an HSE perspective.
It can sometimes be difficult to keep up with the latest thinking around HSE and the best practices in the industry. To mitigate this make sure you get your information on the subject from a credible source.