Health and safety management systems
Access the deeper benefits of good health and safety practice
Access the deeper benefits of good health and safety practiceAt System Concepts, we know that good health and safety management provides valuable organisational benefits. It can help you meet your legal duties, provide assurance that you’re managing significant risks, and help you continually improve how you do things.
But managing health and safety the right way can deliver more than just legal compliance. Doing things well can improve operational efficiency and performance, enhance reputation, improve employee morale and generate those all-important financial savings.
One way to help your organisation reap all these benefits, is to develop and implement an effective health and safety management system.
What is a health and safety management system, and where should you start?
In simple terms, a management system sets out how you are going to manage health and safety. It provides you with a way of ensuring things are consistently done the way you want them to be. And while developing and implementing a good health and safety management system isn’t quite as straightforward as this sounds, it certainly needn’t be a complicated, laborious task.
Initially, it can seem like a bit of a minefield. You might think that you need to generate mountains of paperwork, or wonder whether you should buy an ‘off-the-shelf’ manual that promises to keep you out of court, should things go wrong. You might have heard of HSG 65, BS OHSAS 18001 and the forthcoming ISO 45001, but not be sure what all these letters and numbers mean, never mind which one is right for you. Or you may know exactly what you want to do, but be unsure where to start.
That’s where experienced health and safety consultants can help. Our professional advice and expert insights, delivered by our friendly consultants, will help you determine where you are, where you want to get to and how to get there.
How we help develop the right management system for you
We’ve helped organisations of all shapes and sizes over the years to develop the right health and safety management system for them. From large global businesses to small start-ups and everything in between, we work closely with our clients to help them achieve their aspirations.
1 – Understand your business and what you want to achieve
We know that every business is different – so we’re good listeners. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, we’ll take the time to understand your business, your values, how you do things and your aspirations for health and safety. Whether you plan to implement OHSAS 18001, begin the transition to ISO 45001, or go with the HSG 65 model, we’ll make sure we know what you want so we can decide the best way to help you succeed.
2 – Review where you currently are
Whilst we’re always focused on your ultimate goals, it’s equally important to understand your current position. We’ll carry out an initial review of how you manage health and safety so we have a clear understanding of where you are. This helps us to help you get to where you want to be.
3 – Develop a clear, achievable plan
Once we’ve got a good feel for your business and your current position, we’ll use our expertise to develop a plan to get you to where you want to be. Everything we do is focused on how your organisation works, and our recommendations will always be proportionate and relevant. We don’t believe in bureaucracy or doing things for the sake of it. We’ll tell you in simple terms what you need to do and how you need to do it.
4 – Work with you to put things in place
We don’t like to walk away and leave our clients with a big list of things to do. If you need ongoing support then we’ll work alongside you to put our plans into action and develop your health and safety management system. We can help develop your policy and procedures, consult your workers and other stakeholders, and train your people on health and safety and what they need to do.
5 – Review how things are working
As with everything in business, it’s important to review how health and safety is working in practice. Our continued support gives you assurance that things are working as they should, and helps you continually improve your management system. Our audit services include full reviews of your system, or targeted reviews of a specific area or risk.
Are you looking for expert assistance?
If you’re thinking of developing or reviewing your health and safety management system then we’d love to chat with you either on the phone or over a coffee, about how we can help you achieve your goals.
Also look out for our forthcoming article, in which we’ll discuss the soon to be introduced international standard for health and safety management, ISO 45001.
Gain the advantages of a health and safety management system
For specialist guidance, contact our team of expert consultants