Roles & responsibilities Involving staff in safety management December 2015 Dr Emer Bell Integrated Risk Solutions

What’s the legal situation? What does that mean on a day to day basis?

Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 Section 80 of the Act allows for Seniors Officers such as Unit Heads to be prosecuted, fined or imprisoned where an offence has been committed as a result of connivance or neglect.

Any member of staff can be prosecuted if found guilty of an offence under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act.

Unit Heads Responsible for ensuring that each of the activities carried out in their unit has a Person in Charge, That the person concerned is competent** to safely take charge. ** Training, knowledge and experience

Unit Heads Heads of Units are generally the person to whom responsibility has been delegated by the University for ensuring compliance with strict liability requirements under certain health and safety regulations.

Unit Head Ensure that there is documentation in place to record; –the hazards identified, –the risk assessments carried out, –and the risk management arrangements put in place for each of the activities of their unit.

Unit Head While this responsibility may be delegated to the “Person in Charge” the Unit Head retains accountability for ensuring that the requirements of the Safety Management system are observed.

Unit Head As part of the University’s system of internal control each Head of Unit will be asked for annual confirmation that the safety management arrangements are in place and that they are meeting their obligations.

Persons in Charge Ensure the safety of activities in their charge by ensuring that the following are in place: –Hazard identification. –Risk assessment. –Risk management measures to ensure safety as far as reasonably practicable.

Persons in charge –Operations are conducted by persons with the necessary skills knowledge and experience. –Ensure training carried out and training records kept. –Documentation as required by the SMS Equipment inspection or servicing records

Who could the ‘Person in Charge’ be?

Principal investigators Academic Programme Directors Others?

Principal Investigators

Technical Officers

Unit Safety Committees and/or Safety Co-ordinators Heads of Units may nominate Unit Safety Committees and/or Safety Co- ordinators to assist in matters relating to the safety of individuals, buildings and equipment.

Safety Coordinators must be a senior member of staff and be given adequate time, resources and training to carry out their duties. The specific role of each Unit Safety Co-ordinator needs to be locally agreed and set out in each Unit’s Safety Statement Policy/Declaration

The Safety Coordinator may be the Person in Charge for a number of activities in a low risk unit. Not possible for the Safety Coordinator to be the Person in Charge for everything in more complex units e.g. Science and Engineering

Jobs that need doing Prepare and review the Unit Safety Statement –Ensuring risk assessments are carried out and acted on –Room by room risk assessments –Display screen equipment assessments –Chemical agents risk assessments –Biological agents risk assessment –Project risk assessment –Fieldwork risk assessments …………………..

Identify training needs & ensure it is provided including induction training. Carry out internal safety audits Monitor work practices

Ensure that accidents/dangerous occurrences are reported and investigated Liaise and co-operate with Safety Representatives Communicate and consult with staff

To be prepared for, organise and locally manage fire drills. Initiate and organise other emergency procedures and drills

Areas for improvement Some Principal Investigators are exposed – they have not carried out risk assessments, provided training or safety briefings to their research teams

Areas for improvement In some Units the Safety Coordinator is expected to do all – not always reasonable or possible. Some safety management jobs actually belong to others

Heads - How to get staff involved Put together a clear list of what needs to be done Identify who needs to do it (PIs, Lecturers, Managers, Technical staff, Other staff) Tell them (by when, what documents) –Not optional, they have a legal responsibility

How to get staff involved List the other stuff – inspections, fire drills, communication etc. Ask the Safety Coordinator or Committee to assist with this.

Health & Safety Office Develop and maintain the Safety Management System, Monitor and report on safety management and safety outcomes, Support and advise managers and persons in charge in implementing the Safety Management System.