5 tips to create a better Health and Safety management system

16 Jun 2016

The following figures are a real eye-opener. According to the Health and Safety Executive, 142 workers in the UK were killed at work in 2014/15, and during the same year 1.2 million workers suffered from a work-related illness. How do you create a better Health & Safety management system? Here's five great tips

27.3 million working days were lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury in 2014/15, costing an estimated £14.3 billion. 

76,000 injuries to employees were reported under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations); and 611,000 injuries occurred at work according to the Labour Force Survey.


Looking at those numbers, the obvious question that springs to mind is this: Are we doing enough? Enough to protect our workers by properly managing and preventing problems, enough by monitoring and recording incidents and accidents, and enough to support them if they are off sick as any responsible employer should?

On the surface, having a proactive and reactive system seems obvious, but proactivity is often sadly lacking in many company’s Health and Safety management systems. Regular health checks of systems to ensure they are flexible and making the most of advantages in technology do not happen frequently enough.

You might never stop an accident happening, but putting in place robust risk assessment and audits is vital to not just prevent recurrence but to minimise risks in the first place.

So what can we do? Below are five examples of best practice to help you ensure your Health and Safety management system is the most efficient it can be:

Think digital: Today’s digital world means mobility and flexibility, so make use of that to help your employees help you by reporting on the move and in real-time, allowing you to respond and manage more quickly and efficiently. Help yourself build databases, spot trends and keep ahead of any potential difficulties, as well as giving your business quick-response reporting to allow a faster more informed management response.

Think 360 - proactive and reactive: As mentioned above, don’t just look to fix things after they have happened. A robust risk assessment management system designed to perfectly suit your business (and your business only as every company has different needs) should incorporate pre-planning and reporting to help prevent incidents and accidents.

Think consolidation: Spreadsheets, reports, photographs, databases, audits, the list goes on. It’s no use having these things scattered around the office or where it is hard for different people to access the relevant, up to date information. That leads to confusion and holes in your system, which could in turn have dire consequences. A centralised system accessible from anywhere helps keep the whole jigsaw together.

Think intuitive: You might have a system that looks fabulous, but can your management and employees use it quickly and effectively? If not, it might not be worth the heavy investment you’ve undoubtedly made in it. No-one likes getting bogged down with paperwork, so an online system that can be accessed and updated from anyway, that has reporting and tracking all in one place and which is accessed via a personal dashboard, will helps everyone in your business make the most of the system. Which in turn benefits you. Your system is there for your employees - make sure they can use it.

Think YOU: Oddly, you and what you need can easily overlooked when it comes to having the right Health and Safety management system. It might be out of date, you might be paying for a package which includes elements you don’t need, your system might only be doing half the job. Buying off the shelf can be cost effective but it can also be costly. Buying a system that is bespoke can be costly and time consuming too. That’s why our highly configurable solution is a hybrid of what’s best. Simple, efficient and cost effective, but with everything you require at your fingertips.

Is your system working its hardest for you? For a free Health and Safety system health check, give us a call on 01332 781882