Health & Safety Review After Near-Fatal Accident

Our Service

Our client requested an independent and comprehensive review of health and safety management, to improve its maturity across the group.  Our team of Consultants conducted the review over five weeks, delivering high-level recommendations across multiple European countries. Pragmatic thought leadership approach to health and safety, on-demand health and safety as a service. Implementation of key recommendations to improve overall growth health and safety.

Context

Our client requested an independent and comprehensive review of their in-house health and safety management, as part of this we were looking at their health and safety standpoint and considering ways of achieving a more mature level, particularly as they had a near-fatal accident.

This project was time restricted to five weeks with a tight deadline to gather information from two UK and five European companies, necessitating a high-level focus on the overarching measures for accident prevention.

The overall business had limited H&S resource and therefore required an overall assessment of suitable capability to cover some areas across UK and Europe.

Furthermore, the health and safety information received from their European divisions was could not provide assurance of legal compliance and safe working practices due to fragmented risk assessments and inconsistent accident reporting.

Our Approach

Working with the IT and Change Director along with input from other key stakeholders within The Group Executive team, Leading Resolutions made 31 recommendations to address critical gaps and vulnerabilities in the client’s ability to prevent accidents, 23 of which were high-priority actions.

• Adapting their view away from commercialising health and safety through awards to strategic change that offers hazard elimination and effective risk control at the design stage.
• Improving the understanding of role and responsibilities, with increased line management ownership through more effective consultation and coordination as well as enhanced performance reporting.
• Introducing a health and safety committee to exercise robust governance and ensure that performance is visible and managed at a senior level.
• Presenting options for a group-based health and safety manager role to coordinate project activity and develop common standards through consultation.
• Identifying the gaps in existing documentation

Led by our Consulting Director, on a fractional basis as required, combined with our innovation platform tool. Our Consultants utilised their specific skills and experience within health and safety requirements and best practices, alongside knowledge of health and safety legislation within Europe.

Our Consultants observed key management processes such as training, risk assessments, accident reporting, auditing and our client’s consultation with their employees. Performance indicators were applied to each process so the client could clearly identify where improvement needed to be prioritised.

The Solution

An extensive document review followed by a combination of remote and site meetings based on the size, complexity, and risk profile of the organisation. Modelling performance against the Health & Safety Executive’s recommended management system.

We also recommended that the health and safety team should pivot to become a support function, providing advice and reviewing local and business-wide actions although we noted additional resource(s) were required to be able to respond in a timely manner.

Our Value Add

Longer-term view on resourcing and capability

Our client now has a clear understanding of the health and safety risks that threaten their company, alongside having a longer-term view on the resourcing and capability needed for their internal health and safety team.

Greater group cohesion

Responsibility to manage health and safety rests with the operating companies but there is clarity over what performance information is needed from them to be assured of their risk control.

Awareness of measures to mitigate future risks

Our client is now aware of the risk-based measures needed to avoid, manage and mitigate health and safety risks.