Site management

Good health and safety policy is good management

1 February 2008



The HSG65 guidelines provide the textile rental industry with a framework for the effective management of a company’s most precious resources – its people, buildings and equipment, says the Opeque Consultancy


The management of health and safety and the legal requirements are clearly defined in numerous standards, codes of practice and industry guidelines.

A typical medium-sized factory or drycleaning shop is a convenient model, but the principles are much the same for other businesses such as supermarkets, drycleaners, or large car parks. Every aspect must be managed.

The textile rental industry is no different, with its head office, processing plant, distribution depot and stock warehouse requirements.

A strategy for ensuring health and safety must cover mobile staff in sales roles, route delivery and trunking vehicles, and remember they also visit and work on customers’ premises.

The management of each function and the hazards and their risks are all part of the real operation which businesses face daily and must control in a responsible manner.

Thanks to initiatives by the Textile Services Association, specific guidelines have been generated and published over the last few years to document, advise and specify the correct and shared procedures which manager, employee and customer must recognise as their responsibility.

HSG65 represents the ideal package to realise best demonstrated practice.

Our industry is developing and changing massively. Many SMEs are emerging and they may not be always be aware of such issues.

This concise and specific management tool will allow new and existing companies to both promote and protect their operation within the legislative boundaries.

The person in charge is expected to be competent and responsible for all aspects and at every level.

Our model has 100-plus personnel worth a fortune, a building and site worth around £10million, production and services kit worth £6m, products and stock in circulation at £5m and contracted services worth £2m. In addition managers must consider the customers, and the businesses turnover and profitability.

There are simple procedures for managers to follow to ensure that something doesn’t go horribly wrong in any aspect of the organisation, or in reality, to cover themselves if it does.These will ensure you remain in charge. Most importantly in setting out formal procedures and communicating responsibilities, you are securing everyone’s interests and welfare.

Five key elements

HSG65 clearly states five key elements in the guide to successful Health and Safety management and these are also essential in the overall management process.

•A policy should be designed, written and communicated;

•Organise, motivate and empower your team to deliver the policy;

•Planning and implementing is key – share the plan;

•Measure before and after implementation, and gauge improvement;

•Finally, audit and review performance.

If you haven’t already done so, use HSG65 to set up an effective plan for management of health and safety. It will act as a model that can be applied throughout departments and for the varying needs of your organisation.

Checklist to follow

The following checklist gives examples of some key requirements to maintain control of any site. HSG65 was devised to provide a managed process for the following elements:

• H&S policy

• risk assessments

• training documentation and/or operator certification

• management and improvement plan

• accident/incident reporting and investigating

• management of contractors on site and permits to work

• visitors on-site procedure

• control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH), pressure systems and electrical distribution

• delivery staff on customers sites

• industry guidelines and legislation

• insurance and registration details for on and off site – public, employer and motor

• site operator’s licence

• vehicle and driver legislation

• environmental statement of compliance

• the site operational manual (general register)

• waste management

• fire prevention, regulations. r.a., site plan, drill log

• employment legislation – recruitment, absenteeism, disciplinary procedures, etc.

• engineering insurance

• asset management policy

• business contingency plan

• equality and hygiene policy, both on and off site

• security procedure

• mission statement

• emergency contacts, key holders.

Common principles

The same principles can now be applied to all the operational, personnel and infrastructure requirements. Management can guide the development of work practices that staff can practise in their areas, applying a consistent logic throughout the organisation.

Engineering: This function will already be clearly defined in terms of the individual expertise, specific roles, working hours/shift patterns, break-down and call-out procedures, planned preventatitive maintenance (PPM) schedule, asset management, spare parts inventory, legislative procedures and budgetary control.

These can all be better formalised and organised by using the five key procedures. Measuring performance will no doubt be the most beneficial.

Facilities management: This may be part of the engineering function, but even if it is separate, similar principles apply.

A large number of employees or visiting customers could be highly dependent upon the facilities and this adds another dimension to the importance of formality and control. The continuous use and rapid turnover by human beings in all their various shapes, sizes and personalities is impossible to manage without strict controls.

Operational supervisors: This is probably already well in control of staff, processing equipment, product stock, performance targets and personnel records, but is potentially open to familiarity and a consequent fall in standards.

A timely review using HSG65 raises the opportunity to appraise current procedures which will produce key benefits.

Operators: Applying the strategy to staff is probably the most challenging exercise, but with correct preparation and careful introduction, your employees will, if brought on board objectively, make it all work for you.

Staff should be cherished, rewarded and appropriately reprimanded at all levels; honour and train and they will remain.

Transport: Regimented procedures governing vehicle and transport legislation, maintenance, security, distribution logistics and customer interface make this section an ideal one to use as a model.

As with health and safety, the procedures and responsibilities are already clearly defined and just need bringing under control.

Sales and service: There are many opportunities to improve management here by by defining roles and responsibilities, communication, adopting a flexible approach where neede, setting targets, interfacing with other departments and dealing with front-line customer issues. HSG65 could be the answer to clarify these and bring about improved harmony within the organisation.

Stock control:This is usually in place and should just require some fine tuning.

Your customers

If will be excellent PR for the company if you can demonstrate control of the product and service quality and reliability and allow standards to be set out measured and reported to customers.

The HSG65 format provides demonstrable compliance under world-class, accredited definitions in which you and the customer will then have confidence. Other routine procedures, such as quality control, (resource efficiency) and engineering maintenance (PPM) can all be subjected to the same format.

The five procedures

• POLICY: Every section or department will have terms of reference, job function statements, method statements, risk assessments, performance targets, quality procedures, training and certification of personnel.

Each manager/supervisor will be able to construct an operational policy based upon all these key criteria. Use the guide in HSG65 (chapter 2) and embellish it to suit your particular function.

• ORGANISE: Adhere to the golden rule of management – never ask anybody to do something that you have not actually done before, or at the very least without having an appreciation for the task.

Experience has absolutely no substitute, take heed of all that is tried, proven and trusted.

If you are new to an organisation, don’t pass the buck to ignorance or worse still to those beneath you, but search all avenues and interrogate all resources; ask your staff. Ask supervisors, engineers, operators, admin staff and the person who sweeps up – he knows everyone and what they do. It’s always good sense to check.

Call in an expert to put it all in perspective, in the correct order and brought right up to date. While this may be at some cost financially or even to your own pride, it may ultimately be far more expensive not to take this precaution.

• PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING: The most important elements are clearly explained in chapter 4 and identify the involvement of all parties and functions from input, through the entire process to the ultimate output which can even be the customer where services or deliveries are required on their premises. Get each department to analyse its own requirements then put an action plan in place to target the issues and opportunities.

• AUDIT, REVIEW PERFORMANCE, AND MEASURE:

Having implemented the policy, ensure compliance and then audit and review the programme.Make sure you make checklist and measure performance. Don’t complicate the exercise, but equally, cover all the details.

Then with confidence that all is in control, you can reflect on your responsibilities, the efficiency and safety of your team, the security of the assets and get on with running the business.

Finally, explain your strategies to the main board to give them confidence. If you are the chairman, that has been done.




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