Health and Safety Executive

Health and Safety Executive

Partnership on Health and Safety in

Scotland – how are we doing?

Sarah Jones

Field Operations Directorate (FOD)

Scotland and Northern England (SaNE)

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What we did change and why?

September 2010 – PHASS partners agreed to open up meetings to those in Scotland in a position to improve health and safety; and to move meetings around Scotland

• Broad support for moving to a more outward-facing approach (organised free or inexpensively by partners)

• Retain opportunity as a body to discuss current issues

• Encourage communications between PHASS members and their wider constituencies in local areas

• Information on HSE’s activity – no longer be compiled and presented for PHASS meetings - accessible on the HSE website and the HSE Scotland website

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What we didn’t change…

The Partnership on Health and Safety in Scotland brings together key players in workplace health and safety in Scotland who are "part of the solution".

It aims to: 

• target Scotland's resources to deliver higher standards of health and safety more effectively

• co-ordinate effort across devolved and reserved government interests

• promote the benefits to people, businesses, and Scotland's economy, of working in a safe and healthy environment.

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What have we done…

Three open meetings so far in:

• Dumfries, autumn 2010 - Health and safety leadership in small businesses

• Inverness, spring 2011 - Creating healthier workplaces - managing the prevention of occupational disease

• Fife, August - Health and safety training – achieving competence and genuine worker involvement

All with a pre-meeting for PHASS members on their own

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Who have we reached?

• Nearly 200 people in total • mainly via HSE invitation using HSE and LA duty-holder databases

• Small to medium-sized businesses - land-based services, small construction and manufacturing, stone and woodworking, care services, whisky

• Large public sector – NHS and local authority

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Method

• Business-to-business knowledge transfer

• What the regulators are looking for

• On-going advice and (local) support “the offer”

• Short presentations

• Q&A and discussion

• Promotional literature

• Followed up with further information by e-mail

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What’s been the reaction?

‘Happy’ sheets:

• 60 – 80% heard via HSE letter

• No negative feedback at all

• More real cases studies (good and bad)

• More time for discussion (in small groups)

• Training

• More regular events

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What is the legacy of each event?

• HSE cannot keep in touch

• Potential customers for LA services

• On-going contact with local services?

• Potential clients for SCHWL

• Potential Local Safety Group members

• Is attitude changed?

• Is behaviour changed?

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Some thoughts….

• On how to do things - businesses like hearing from other businesses– Good, honest speakers– Real cases studies

• On how not to do things and to avoid action by the regulator – businesses like hearing from HSE and LAs– Would they like to hear what happens when things go wrong?– From COPFS or from lawyers?

• On where to go for more support – they want simple and accessible sources– What they really want is one-stop-shop training– Are we making the most of the events to tell them what the offer

is?– Are we leaving them with contacts?

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More thoughts…

• We’ve struggled to get numbers 500:50

• We’ve struggled to get SMEs

• Should we have been tougher on barring public sector/big business?

• We don’t really know what the final outcomes have been

• Do PHASS members have time/space to discuss developments and share what they’re doing?

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One idea…

“Estates Excellence”

• Partnership project in SE England – big businesses, LAs, NHS, Fire & Rescue Services,

Local Safety Groups, HSE Visiting Officers

• Takes what we’ve done a step further

• Delivers pre-prepared package of interventions to c200 SMEs within a small geographical area (industrial estate)

• Face-to-face doorstep offer – purely voluntary participation

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“Estates Excellence” continued…

• Followed by on-site events to engage

• Up to one month later a benchmarking visit to each participant to identify– knowledge gaps– and action gaps

• Two weeks later – drop-in training sessions on priority topics identified– occupational health testing

• Follow up – “Have you taken action?”

• 6 months later – return visit offering a choice of event on another priority topic

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Over to you…