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FOCUSQuestioning performance - the director's essential guide to health, safety and the environment, by David Eves and John GummerFebruary 2006 The UK Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has just published Questioning performance - the director's essential guide to health, safety and the environment written by David Eves and by Rt Hon John Gummer MP. It gives directors all they need to know to discharge their responsibilities properly, and enables them to ask the right questions of their safety teams and understand the answers. There is no other book like this one - this definitive new title gives directors all they need to know about health, safety and the environment. As an individual, as well as their company, directors are legally responsible for managing risks properly and can be held personally liable for the consequences of failure. Questioning performance will help senior people to gain assurance and discharge their responsibilities properly by enabling them to ask the right questions, understand the answers and see that they and their board take the best decisions about managing health, safety and environmental risks. This book builds a bridge between directors and expert professionals - employed in-house or as consultants - and enables directors to develop effective and productive discussions with health, safety and environment practitioners, managers, trade union officials, safety reps and enforcers. An online update service will be available for this title. David Eves, former deputy director general and HM chief inspector in the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said: "Directors are responsible for the big picture, and have to ensure that their company will survive and prosper in a harsh, competitive world. They may reach the boardroom with little or no experience of managing risks to health and safety. If they think this is best left to experts while they concentrate on the company's financial success, they do so at their peril." You will be able to master Questioning performance within a few hours, and then use it as a handy reference tool. It contains straight forward explanations of what needs to be done to comply with the law, with clear examples of good practice. The authors speak from experience: David Eves was deputy director of the HSE from 1989 to 2002. He has worked in health and safety for 40 years. John Gummer was Secretary of State for the Environment, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and Minister for Health and Safety at Work during the 1990s. Why directors and senior managers need this book:
Contents PreviewPart 1 - Management matters
Part 2 - Hazards and controls A to Z
Part 3 - Headline facts and figures
Increasingly, company directors are seen to be responsible for the health, safety and environmental record of their businesses," Rt Hon John Gummer MP said. "Customers, shareholders and the wider public know that the profitability and reputation of a company is put at risk when directors do not measure up to these growing expectations." Eves continued, "Directors who take their responsibilities seriously will want to ensure that their workforce, the general public, their own professional standing and the reputation of their company and brand, are properly protected. We hope that Questioning performance will help them." Questioning performance - the director's essential guide to health, safety and the environment by David Eves and Rt Hon John Gummer. ISBN 0 901357 37 5. £35. For more details on this title or to order a copy visit www.iosh.co.uk/books For further information contact Anne Smart, IOSH media and marketing assistant | Tel: 0116 2573100 | anne.smart@iosh.co.uk Watch your step in constructionOver 1,000 construction workers fracture a bone or dislocate a bone every year in the UK., with thousands more across the world. This February 2006, as part of an initiative to reduce the number of slips and trips on construction sites, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors will be carrying out a nationwide 'Watch Your Step' inspection programme. The construction industry reports in excess of 3,000 slip or trip incidents every year, the true figure could be higher. Most, slip and trip incidents, are caused by corridors and stairways being obstructed with tools, materials and waste. Trip hazards may also be caused by footpaths which are not properly levelled, or cables trailing across pedestrian routes. During a similar inspection initiative in October 2005, HSE inspectors took enforcement action at around 11% of sites they visited in respect of good order issues. During February's site visits, inspectors will expect to find sites where:
Site managers should discuss good order issues with their workers, encouraging them to report slip or trip hazards. Managers should also have in place systems ensuring that everyone on site complies with the arrangements for the removal of waste. To support the initiative, organisations such as UCATT, TGWU, NASC, NCF and CECA will be distributing free good order 'toolbox talk' packs to their members. The packs contain a 5 minute DVD "Watch your step, a toolbox talk for construction", a supporting Good Order On Site booklet and a Good Order poster. A limited supply of the packs are also available free from HSE Books, Tel: +44 (0)1787 881165, or can be downloaded from www.hse.gov.uk/construction/slips/index.htm Visit www.hse.gov.uk/construction/slips/index.htm for full details of the Watch Your Step in the Construction Industry initiative. On 3 October 2005, HSE launched a national campaign raising awareness of the cost of slips and trips in the workplace. Further information on the campaign can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/watchyourstep HSE's Better Business campaign is a national initiative that focuses on raising awareness about the financial and personal costs and causes of workplace incidents. It also shows the real bottom-line benefits of managing health and safety effectively. For further information and to read about the business benefits of better health, go to www.hse.gov.uk/betterbusiness |