The “ Plan – Do – Check – Act ” system is generally used in many management systems, including the ISO 9001 Quality Management System, ISO 45001 Health and Safety Management System and the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, while other different health and safety management systems existed used a similar format ” OHSAS 18001 ” health and safety management standard. All these safety management systems have common principles, which are demonstrated in the ILO’s Occupational Safety and Health Management System “ ILO-OSH 2001 ”, the key elements of this system as: Policy, Organizing, Planning and Implementation, Measuring, Action for Improvement, and Audit.
Policy is a foundation stone of good health and safety management in any organization, sets out the organization’s general approach and commitment to achieving particular aims and objectives. It provides a framework of general and specific health and safety responsibilities for staff, and guidance to protect employees from harm as a result of workplace activities. It is best written by someone within the organization rather than someone from outside
1 ) General Statement Of Intent
Spells out the approach to health and safety management, and its aims in terms of performance, will also usually contain goals and objectives for the organization. It should recognize that managers and workers at all levels within the organization have a part to play in implementing policy, and it will therefore state very clearly that every person must comply with the policy and that serious breaches of policy may be treated as disciplinary offences.
Secondly it should be written in consultation with the workforce and most importantly shall be Signed by the person at the top of the organization (Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Managing Director (MD) ) to authorize the policy and indicate that the policy commitment comes from the highest level
2) Planning for implementation
Adequate control of risk can only be achieved through coordinated action by all members of the organization, this is especially important when dealing with health risks that may only become apparent after a long period of time. And In addition to setting your policy, planning should include steps to ensure legal compliance and procedures for dealing with emergency situations
Planning the system involves:
- Designing, developing and implementing suitable and management arrangements, risk control systems and workplace precautions
- Operating and maintaining the system while also seeking improvement where needed
- Sustain positive health and safety attitudes and behaviors
In order to plan successfully:
- Gather accurate information about the current situation
- Use legal requirements
- Measure where you are in form of benchmarking to make comparisons
The existence and quality of policy and the way that it might encourage or discourage good safety-related behaviour. For example, in an organisation where staff have to spend a lot of time driving, very clear and well thought-through policies on the in-car use of mobile phones are necessary.
Safety Is Free, Use Plenty Of It.
– Safety Advisor
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