Comprehensive guide to health and safety management systems

A health and safety management system is a framework, set of guidelines or tool that helps those responsible manage health and safety in the workplace methodically. It’s also sometimes known as a safety management system and may include multiple policies and procedures designed to reduce accidents, incidents, illness and danger to employees.

To guide the creation of a formal health and safety management system, you probably want to take a look at standards that already exist. These include ISO 45001:201 and ISO 9001:2015.

ISO 45001 is an international standard that specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system. It provides a framework for organisations to manage risks and improve OH&S performance.

It specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system so that companies can provide safe and healthy workplaces by preventing illness and injury, and by improving OH&S.

Meanwhile, ISO 9001 is a globally recognised standard for quality management. It helps organisations of all sizes and sectors to improve their performance, meet customer expectations and demonstrate their commitment to quality.

This standard relates to the requirements for a quality management system which is designed to meet regulatory requirements while improving customer satisfaction.

On a practical level, a strong health and safety culture boosts employee morale, retention and overall productivity for your business. But that's not the only advantage.

Having a robust health and safety management system in place also has a positive impact, financially, legal, and reputationally for your business. It protects you from key health and safety risk areas that will impact your bottom line and trust in your business.

What should you include in your health and safety management system? There’s no exhaustive list of things that must be included, but be sure to cover some of the following:

• Risk assessments

• Hazards in the workplace

• Accidents and incidents

• Safety training

If your company has been in business for any significant length of time you’ll probably have standards, procedures, processes or codes that you already use. If these relate to an individual’s safety or health, include them in your system, too.

Depending on which sector your company operates in, there may also be relevant frameworks that must be included in your S&H management system.

You'll need to focus particularly on three key areas – risk management, employee training and emergency preparedness.

For example, if you’re in the transport industry you might want to consider legislation relating to vehicles at work, driver competence and driver recruitment. Knowledge workers might need to think about human factors such as training and competence including general advice on successful health and safety management, HSG65 (1997).

H&S guidelines can also be very industry-specific, like their guidance on the selection and training of offshore installation managers for crisis management or the nuclear directorate technical assessment guide.

Here are some handy resources for risk assessments and safety in your organisation:

• Conducting a risk assessment for pregnant workers

• First aid in the workplace: What employers need to know

• Occupational health: Assessments, improvements and best practices

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A report by the HSE states that in 2020/21, an estimated 1.7 million workers in Great Britain were suffering from an illness that they believed was caused or made worse by work. Interestingly, the nature of injuries has changed over time.

For example, as the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders has declined since the 1990s, stress, depression and anxiety have skyrocketed.

When you put current illness into a historical context, workers today have an easy time of it. But In 2020/21, 142 workers were still killed at work in Great Britain including 88 employees and 54 self-employed workers. That’s not good enough.

Any preventable employee death is unforgivable. And that alone is why it’s worth having a health and safety management system in place.

Once you’ve created a system, it’s time to set it up. Start by looking at the risks facing your employees, how likely they are to happen and how disruptive any incidents might be.

Then it’s time to look at the costs (financial, human and other) and look at how well you can manage these risks.

To make sure your business is organised and capable of taking care of your employees’ health and safety you need to have the right controls in place, make people aware of the need to cooperate and communicate and be confident that they are capable of doing their work safely.

HR software like Personio can assist with automating your health and safety processes, managing documentation and ensuring compliance.

The benefits of using technology like Personio are to streamline your health and safety management, such as automated reminders, reporting and training management.

It is very important to conduct regular reviews and audits to maintain the effectiveness of your health and safety system.

Continuous improvement processes can lead to better risk management and compliance over time. For example, you can use employee surveys to gather information about health and safety issues that maybe aren't adequately covered by the frameworks you have implemented. Or maybe there are some risks that aren't as relevant over time.

If you’re at the stage where you need more formal processes and systems (not just health and safety management systems) but don’t have the time to handle it all, it might be time to talk to Personio about HR systems.

To summarise, a health and safety management system is essential to reduce accidents, incidents, illness and danger to your employees and to protect your business from a financial, legal and reputational point of view.

Speak with an expert today to learn more about how Personio's HR platform can help you to streamline your health and safety management systems.