Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Safety policy
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2.1.2 Maximising staff involvement
Those organisations that involve their staff in planning 
and managing safety issues in the workplace not only 
are complying with the requirements under the RRFSO 
to consult with staff, but will also reduce the fi re risks 
associated with their undertaking. Well-organised com-
panies manage all their functions effectively and rec-
ognise the key role that effective health and safety 
management has in terms of business development and 
survival.
A clear, effectively communicated, policy that has 
involved staff and those who may interact with it (contract-
ors, co-employers, etc.) will make an organisation more 
effi cient in the day-to-day decision-making process that 
refl ects and supports the management system in which 
they are made.
When a line manager who is responsible for a high 
risk process in a petrochemical plant is empowered to 
make safety critical decisions and the same manager 
is aware of the company’s safety policy and the ethos 
behind it, the decisions made for undertaking the 
process are more than likely to refl ect the safety of the 
site personnel, visiting contractors and the effects on 
members of the public in addition to the production 
schedules that need to be met.
The best safety policies are integrated with human 
resource management, acknowledging that people are 
a key resource in the management of both safety and 
production. Human resource management policies can 
be undermined by poorly written, poorly structured safety 
policies.
However, organisations that experience higher out-
put, higher quality of service delivery and an enhanced, 
motivated workforce do the same things, they:
➤
Recognise the benefi ts of a competent, committed, 
enthusiastic and fi t workforce
➤
Establish arrangements for the promotion of 
accident-free work practices
➤
Positively promote ill-health management systems.
An effective safety management system and the policy 
contained within have a direct bearing upon an organ-
isation’s safety culture and therefore how a policy is 
written will have a signifi cant effect.
When conducting safety audits and reviews, which 
take an in-depth look at an organisation’s safety manage-
ment system, the initial documentation that is likely to be 
requested will be a copy of the safety policy. The policy 
and the statement of intent itself are generally seen as 
being an underpinning requirement of any successful 
safety management system. Therefore a well-written, 
well-presented policy is also likely to attract business 
opportunities, particularly when work is being contracted 
out, as in the case of the construction industry sector.