Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

6.5 
Safe systems of work
6.5.1 What is a safe system of work?
A safe system of work has been defi ned as:
The integration of personnel, articles and sub-
stances in a laid out and considered method 
of working which takes proper account of 
the risks to employees and others who may 
be affected, such as visitors and contractors, 
and provides a formal framework to ensure 
that all of the steps necessary for safe work-
ing have been anticipated and implemented.
In simple terms, a safe system of work is a defi ned 
method for doing a job in a safe way. It takes account of 
all foreseeable hazards to health and safety and seeks 
to eliminate or minimize these. Safe systems of work are 
normally formal and documented, for example, in written 
operating procedures but, in some cases, they may be 
verbal.
The particular importance of safe systems of work 
stems from the recognition that most accidents are 
caused by a combination of factors (plant, substances, 
lack of training, supervision, etc.). Hence preven-
tion must be based on an integral approach and not 
one which only deals with each factor in isolation. The 
adoption of a safe system of work provides this integral 
approach because an effective safe system:
➤
is based on looking at the job as a whole
➤
starts from an analysis of all foreseeable hazards, 
e.g. physical, chemical, health;
➤
brings together all the necessary precautions, includ-
ing design, physical precautions, training, monitor-
ing, procedures and personal protective equipment.
It follows from this that the use of safe systems of work 
is in no way a replacement for other precautions, such as 
good equipment design, safe construction and the use of 
physical safeguards. However, there are many situations 
where these will not give adequate protection in them-
selves, and then a carefully thought-out and properly 
implemented safe system of work is especially important. 
The best example is maintenance and repair work, which 
will often involve as a fi rst stage dismantling the guard 
or breaking through the containment, which exists for the 
protection of the ordinary process operator. In some of 
these operations, a permit to work procedure will be the 
most appropriate type of safe system of work.
Figure 6.7
Multi-padlocked hasp for locking off an isola-
tion valve.
Multi-padlockable
hasp for locking
off isolating valve

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