Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

7.8 
Frequency of monitoring and 
inspections
This will depend on the level of risk and any statutory 
inspection requirement. Directors may be expected to 
examine the premises formally at an annual audit, while 
departmental supervisors may be expected to carry out 
inspection each week. Senior managers should regularly 
monitor the health and safety plan to ensure that object-
ives are being met and to make any changes to the plan 
as necessary.
Data from reactive monitoring should be con sidered 
by senior managers at least once a month. In most 
organizations serious events would be closely monitored 
as they happen.
7.9 
Report writing
There are three main aims to the writing of reports and 
they are all about communication. A report should aim to:
➤
get a message through to the reader 
➤
make the message and the arguments clear and 
easy to understand 
➤
make the arguments and conclusions persuasive. 
Communication starts with trying to get into the mind of 
the reader, imagining what would most effectively catch 
the attention, what would be most likely to convince, 
what will make this report stand out among others.
A vital part of this is presentation; so while a 
handwritten report is better than nothing if time is short, 
a well organized, typed report is very much clearer. To 
the reader of the report, who may well be very busy 
with a great deal of written information to wade through, 
a clear, well presented report will produce a positive 
attitude from the outset, with instant benefi t to the writer.
Five factors which help to make reports effective:
➤
structure
➤
presentation of arguments 
➤
style
➤
presentation of data
➤
how the report itself is presented.

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