Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

4.4.3 The 
job
Jobs may be highly dangerous or present only negli-
gible risk of injury. Health and safety is an important 
element during the design stage of the job and any 

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Promoting a positive health and safety culture
53
equipment, machinery or procedures associated with the 
job. Method study helps to design the job in the most 
cost effective way and ergonomics helps to design the 
job with health and safety in mind. Ergonomics is the 
science of matching equipment and machines to man 
rather than the other way round. An ergonomically 
designed machine will ensure that control levers, dials, 
meters and switches are sited in a convenient and 
comfortable position for the machine operator. Similarly, 
an ergonomically designed workstation will be designed 
for the comfort and health of the operator. Chairs, for 
example, will be designed to support the back properly 
throughout the working day.
Physically matching the job and any associated 
equipment to the person will ensure that the possibility of 
human error is minimized. It is also important to ensure 
that there is mental matching of the person’s informa-
tion and decision-making requirements. A person must 
be capable, either through past experience or through 
specifi c training, to perform the job with the minimum 
potential for human error.
The major considerations in the design of the job, 
which would be undertaken by a specialist, have been 
listed by the HSE as follows:
➤
the 
identifi cation and detailed analysis of the critical 
tasks expected of individuals and the appraisal of 
any likely errors associated with those tasks
➤
evaluation of the required operator decision making 
and the optimum (best) balance between the human 
and automatic contributions to safety actions (with 
the emphasis on automatic whenever possible)
➤
application of ergonomic principles to the design of 
man–machine interfaces, including displays of plant 
and process information, control devices and panel 
layout
➤
design and presentation of procedures and operat-
ing instructions in the simplest terms possible
➤
organization and control of the working environment, 
including the workspace, access for maintenance, 
lighting, noise and heating conditions
➤
provision of the correct tools and equipment
➤
scheduling of work patterns, including shift organiza-
tion, control of fatigue and stress and arrangements 
for emergency operations
➤
effi cient communications, both immediate and over 
a period of time.
For some jobs, particularly those with a high risk of injury, 
a job safety analysis should be undertaken to check that 
all necessary safeguards are in place. All jobs should 
carry a job description and a safe system of work for the