Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

7
Monitoring, review 
and audit

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Monitoring, review and audit
103
There are some signifi cant problems with the use of 
injury/ill-health statistics in isolation:
➤
there may be under-reporting – focusing on injury 
and ill-health rates as a measure, especially if a 
reward system is involved, can lead to non-reporting 
to keep up performance
➤
it is often a matter of chance whether a particular 
incident causes an injury, and they may not show 
whether or not a hazard is under control. Luck or 
a reduction in the number of people exposed, may 
produce a low injury/accident rate rather than good 
health and safety management
➤
an injury is the particular consequence of an inci-
dent and often does not refl ect the potential sever-
ity. For example, an unguarded machine could result 
in a cut fi nger or an amputation
➤
people can be absent from work for reasons which 
are not related to the severity of the incident
➤
there is evidence to show that there is little relation-
ship between ‘occupational’ injury statistics (e.g. 
slips, trip and falls) and the reasons for the lack of 
control of major accident hazards (e.g. loss of con-
tainment of fl ammable or toxic material)
➤
a small number of accidents may lead to 
complacency
➤
injury statistics demonstrate outcomes not causes.
Because of the potential shortcomings related to the use 
of accident/injury and ill-health data as a single measure 
of performance, more proactive or ‘up stream’ meas-
ures are required. These require a systematic approach 
to deriving positive measures and how they link to the 
overall risk control process, rather than a quick-fi x 
based on things that can easily be counted, such as the 
numbers of training courses or numbers of inspections, 
which has limited value. The resultant data provide no 
information on how the fi gure was arrived at, whether it 
is ‘acceptable’ (i.e. good/bad) or the quality and effect-
iveness of the activity. A more disciplined approach to 
health and safety performance measurement is required. 
This needs to develop as the health and safety manage-
ment system develops.