Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

Emergencies
➤
Ensuring that fi re exits are marked, unlocked and 
free from obstruction
➤
Maintenance and testing of fi re-fi ghting equip-
ment, fi re drills and evacuation procedures
➤
First aid, including name and location of person 
responsible for fi rst aid and deputy, and location 
of fi rst aid box.
Communication
➤
Giving your employees information about the 
general duties under the Health and Safety at 
Work Act and specifi c legal requirements relating 
to their work.
➤
Giving employees necessary information about 
substances, plant, machinery, and equipment 
with which they come into contact.
➤
Discussing with contractors, before they come 
on site, how they plan to do their job, whether 
they need any equipment from your organization 
to help them, whether they can operate either in 
a segregated area or only when part of the plant 
is shut down and, if not, what hazards they may 
create for your employees and vice versa.
Training
➤
Training employees, supervisors and managers to 
enable them to work safely and to carry out their 
health and safety responsibilities effi ciently.
Supervising
➤
Supervising employees so far as necessary for 
their safety – especially young workers, new 
employees and employees carrying out unfamiliar 
tasks.
Keeping Check
➤
Regular inspections and checks of the workplace, 
machinery appliances and working methods.
Figure 2.7
Fork lift truck.

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3.1 
Introduction
This chapter is about managers in businesses, or other 
organizations, setting out clear responsibilities and lines 
of communications for everyone in the enterprise. The 
chapter also covers the legal responsibilities that exist 
between people who control premises and those who 
use them; between contractors and those who hire them; 
and the duties of suppliers, manufacturers and design-
ers of articles and substances for use at work. Chapter 2 
is concerned with policy, which is an essential fi rst step. 
The policy will only remain as words on paper, however 
good the intentions, until there is an effective organiza-
tion set up to implement and monitor its requirements.
The policy sets the direction for health and safety 
within the enterprise and forms the written intentions of 
the principals or directors of the business. The organiza-
tion needs to be clearly communicated and people need 
to know what they are responsible for in the day-to-day 
operations. A vague statement that ‘everyone is respon-
sible for health and safety’ is misleading and fudges the 
real issues. Everyone is responsible but management in