Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

organization
and lines of responsi-
bility. 
Hazard identifi cation and risk assessment
takes 
place during this phase and the signifi cant hazards may 
well be included in the policy statement. It is important 
to note that in some reference texts, in particular those 
in languages other than English, the whole process of 
hazard identifi cation, risk determination and the selec-
tion of risk reduction or control measures is termed ‘risk 
assessment’. However, all three occupational health and 
safety management systems described in this chapter 
refer to the individual elements of the process separately 
and uses the term ‘risk assessment’ for the determina-
tion of risk only.
At the 
planning stage
, emergency procedures 
should be developed and relevant health and safety legal 
requirements and other standards identifi ed together 
with appropriate benchmarks from similar industries. An 
organizational
structure must be defi ned so that health 
and safety responsibilities are allocated at all levels of 
the organization and issues such as competent persons 
and health and safety training are addressed. Realistic 
targets should be agreed within the organization and be 
published as part of the policy.
The performance phase
The performance phase will only be successful if there 
is good 
communication
at and between all levels of the 
organization. This implies employee participation as both 
worker representatives
and on 
safety committees
. 
Effective communication with the workforce, for example 
with clear 
safe systems of work
and other health and 
safety procedures, will not only aid the implementation 
and operation of the plan but also produce continual 
improvement of performance – a key requirement of all 
occupational health and safety, quality and environmen-
tal management systems. There should also be effective 
communication with other stakeholders, such as regula-
tors, contractors, customers and trade unions. The per-
formance phase must be 
monitored
on a regular basis 
since this will indicate whether there is an effective occu-
pational health and safety management system and a 
good