Gap between safety knowledge and practice must close

Following the publication of a new CIWM-commissioned report into health and safety, the Institution explained that while many organisations and individuals are aware of what they should be doing, the procedures are not having the desired effect on the ground.

The research, carried out by consultancy Entec UK on behalf of CIWM, found that three quarters of those questioned in a survey felt they were getting the right health and safety training for the job and 90% said they were aware of their own responsibilities.

However, CIWM said this staff knowledge did not equate with the industry's higher-than average fatal injuries record. It explained that in 2006/07, there was a three-year average of 15 deaths per 100,000 employees – for all other industries the average was one. And, in March 2006, the Health and Safety Executive issued an alert when nine fatalities occurred in eight weeks.

CIWM explained the findings of the survey which suggested high awareness”do not tally with the accident statistics for the industry” and that they demonstrate “there is often a disparity between the perception of health and safety performance and actual performance”.

The report suggests this could be down to factors including lack of employee involvement; the “supervisory drop” where supervisors lack support to deliver safety improvements; resistance from operators to using personal protective equipment.

CIWM deputy chief executive Chris Murphy explained: “It is clearly a matter for concern that while many organisations report having robust health and safety management systems, the evidence suggests that these are not having the desired impact.

The report highlighted the work of organisations such as the Environmental Services Association, which organises an annual health and safety conference, as well as the Health and Safety Executive, which offers advice and guidance

However, Mr Murphy added: “In the last few years, we have seen a number of very welcome health and safety initiatives and the high levels of awareness among those surveyed should be commended, but this now needs to be reinforced with more and better guidance, good practice sharing, and a focus on embedding health and safety in individual and team behaviour patterns and across the wider organisational culture.”

Recommendations

To improve health and safety, the report recommends considering alternatives to “task and finish” practices – where bin lifting crews finish their shift as soon as a round is finished.

This has been criticsed for encouraging operators to finish the round as quickly as possible, compromising health and safety. Options to address this included a “group task and finish”, where all rounds must be completed before anyone can leave and any crew finishing early will be sent out to help another.

The report also recommends introducing behavioural education, such as measuring the frequency of “unsafe acts”, to help employees identify and change any habits which are creating a risk.

It also suggests an industry-wide website is launched so good practice can be exchanged and staff can anonymously report any near-misses, without the incident being linked back to an individual or company.

Financial costs were considered by many of those surveyed as a barrier to implementing health and safety procedures and the report puts forward an idea raised by one of the organisations.

It suggests insurance companies could provide financial support, for example, to allow training to take place. The insurance company would benefit because as health and safety incidents reduce, insurance claims would be kept to a minimum.