The National Irish Safety Organisation (NISO), a voluntary group dedicated to the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases, in conjunction with the Northern Ireland Safety Group, is holding what looks set to be an important annual conference in the Corrib Great Southern Hotel in Galway on October 9th.
Describing the conference as the biggest of its kind in Ireland, NISO administrator, Mr Ted O'Keeffe, says companies are increasingly realising that health and safety should be as much a priority for management as finance, production and quality.
"It should be given equal consideration, if not more," he says.
Speakers at the conference, entitled New Issues - New Approaches, include Ms Jenny Bacon, director general of Britain's Health and Safety Executive; Mr Michael Nolan, member of the board of management of Irish Life Holdings, responsible for underwriting, claims, credit control and reinsurance; Mr Tom Wall, assistant general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions; and Dr Iona Pratt, director of specialist units in the Health and Safety Authority.
Speaking in advance of the conference, the Minister of State for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Tom Kitt, said health and safety is not a "stalemate" situation but "an ever-evolving concern". Pointing to the workplace fatalities so far this year, especially in agriculture and construction, he said there is no room for complacency in the management of occupational health and safety.
While the nuts and bolts of safety management remain essential, the welfare of workers and, in particular, bullying, stress and violence in the workplace, are "now, quite rightly, getting more attention. These are the new issues which I personally want to see radical new approaches taken by employers", he said.
A NISO training seminar, entitled A Partnership Approach to Health and Safety, based on a pilot project undertaken in Northern Ireland that led to considerable savings for participating companies, takes place at the same venue on Thursday, October 8th - the day before the conference.
The one-day seminar will explore how eight textile companies co-operated with trade unions, employers' organisations and enforcement authorities to achieve cost savings of £748,000 sterling in one year. Moreover, the companies achieved a 26 per cent reduction in accidents, a 20 per cent improvement in legislative compliance, improved safety consultation with staff and they developed more safety-conscious cultures.
Seven of the eight participating companies reduced the number of accidents by between 5 and 55 per cent. Two companies indicated annual insured cost savings of £18,000 sterling and £30,000 sterling which, when uninsured costs like sick pay, repairs, investigation costs, hiring and training of replacement staff were factored in, gave cost savings of £162,000 and £270,000 sterling respectively.
All eight companies significantly increased their compliance with legislative requirements - by between 5 and 32 per cent - leaving the companies in a stronger position against possible criminal prosecution and associated expenses.
The companies reported: increased consultation between management, staff and unions; the implementation of a framework for health and safety; enhanced safety monitoring; greater awareness of best practice; workable action plans; better training and an improved working environment.
The project, established by the Health and Safety Agency for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Textiles & Apparel Association, began with an initial health and safety audit. The audit identified overall company compliance with 25 critical areas of health and safety performance.
Areas audited included: safety policy and administration; the management of accidents; fire and emergency procedures; management of visitors and contractors; management of health and safety at work; provision and use of work equipment; display screen equipment; personal protective equipment; first aid; washing facilities; machine guarding; and the environment.
The initial audit identified the strengths and weaknesses of the companies. This was followed by a two-day workshop on best practices looking, for instance, at: health and safety induction programmes; health management; internal safety auditing programmes; and preventative maintenance systems. Each company spent the final hours of the workshop developing a safety improvement plan to be implemented over the following 10 months.
The NISO conference costs £175 per delegate and £150 for additional delegates from the same organisation. The fee includes documentation, lunch and refreshments.
For further details, contact NISO, 10 Hogan Place, Dublin 2. Tel. 01 662 0399. The NISO training seminar, A Partnership Approach to Safety Improvement, costs £175 to NISO members or £225 to non-members. A discount is available for delegates attending both the seminar and the conference.
