IMPHS108 – Promote a health and safety culture within the workplace

Overview 

This standard covers the skills and knowledge required for undertaking the research and planning that is necessary to affect a positive health and safety culture and involving others through consultation, communication and presentations. It is also about encouraging a culture where changes, which may impact on health and safety procedures, are discussed and resolved with persons responsible for health and safety matters. You will need to understand the benefits of having health and safety procedures and how to promote those benefits. You will also need to know how effectively health and safety is currently implemented within the workplace.

This standard is for you if you have responsibilities for encouraging others to become aware of the importance of supporting health and safety procedures in addition to your normal work role. You may be a supervisor, shift manager, line manager or team leader, or a safety representative.

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

1. identify where improvements and changes may be necessary using all current sources of information available in the workplace
2. identify the way information on health and safety procedures and regulations is currently disseminated within the workplace
3. identify the understanding of, and response to, health and safety policies and procedures by people at work
4. base your improvement plans on your findings
5. describe in your plans those resources which are necessary to improve the current health and safety culture
6. include suitable performance measures and review dates in your plans
7. present your plans for promoting a health and safety culture to appropriate people in a clear and effective manner
8. identify those people in the workplace who will require information and advice about the plans to promote a health and safety culture in the workplace
9. communicate health and safety targets and performance measures to strengthen the health and safety culture
10. check that relevant information and advice is provided at an appropriate time, level and pace
11. promote the advantages and legal necessities of following health and safety procedures
12. provide practical opportunities for regular communications on health and safety issues and ways of encouraging ideas on good practice
13. monitor the effectiveness of your plans against agreed performance measures
14. identify and review opportunities for further improvements to the health and safety culture in the workplace

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand

1. how to interpret health and safety data kept at the workplace on risk assessment, incidents and complaints for an appreciation of the level of understanding of health and safety within the workplace
2. the organisation structure and lines of communication
3. workplace procedures for communicating with colleagues and others in the workplace
4. what hazards may exist in your workplace
5. the particular health and safety risks which may be present in your own job role
6. the particular health and safety risks which may be present in other job roles
7. the importance of remaining alert to the presence of hazards in the whole workplace
8. the importance of dealing with or promptly reporting risks
9. the work areas and job roles where you are reviewing the current working practices
10. workplace requirements for conducting such a review of current working practices
11. own capabilities and scope of the job role
12. the information needs of those people in the workplace affected by the plans
13. the available information sources on health and safety within the workplace
14. the importance of keeping people regularly informed and discussing their involvement

Keywords: food, drink, manufacturing, health and safety, culture, promote