3162 Guidance on effective workforce involvement in health and safety

Overview:

This document is freely available to all registered users of this site.

There has been a move recently towards greater involvement of employees in decision making due to the business and safety benefits of increased workforce involvement. It is recognised that workforce ownership and participation in health and safety is essential for safety management to be effective, in particular in establishing a positive safety culture.

This guide details the issues surrounding workforce involvement (WFI) and describes a three step approach to its implementation and is supported by case studies and assessment exercises. The information contained within this guide could help improve safety management systems. The guidance focuses on health and safety but the information and techniques can also be used to help involve workers in other areas of work e.g. design, making decisions about environmental protection or considering ways to improve quality.

Written simply and concisely for a wide audience, this guide has been developed for anyone who wants to find out more about effective workforce involvement in health and safety. It is aimed at employers, managers, safety representatives, trade union officials, contractors and all workers within the petroleum and allied industries, but may also be applied elsewhere.

Further information and resources on workforce involvement and human factors can be found on the Energy Institute's Human and Organisational Factors Committee webpage http://www.energyinst.org.uk/humanfactors/wfi