Guidance Note GN 031

The Health and Safety Management Role of Heads of Departments and Divisions

October 2002

This guidance note contains information on the health and safety responsibilities for Heads of Departments and Divisions.

This guidance note includes an overview of:-

  • General requirements
  • Demonstrating commitment
  • Monitoring performance
  • Reviewing performance
  • Reporting and recording incidents

General

Heads of Departments and Divisions have devolved resource management responsibility and carry general responsibility for local operations. They are accountable to their Principal of Faculty and the Rector for their performance, which includes accountability for their Department/ Division’s health and safety standards.

Demonstrating commitment

Heads of Department need to take an active role in defining standards of health and safety relevant to research projects. This includes:

  1. knowing what the College expects of all senior managers;
  2. understanding their accountability for the health and safety of staff and students;
  3. setting appropriate health and safety objectives for staff;
  4. ensuring research workers receive appropriate training;
  5. setting up a departmental safety committee and ensuring that its decisions are supported and implemented;
  6. developing a departmental health and safety policy that is: complementary to the College policy; reflects the departmental structure and organisation; and, describes the health and safety responsibilities of individuals in the department, including those involved in research work, and how they will be held to account;
  7. ensuring systems are in place to monitor health and safety performance;
  8. ensuring resources are allocated appropriately.

Monitoring performance

Heads of department will need to establish systems for checking that research projects are adhering to the College’s or department’s policy on risk assessment. Research supervisors should be in no doubt that their project records will be checked to make sure risk assessments have been done and that the significant findings have been recorded. The system should also check that any necessary control measures identified in the risk assessment have been provided and are being properly applied.

This monitoring can be done through routine departmental health and safety inspections. These inspections should involve both managers and employee safety representatives. Inspections should include scrutiny of the quality and appropriateness of risk assessments for research work as well as ensuring that any safe working practices identified by the assessment are being followed. Any necessary improvement identified by the inspection should have the full support of the head of department and the departmental health and safety committee. Significant failures to deliver acceptable standards of health and safety in research projects must be followed by prompt and appropriate action to control risks, prevent recurrence, and improve standards. Reports from inspections can be used during reviews of employees’ performance. Where serious failures which put people at risk are identified, departmental managers may need to consider disciplinary procedures.

Reviewing performance

Arrangements for the auditing and review of health and safety management in the department should include an audit of the management of research. Heads of department need to know that health and safety management systems remain effective, and that any necessary improvements have been properly implemented.

Reporting and recording incidents

Departments need systems for reporting and recording accidents and ill health resulting from research work. Best practice requires departments to record any ‘near misses’ - the information obtained from investigating these can be invaluable in reducing risks in the future. Heads of department should be informed about any reports and may need to be involved in investigations, particularly where there are serious, or potentially serious, injuries or illnesses. It is important that lessons are learned and improvements made, to prevent further incidents.

Some accidents or cases of work-related ill health, and some specific incidents must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Further information

Further information on the health and safety responsibilities of Heads of Departments and Divisions can be obtained from the College Safety Unit.

Details of health and safety training courses run by the Safety Unit can be obtained from the Safety Unit web site (address above) or from Christine Wright on 020 7594 9422.

Reference

Managing health and safety aspects of research in higher and further education HSE Books 2000 ISBN 0 7176 1300 3

Appendix

Specific legal requirements

  1. Management of health and safety at work. Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Approved Code of Practice and Guidance L21 HSE Books 2000 ISBN 0 7176 2488 9
  2. Safe work in confined spaces. Confined Spaces Regulations 1997. Approved Code of Practice and guidance L101 HSE Books 1997 ISBN 0 7176 1405 0
  3. Electricity at work: Safe working practices HSG85 HSE Books 1993 ISBN 0 7176 0442 X
  4. Workplace health, safety and welfare. Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. Approved Code of Practice and guidance L24 HSE Books 1992 ISBN 0 7176 0413 6
  5. Working with ionising radiation. Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999. Approved Code of Practice and guidance L21 HSE Books 2000 ISBN 0 7176 1746 7
  6. Safe use of lifting equipment. Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. Approved Code of Practice and guidance L113 HSE Books 1998 ISBN 0 7176 1628 2
  7. Manual Handling. Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. Guidance on Regulations L23 HSE Books 1998 ISBN 0 7176 2415 3
  8. Guidance on the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 L108 HSE Books 1998 ISBN 0 7176 1511 1
  9. Safety of pressure systems. Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000. Approved Code of Practice L122 HSE Books 2000 ISBN 0 7176 1767 X
  10. General COSHH ACoP, Carcinogens ACoP and Biological Agents ACoP. Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999. Approved Codes of Practice L5 HSE Books 1999 ISBN 0 7176 1670 3
  11. Safe use of work equipment. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Approved Code of Practice and guidance L22 HSE Books 1998 ISBN 0 7176 1626 6
  12. Display screen equipment work. Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992. Guidance on Regulations L26 HSE Books 1992 ISBN 0 7176 0410 1
  13. Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Regulations 2000. Compendium of Guidance. Guidance from the Health and Safety Commission’s Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification HSE Books 2000 ISBN 0 7176 1763 7

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