Lesson 4 - Health and Safety

Whether you are part of an international brewing company or a home brewer, the best starting point on the control of health and safety is to discover what laws and regulations apply to you.

This can be a daunting task. Most countries have multiple pieces of legislation covering different elements of health, safety and employment law, which may be relevant to a brewer in some way.

A good starting point is The International Labour Organization, which maintains the ILO Global Database on Occupational Safety and Health Legislation (LEGOSH). Here is the weblink:

https://www.ilo.org/dyn/legosh/en/f?p=LEGPOL:1000

Most countries have one primary piece of health and safety legislation, with other Acts being incorporated under it or cross-referenced to it.

Below are some typical types of documents and what they mean:

• Laws – Acts of parliament or primary legislation (Health and Safety at Work Act)

• Regulations – an official rule made by a government or some other authority

• Codes of Practice – a set of agreed standards that people who do a particular job should follow

• Guidelines – advice about how to do something

• Standards – these vary in scope and can cover performance specifications, operational practice or product design criteria

Historically, during the industrial revolution, health and safety legislation was, figuratively speaking ‘written in blood’. In other words, whenever a major accident occurred, a new regulation or standard was written to try and prevent it from reoccurring in the future. For example, the explosion of a boiler led to the pressure vessel regulations. This began in the mining industry and later spread to factories.

Over time it became clear that because new accidents continued to occur, the retrospective drafting of new laws would always be playing catch-up. It was apparent then, as it is now, that technology and the nature of the work continue to change. A more proactive approach was required, which led to the legal endorsement of risk assessment.

In most countries, employers have a legal duty to put in place suitable arrangements to manage health and safety. Some very small companies (e.g. less than five employees) may be exempt from some elements. Most, however, must develop and implement the processes and procedures required to meet the legal requirements, which includes:

• A written health and safety policy (unless under five employees).

• Assessments of the risks to employees, contractors, customers, partners, and any other people who could be affected by your activities – and a record of the significant findings in writing.

• Arrangements for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring, and review of the preventive and protective measures that come from risk assessment. These steps will be illustrated later within the ‘Plan, Do, Check Act’ model.

• Access to competent health and safety advice. The definition of a competent person is given in the below key point box.

• Providing employees with information about risks in the workplace and how they are protected.

• Instruction and training for employees in how to deal with the risks.

• Ensuring adequate and appropriate supervision is in place.

• Consulting with employees about their risks at work and the current preventive and protective measures.

Some key terms in the above list can be defined as:

• Policy – A statement of an organisation's strategy for achieving a safe and healthy working environment: including a statement on the responsibility, organisation and arrangements for pursuing and implementing the strategy.

• Risk Assessment – A formal estimation of the probability that people may suffer injury or adverse health effects because of identified hazards.

• Competent Person – A person who has been adequately trained and has the appropriate skills and knowledge to perform certain health and safety tasks without posing a risk to themselves or others.

• Hazard – A situation or behaviour that has the potential to cause harm, injury, ill health or damage to property and the environment.

• Reasonably Practicable – Where the level of risk is weighed up against the cost, in terms of time, money and difficulty of implementing control measures. If the cost of control measures outweigh the risk, it is deemed inappropriate for an employer to implement the measures to prevent the risks. For example, spending $1 million per year to avoid two employees bruising their shoulders would be deemed as grossly disproportionate.

• ALARP – As low as reasonably practicable. The level to which we expect to see workplace risks controlled.

• Duty of Care – A moral or legal obligation to ensure the safety or well-being of others. It is an employer's duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and other people who might be affected by their business. Employers must do whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this. Workers have a duty to take care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their actions at work. Workers must co-operate with employers and co-workers to help everyone meet their legal requirements.