“Il-bogħod mill-għajn, il-bogħod mil-qalb”
When I was young we used to play a game called “dahar ma’ dahar” (back to back) at school. We used to sit 5 kids in a row with papers attached to our back. The first kid would draw something on the back of the kid in front of him. The kid in front would in turn draw the same thing on the kid in front until all the kids draw the image.
The image always changed from one kid to the next. The purpose of this game was to teach us the importance of clear and correct communication and to always question where the information is coming from.
This is exactly what happens when a health and safety practitioner engaged in a company does not have a direct line of communication with senior management, the people who have the ultimate responsibility of health and safety and the ones who have the authority and power to implement change within a company.
The same would apply if the health and safety practitioner does not have a direct line of communication with the workforce. They would not be hearing the problems, concerns and good practices from the horse’s mouth but these would be passing through several lines of communication prior to being received by the health and safety practitioner, as such the practitioner may not be working with the correct information.
This may result in a situation where the correct and current information is out of sight from the employer, as such no action is taken on persisting health and safety issues.
The General Provision for Health and Safety at Work Places states that the employer must designate competent people to assist them in the undertaking of their health and safety duties. Although there is no mention of who this person is to report to, if this person is an employee ranking low on the company’s organisational chart when their message is passing through the different employees to arrive at its final destination to the managing director or CEO, their message will be tarnished with every other person’s opinion and personal/professional agenda along the way.
ISO45001, a health and safety management standard, requires organisations to hold management reviews so as to review the company’s health and safety management system. Several items are to be reviewed during this review, which include, opportunities, risks, legal compliance, trends in incidents, reports and communication from the workforce and continual improvement.
Such reviews ensure that management is never too distant from the reality of the health and safety culture within the company.
Appointing a competent person to assist you in fulfilling health and safety law requirements is a legal requirement. Most of the time, the responsibility of the same legislation lies with the employer.
Should employers feel comfortable that their competent person fulfilling the legal duties pertaining to their position as the employer, is answering to another or several other managers before they are aware of any item identified by the competent person? Should they consider holding monthly management reviews so as to ensure that they are always aware of the current situation of health and safety within their company? Wouldn’t this ensure that health and safety are given the attention required and that the current level of health and safety within the organisation is improved?