Journal of Research & Scholarly Output 2006 - Grimsby Institute of ...

These mechanisms can range from the
familiar indirect forms of involvement such
as safety representatives and safety
committees and plant or works councils, to
safety circles, suggestion schemes, job
enrichment and even team working,
including HAZOP studies, where applicable.
Once the workforce becomes actively
involved in health and safety, the next step
is monitoring the impact of this involvement
upon health and safety performance. A
range of active and reactive monitoring
techniques can be utilised to critically
assess whether worker involvement is
having the desired effect. This leads directly
into the final components of auditing and
reviewing the systems in place, with a focus
upon continuous improvement in all areas.
Although is not realistic to suggest that
organisations begin by subscribing to
principles of self-management, what is
needed is a period of experimentation as
organisations attempt to introduce new
systems for involving the workforce before
deciding upon the most suitable techniques.
These attempts should be founded upon
continuous improvement, ultimately striving
towards self-managed teams and the
creation of an organisation that is highly
flexible and resilient to change. This may
appear to the cynic to be a somewhat
idealistic crusade, yet it is only when we
have a truly autonomous and competent
workforce that we will be able to manage
risks in a dynamic fashion.
The future of WISH?
So what does the future hold for WISH?
Well, it is clear that WISH will be a high
priority for many years to come, as a part of
the constant search for new initiatives to
further drive down the rates of accidents
and cases of ill health at work. It must be
remembered that bringing about
improvements in health and safety, and
developing the safety culture within any
organisation, is all about a focus on people,
and without worker involvement and the
ensuing commitment to safety initiatives, it
unlikely that organisations will meet the
tough targets and best value indicators for
the health and safety system set out within
the Revitalising Health and Safety Strategy
(ODPM, 2000).
,
WISH will continue to remain high on the
HSC’s / HSE’s agenda as a part of the
ongoing commitment to behavioural safety
and the soft systems approach. Indeed, the
HSE will undoubtedly continue to build upon
the work established by the Workers Safety
Advisors (WSA) initiative in 2002, which
tested ways of encouraging greater
employee involvement in health and safety.
This was another excellent example of
where partnerships between trade unions,
employers and workers can lead to
improvements in organisations that did not
have trade union recognition. The pilot ran in
four sectors (automotive engineering,
construction, hospitality and the voluntary
sector) and two thirds of the employers
participating in the pilot had less than
twenty-five employees. Changes to the
approach to health and safety were reported
by some three quarters of the employees
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