Partners in Progress
Influencing the OS&H agenda
H&S in SMEs Inquiry - Improving Health and Safety in Small Firms
Partners in Progress is an initiative by RoSPA to involve higher performing organisations amongst its membership to help shape the occupational safety and health agenda.
RoSPA believes that by working in co-operation with higher performers who are firmly dedicated to health and safety, it can make an important difference in reducing injuries and ill health at work.
This can also help these organisations to enhance their own performance as well as their profile with key stakeholders, including the insurance and investment communities.
Support needed.. (
PDF 33kb)
RoSPA is presently looking for support from its ‘Partners in Progress’ to help implement projects in the a number of areas. Click on the link above to find out more.
Key Issues
RoSPA necessarily has limited resources and over the last eight years has been developing a ‘key issues’ approach to its influencing work, focusing policy development effort on major topics where RoSPA intervention can help secure significant and lasting safety change. It will also develop associated products and services where appropriate.
RoSPA’s key issues in OS&H are agreed by the Safety Policy Sub-Committee of the RoSPA Executive Committee on the recommendation of the National OS&H Committee. At present they are:
The Management of Occupational Road Risk (MORR)
Research by RoSPA and others suggests that more workers (i.e. people at work) die in road accidents than in all RIDDOR reportable accidents. The aim is to ensure that risk, harm and loss associated with at work driving and work on the road is addressed as part of mainstream health and safety management and enforcement.
Progress so far:
RoSPA has influenced the HSE and the DfT to publish new guidance, ‘Driving at work’ (INDG 382), on employers’ responsibilities to manage work related road safety as a mainstream OS&H issue. It has also been able, with over 100 other organisations, to establish the Occupational Road Safety Alliance (ORSA) (visit www.orsa.org.uk). Some of the resources produced by RoSPA include Managing occupational road risk, the RoSPA Guide (hardcopy from RoSPA's online shop, price £25);
new web based guidance for employers and employees on speed ( PDF format 342kb), mobile phones ( PDF format 346kb), safe journey planning ( PDF format 280kb), drink and drugs ( PDF format), choosing safer vehicles ( PDF format), using own vehicles for work ( PDF format) and safer motorcycling ( PDF format 98kb) via the workplace.
Learning from accidents and incidents
RoSPA campaigned for a statutory duty to be placed on employers to investigate accidents. The Health and Safety Commission have rejected this option but new guidance from the HSE now makes it clear that such a responsibility is implicit in present legislation and that good investigation is a vital part of effective OS&H management. RoSPA believes that within higher performing organisations there is a wealth of good practice in investigation which can be shared to help all other businesses to improve their approach to learning lessons from accidents and thus prevent future injuries and fatalities. The aim is to ensure that employers, in partnership with employees, develop robust approaches to learning from health and safety failures.
Progress so far:
RoSPA has been able to raise the profile of learning from accidents and incidents and has helped to persuade HSE to produce new guidance HSG245. It has also argued successfully for a new annexe on investigation to be included in the revised version of BSI guidance on H&S management systems (BS 8800). RoSPA has published a ten-point statement on good investigation backed by TUC, CBI, ABI and IOSH. It in partnership with the NRI Foundation has launched DORI (Definition of Operational Readiness to Investigate).
Director Action on Safety and Health (DASH)
Both Turnbull and the Health and Safety Commission are clear that directors have to take proactive responsibility for health and safety. RoSPA believes that businesses need to learn from each other and that good practice and experience should be shared and promulgated to encourage all businesses to improve their performance. Leadership of good health and safety management has to be driven from the top if others in business are to see that it is important and a business priority. The aim is to ensure that directors and other senior managers provide strategic leadership of health and safety management.
Progress so far:
Many of RoSPA’s ideas on senior leadership of H&S management and corporate H&S target setting and reporting were taken up in the HSC’s strategy for ‘Revitalising Health and Safety’. RoSPA has been able to influence HSC guidance on director’s responsibilities and on performance reporting. A new website on Internet performance reporting is undergoing renewal (visit www.gopop.org.uk). A further project, ‘Back to the Floor’, looking at in front line director involvement in H&S at the workplace, has highlighted the importance of director involvement in ‘front line’ H&S activities.
24/7 Safety
RoSPA is launching a major national debate on options for using the workplace as a platform for promoting safety of employees and their families etc. outside work. (At least three times as many days are lost due to accidents outside the workplace as lost in accidents occurring in working time.) RoSPA believes there is massive scope for workplace knowledge and skills transfer into accident prevention outside work with consequent business and social cost savings. RoSPA hopes that this initiative will feed into Government's recently launched strategy on promoting the health and well-being of people of working age, Health, work and wellbeing - Caring for our future ( PDF document).
Partners in Progress
For many years RoSPA has had a national reputation as a champion of health and safety. But, in comparison with many other organisations, it has relatively few resources to enable it to influence the wider OS&H agenda.
In order to provide support for RoSPA’s influencing work in OS&H, the Society’s President Lord Faulkner of Worcester launched ‘Partners in Progress’ (PIP) in September 2002. This is designed to encourage higher performing organisations (drawn from among winners and ‘commendeds’ in the RoSPA Sector Awards) to provide financial and other forms of assistance (to a value of £5,000 per annum) for a period of three years to help the Society carry forward its ‘key issue’ work.
The following web links illustrate some of RoSPA’s recent work which has been made possible with PIP support alongside other funding.
Managing occupational road risk
Development of the Occupational Road Safety Alliance (www.orsa.org.uk). New RoSPA guidance for employers and employees on speed ( PDF format 342kb), safe journey planning ( PDF format 280kb), drink and drugs ( PDF format), choosing safer vehicles ( PDF format), using own vehicles for work ( PDF format) and safer motorcycling ( PDF format 98kb) via the workplace.
Accident investigation
Input to new HSE guidance on investigation (HSG245 - visit www.hse.gov.uk/press/2004/e04094.htm.)
DASH (Director Action on Safety and Health)
Expansion of guidance and showcase performance portals (www.gopop.org.uk). RoSPA’s ‘Back to the Floor’ Report and case studies on director involvement in ‘front end’ H&S activities.
RoSPA appealing for donations and other forms of assistance to help support new projects, proposals for which are accessible here, PIP Proposals ( PDF format 20kb). In addition to financial donations (cheques should be made payable to RoSPA) other options for consideration include: payroll giving by staff; corporate donations to RoSPA to help incentivise accident/incident free working; or matched fundraising initiatives between organisations and their employees.
More information about the scheme can be obtained by Emailing rbibbings@rospa.com or phoning 0121 248 2095. Response to this appeal is also being tracked by Charlotte Henderson (chenderson@rospa.com) tel 0121 248 2011.
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