NEBOSH IDP IA4 – Summary

Element IA4: Measuring and Reviewing Health and Safety Performance Summary

1. Purpose and Use of Health and Safety Performance

• Meaning of Health and Safety Performance Measurement

• Need for Active and Reactive Measures

• Meaning of Key Performance Indicators

• Types, Benefits, and Limitations of Leading and Lagging Indicators

• Assessment of the Health and Safety Objectives and Arrangements  

• Review of Current Management Systems

Performance measurement:

• Establishes whether the health and safety objectives and arrangements have been effectively implemented, including the adequacy of control measures.

• Provides information for the review process which looks at the effectiveness of the entire health and safety management system and leads to changes that lead to improvement.

• Enables success to be measured and rewarded.

• Maintains and improves health and safety performance.

When setting objectives, we have to consider performance standards and key performance indicators. Two measuring systems in use are:

• Active systems, which monitor the achievement of objectives and the extent of compliance with standards (e.g. monitoring the safety of plant and equipment; compliance with safe systems of work; safe behaviour by employees).

• Reactive systems, which monitor accidents, ill health, incidents and other evidence of deficient health and safety performance, such as hazard reports.

2. Health and Safety Monitoring

• Objectives of Monitoring

• Limitations of Accident and Ill-Health Data as a Performance Measure

• Distinctions Between, and Applicability of, Performance Measures

Active monitoring checks that the health and safety plans have been implemented and to monitor the compliance with:

• The organization’s systems and procedures.

• Legislation and technical standards.

Reactive monitoring analyses data related to:

• Accidents.

• Ill-health situations.

• Other loss-causing events.

• Any other factors which degrade the system.

Accident recording has some value but is of limited use in relation to assessing future risk. There are problems with the under-reporting of minor accidents. Time off work does not correlate well with the severity of an injury, because some people will work with a broken arm, while others take a week off with a cut finger. Also, if the staff is made aware of safety matters, they tend to report more accidents. The picture may then look worse when actually the safety culture is improving.
Distinctions between, and applicability of, performance measures are:

• Active means ‘before it happens’, while reactive means ‘after it has happened’.

• Objective means that it can be accurately measured, while subjective means that it depends on someone’s opinion.

• Qualitative measures are those like reports and commentaries, which although useful are difficult to treat as an accurate measure, while some kind of score is quantitative.

3. Health and Safety Monitoring and Measuring Techniques

• Range of Measures Available to Evaluate an Organisation’s Performance

• Collection and Use of Sickness Absence and Ill-Health Data

• Role, Purpose and Key Elements of Measurement Techniques

• The In-house Health and Safety Practitioner’s Role in Audits Carried Out by Third Parties

• Comparisons of Performance Data

• Use and Benefits of Benchmarking

Measurement techniques include:

• Health and safety audits.

• Workplace inspections.

• Safety tours.

• Safety sampling.

• Safety surveys.

Analysis of sickness absence records, particularly in larger organizations, can reveal patterns of illness or injury that could be caused by, or made worse by work.
It is always useful to compare an organization’s performance data:

• Overtime.

• Against that of other organizations or industry sectors that carry out similar functions or experience similar hazards.

• Against national figures.

4. Reviewing Health and Safety Performance

• Formal and Informal Reviews of Performance

• Review Process

The review is combined with audit procedures. The audit looks at all aspects of the system – policy, organization, planning, implementation, and systems for measuring and control. Reviewing is the process which reacts to the findings of the performance measuring process. In many systems, it would probably involve:

• Monthly review of each section.

• Quarterly review of each department.

• Annual review of the organization.

The review would probably cover:

• Assessment of degree of compliance with set standards.

• Identification of areas where improvements are required.

• Assessment of specific set objectives.

• Analysis of accident and incident trends.

The safety committee and safety representatives, supervisors, and management would all be involved in the review process.