Health & Safety Plan

WHO	-	All levels of management are responsible to identify the work to be done.
WHY	-	To take effective action regarding health & safety (H&S) issues.
WHAT	-	The plan is an assessment of work to be done and a way of measuring progress.
WHERE	-	The plan affects the entire workforce.
WHEN	-	The plan is put in place before actions are taken.

Content for a Health & Safety Plan

Goal:

• A goal describes what an organization wants to achieve overall  - desired outcome.
• It is a statement that explains the H&S direction of an organization  - what will be accomplished.
• It is inspiring, believable and meaningful.

Strategies:

• Strategies explain how the organization will achieve its goal(s).
• They indicate who is involved and their areas of responsibility and accountability.
• Key statements are created about participation, publicity, communication, programs, and events.
• Statements also can reflect the organization’s mandate.

Assessment:

• An assessment to identify H&S issues is needed to develop objectives.
• The plan should summarize what assessment has taken place.
• Assessment sources can include: accident/incident reports, JHSC minutes (if applicable), documented employee concerns, surveys, formal audits, and WorkSafeNB orders.
• Identified H&S issues/problems should be prioritized so important issues can be addressed in the short term.

Objectives:

• Objectives are needed to reflect the short term H&S issues (urgent and important) and medium to longer term issues (projects, processes, education) to be phased in over time  - usually one to three years.
• Current legislative requirements and any new regulations being considered need to be addressed when preparing objectives.
• Employee well-being and environmental issues should be examined when creating organizational H&S objectives.

• Apply the "SMART" technique when creating objectives:
1. Specific  - exact outcomes to be achieved.
2. Measurable  - quantify how much and by when.
3. Achievable  - able to be accomplished by those assigned responsibility (knowledge, skills, attitude and desire).
4. Realistic - able to be managed within the time and resources available (practical, controllable).
5. Time - a starting point, deadlines, and a target date for completion need to be considered and identified.
• Need to be able to monitor and evaluate progress of the objectives.
• Objectives can be grouped to create a theme (hazard management, hygiene controls, education, etc.).
• They can be the starting point for programs to be implemented (noise reduction, chemical management, manual handling, soft tissue injury prevention).

Responsibility:

• The plan should describe who is responsible for each objective (manager, supervisor, department, team, committee, employees).
• the plan should describe all employee involvement.
• The plan should recognize organizational buy-in and document expected work flow fluctuations.
• It should indicate production requirements.

Review:

• The plan should state how the plan will be followed, updated and revised.
• It should identify who will make changes, recognize constraints and unexpected requirements.

Communication:

• A description of how the plan will be communicated should be included within the plan.

WorkSafeNB Occupational Health Section: 07/99