Table of Contents
Introduction
Senior Management of ABC Services is committed to promoting a safe, healthy and a secured work environment to be a market leader in the provision of safety and related consultancy services within the West Africa Sub Region. There is input at all levels of the organization which is also key in this regard.
Competence in Health and Safety
Competence is relevant to all workplaces. Competent Individuals within the organization facilitate efforts to implement health and safety procedures and promote a positive health and safety culture. Competence is not limited to a specific group of workers. Senior Managers, Line Managers, and all other workers who are competent in the organization are able to recognize the risks in operational activities and then apply the right measures to control and manage those risks to eliminate them or reduce them to as low as reasonably practicable.
It is a legal requirement that every organization should have competent persons who will also help the organization in meeting the requirements of health and safety law. Ultimately to ensure the health and safety of all who are affected by operations of ABC Services like visitors, customers, contractors, and employees, etc. A person is deemed competent when he/she possesses the right skills, knowledge, ability, training, and experience.
Legal Requirements for Competent Persons
In a blogpost by (Berry, 2017) Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) Approved Code of Practice and Guidance (2014) is mentioned to give an example of who a competent person is. Regulation 8 of LOLER 1998 as captured above states that the ‘competent person’ responsible for planning will have “the skills, knowledge, and experience to make the relevant assessment of the requirements of the lifting equipment being used and the type of task being carried out”.
Regulation 9 (which covers examination and inspection) states that the person “carrying out a thorough the examination has such appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment to be thoroughly examined as will enable them to detect defects or weaknesses and to assess their importance in relation to the safety and continued use of the lifting equipment”.
Organizational Competence
Organizational competencies in health and safety are also needed so that ABC Services can excel and remain competitive. The Organizational competencies depend heavily on the competencies of the employees of the organization and is determined by the specialized services we offer to people and businesses who patronize us.
As an organization that deals with a lot of customers on a daily basis, we have developed the ISO 9001: 2015, Quality management system to serve as a model where the needs and expectations of customers will be met or exceeded.
ISO 9001 and Customer Satisfaction
The key focus for ISO 9001 is customer satisfaction and expressed in Clause 9.1.2 of the ISO 9001:2015 standard. This puts a huge emphasis on Senior Management in making sure clients are indeed satisfied. Without customers the existence of ABC Services are threatened.
Therefore a system to focus on the customer is in the right direction and provides a unity of purpose when all activities and efforts are directed towards achieving customer and regulatory requirements. At regular and planned intervals the system is audited to verify the effectiveness and to identify weaknesses for improvement.
Conclusion
Competence at both individual and organizational levels remains a critical driver for effective health and safety management. By ensuring skilled personnel, adherence to legal frameworks, and continuous improvement through standards like ISO 9001, organizations can achieve both safety excellence and customer satisfaction.
Reference
Berry, S. (2017, 5 3). Competent Person Role Assures Health and Safety. Retrieved from TimelessTime: https://timelesstime.co.uk/knowledgebase/competent-person-role-assures-health-and-safety/
Bibliography
Cochran, C. (2015). ISO 9001:2015 in Plain English. Chico,CA: Scott M Paton.
Health and Safety Commission, 1998. Safe use of lifting equipment Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. In: Safe use of lifting equipment Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, Approved Code of Practice and Guidance. London: HSE Books, pp. 32-43.
