For years we’ve been focussed on fatalities as a measure of performance when it comes to health & safety. Whilst RIDDORs and annual accident starts are recorded and reported annually to give a more holistic view, but we tend to lose focus on the bigger picture.
It is frustrating that we can’t accurately measure the most serious accidents or fatalities in our sector because of the way they are recorded. For example, I was expecting to see a total of 8 waste sector fatalities recorded for 2023, given the nature and location of the incidents, however, the annual accident stats compiled by the HSE have the number of waste sector-fatalities as 6.
In August 2023, a fatality involving an operative who was crushed by a reversing loader at a waste transfer site, was recorded as a service sector fatality because the operative was an agency worker. A fatality in December 2023, involving a reversing RCV, which fatally injured a member of the public, was classified as a road traffic collision.
It’s very difficult to accurately measure performance if we are not correctly classifying accidents within our sector, which is why we probably need to include RIDDORs and general accident stats, given they are sector-specific, and give a more holistic view of performance.
In some cases, the local police force or the Local Authority will take precedent depending on the location and the scenario, which means the HSE may not have any involvement with the investigation or follow up or prosecution.
As a sector, anecdotal evidence suggests that accidents or near misses are not being recorded correctly, with some going unrecorded through fear of recompense or to avoid focus from enforcing authorities.
Focus on improving safety culture should include a ‘no blame culture’, and employees should be encouraged to record incidents and near-misses without fear of consequence. These can often identify training issues, which can also be addressed through appropriate supervision and monitoring (which remains high on the HSE areas of focus).
Naturally, we tend to go into a self-defence mechanism when something goes wrong, because we don’t want to be held accountable for our mistakes, especially if processes and procedures were not being followed.
Physical barriers can help improve safety, but shortcuts will be utilised without an appropriate supervision and monitoring regime. Technology is now playing a part in improving health & safety performance, but we can’t become complacent and rely on this technology to protect the workforce without instilling positive behavioural change amongst our workforce, to ensure safety concerns are being accurately reported to begin with.
