Competent safety adviser

Once again, the role of the competent safety adviser will be detailed within the organisation section of the safety policy. Dependent upon the size and nature of the organisation the functions of the adviser will include ... 

The regulations do not define competence but do offer advice to employers when appointing health and safety advisers who should have ... 

The names, roles and responsibilities of the competent persons, e.g. safety adviser, fire wardens, first aiders, etc. 

THE HSE publication Successful Health and Safety Management makes the following points with regard to the role and functions of health and safety advisers, (be they internally-appointed persons or external consultants) Organisations that successfully manage health and safety give health and safety advisers the status and ensure they have the competence to advise management and workers with authority and independence. Subjects on which they advise include ... 

Pharmaceutical companies wishing to register new products must submit a dossier of data, relating to trials and investigations on the product, to MAFF. When MAFF (VMD) is satisfied that the data are complete and the research has been properly conducted to internationally accepted standards of competence (Good Laboratory Practice - GLP), the dossiers are passed to the VPC. The VPC then assesses the quality, efficacy and safety of the product. The safety assessment on the product includes the target species, human (operator, consumer) and environmental impact. If there are any substantial doubts, the licence may be refused and/or the company advised to carry out further investigations. 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published a guidance note (GS 38) which advises electricians and other electrically competent people on the selection of suitable test probes, voltage-indicating devices and measuring instruments. This is because they consider suitably constructed test equipment to be as vital for personal safety as the training and practical skills of the electrician. In the past, unsatisfactory test probes and voltage indicators have frequently been the cause of accidents, and therefore all test probes must now incorporate the following features ... 

FACOSH has advised OSHA on how to protect federal workers from the H1N1 pandemic on qualifications and educational requirements for the federal safety and occupational health management Job series and the industrial hygiene job series and on core competencies, appropriate training and continuing education under the... 

The frequency of thorough examinations for a hoist or lift by a competent person under the FA and OSRP Regulations is six months. In the case of continuous lifts and manual service lifts the frequency is every 12 months. It should be noted that escalators are non-statutory items of plant but, under the Health and Safety at Work Act, owners would be well advised to have them inspected at regular frequencies. 

Status and competence are essential to the role of health and safety and other advisers. They must be able to advise management and employees or their representatives with authority and independence. They need to be able to advise on ... 

It is important that any competent person employed to help with health and safety has evidence of relevant knowledge, skills and experience for the tasks involved. The appointment of a competent person as an adviser to an employer does not absolve the employer from his responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act and other relevant statutory provision. 

Every employer is obliged to appoint one or more competent person(s) to advise and assist in undertaking the necessary measures to comply with the relevant statutory requirements. They may be employees or outside consultants. The purpose is to make sure that all employers have access to health and safety expertise. Preference should be given to an in-house appointee who may be backed up by external expertise. 

Increasingly employers are demanding a high level of professional competence in their safety and health advisers, calling for them to hold recognised qualifications and have a wide range of technical expertise. These are evidenced by Chartered Membership of the Institution for which proof of a satisfactory level of academic knowledge of the subject reinforced by a number of years of practical experience and skills development in the field, assessed by an Initial Professional Development (IPD). 

Figure 3.2 The responsible person assisted by a competent adviser should manage fire safety in the workplace...

Be in a position to advise any client and any contractor to enable them to comply with Regulations 8(2) and 9(2) - competence of designer - and to advise any client on compliance with Regulations 8(3), 9(3) and 10 (competence of contractor and readiness of the Health and Safety Plan)... 

This behaviour is, it is asserted, widespread in Australia and New Zealand and in many motorising countries in their region it is tied up with values and competence and a risk-averse philosophy and has a major effect upon public policy development and outcomes, especially in the challenging area of traffic safety. When the gatekeepers are not as expert in the subject matter as their senior advising staff, then suboptimal conveyance of any advice to ministers is much more likely. 

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