Safe system of work

Multi-pad lockable hasp for locking off isolating value 

The integration of personnel, articles and substances in a laid out and considered method of working which takes proper account of the risks to employees and others who may be affected, such as visitors and contractors, and provides a formal framework to ensure that all of the steps necessary for safe working have been anticipated and implemented. 

In simple terms, a safe system of work is a defined method for doing a job in a safe way. It takes account of all foreseeable hazards to health and safety and seeks to eliminate or minimize these. Safe systems of work are normally formal and documented, for example, in written operating procedures but, in some cases, they may be verbal. 

The particular importance of safe systems of work stems from the recognition that most accidents are caused by a combination of factors (plant, substances, lack of training, supervision etc). Hence prevention must be based on an Integral approach and not one which only deals with each factor in isolation. The adoption of a safe system of work provides this integral approach because an effective safe system  

The operations covered may be simple or complex, routine or unusual. 

A critical element in controlling primary fire and other workplace hazards is the use of a safe system of work (SSOW). This SSOW, in simple terms, defines a way of undertaking a task in a safe manner, for instance it would define the safe way of refuelling a forklift truck 

A step-by-step procedure based upon the integration of people, equipment, materials, and the environment, to produce an acceptable level of safety. 

Safe systems of work appear in a variety of forms including  

Such a system of work would on the majority of occasions be formally recorded and documented, taking into account all foreseeable risks associated with the operation and detail the procedure for minimisation of the risk, or where reasonably practicable the complete elimination of the risk. 

As can be seen from the above definition the safe system of work should provide a step-by-step approach which integrates all the facets that will secure the safety of not only those undertaking the task or job, but also those who may be affected by it. 

The safety precautions described so far have concentrated on hardware solutions. However, it should be recognised that a large proportion of accidents result from people adopting unsafe systems of work on electrical systems. It is therefore clear that the adoption of safe systems of work should have clear benefits in accident reduction. Safe systems of work are frequently referred to as software measures, in comparison with the hardware measures already covered. 

A risk assessment should identify the hazards arising from the activity, their severity (usually expressed as high, medium, or low), the likelihood of the hazard occurring, and the likelihood of being able to avoid the hazard. These factors then need to be combined to derive an overall assessment of the risk. Having done that, those activities that are judged to have unacceptably 

It should be the norm that work is carried out on systems that have been made dead and on which precautions have been taken to prevent them being reenergised while work is going on. The generic safe isolation procedure is as follows  

Identify the circuit or apparatus on which work is to be done. 

Disconnect the supply by, for example, switching off an isolator, withdrawing a plug, or tripping to off a circuit breaker that has a contact gap that can positively be seen to be open and which has a gap large enough for isolation purposes. 

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Safe systems of work to control plant modifications etc... 

Company management systems and safe systems of work . 

Requirements for work m confined spaces, including avoidance of entry if reasonably practicable, provision of a safe system of work and establishment of adequate emergency aiTangements. 

Are there safe systems of work implemented during the operation and maintenance of the plant and equipment (This may necessitate a permit to work to be issued by an authorized competent person.)... 

SAFE SYSTEM OF WORK A formal procedure resulting from systematic examination of a task to identify all the hazards. Defines safe methods to ensure that hazards are eliminated or risks controlled. 

The clean-out operation, which had not been done in the previous 30 years, was not subjected to a hazard assessment to devise a safe system of work, and there were defects in the planning of and permit-to-work system of the operation. The task was largely handled locally with minimal reference to senior management and with lack of formal procedures, although such procedures existed for cleaning other still bases on the site. The permits were issued by a team leader who had not worked on the Meissner plant for 10 years prior to his appointment on September 7. At 10 15 a.m., he made out a permit for a fitter to remove the manlid. The fitter signed on about 11 10 a.m. and shortly after went to lunch. Operatives who were standing by offered to remove the manlid and the same team leader made out a permit for them to do so. When the fitter returned from lunch, it was realized that the still base inlet had not been isolated and a further permit was issued for this to be done. 

The removal of any relief device from a process plant requires a safe system of work such as a written safety procedure and a formal permit to work before the work commences. It is essential that the replacement d vice is to the correct specification and installed correctly otherwise the integrity of the system will be affected. To this end, it is recommended that the replacement is approved by a competent person who has access to the records of the installation. Further information is given by Parry[1]. ... 

It is not hard to find this legislative lexicon of safety - the legalese -on construction sites, often within safety documentation and induction materials. The safe systems of work and working environment found in Clauses 2(a) and 2(d) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, respectively can be easily found throughout our safety documentation. They are often either associated with general management practices or focused on specific work tasks such as falls/ fall prevention or excavations, where guidance often makes explicit reference to a safe system of work. ... 

Risk and risk assessment are one of the fundamental ways safety and unsafety is managed on UK construction sites, and are prescribed by law. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999) require that risks associated with any work activity are assessed before work starts. Risk assessments form the basis of many Health and Safety Regulations, and a standardised format and prescribed approach to the process often forms part of the safety management system toolkit in the establishment of safe systems of work. ... 

PPE should always be relied upon as a last resort to protect against health and safety. Engineering controls and safe systems of work should always be considered first. Where the risks are not adequately controlled by other means, the employer has a duty to ensure that suitable PPE is provided, free of charge. 

The Regulations require employers to provide specific safety signs where there is a significant risk to health and safety which has not been avoided or satisfactorily controlled by other means, e.g. by engineering controls and safe systems of work. 

The small size of the organization made it difficult to negotiate or enforce OHS requirements on the large contractors used to transport their finished goods. Due to the explosive nature of the product, there were only a limited munber of carriers available. Ensuring that the carriers followed their safe systems of work was an arduous task, and due to the organization s small size, they did not believe they had the negotiating power to enforce such requirements. 

The operator stated that many of the incidents (including at least two of the deaths) were a result of people not following the safe system of work or indulging in horseplay but the corrective action for all types of operational incident usually included an engineering solution. There can be no doubt that some of these incidents could have been avoided in the first place had the link between the initial design through construction and into operations been stronger. 

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