A good health and safety record is no accident … and supports sustainability

Not as a bolt-on but something to be ‘owned and lived’, the systematic elimination of workplace accidents and incidents involves creating a ‘safety culture’ that is part of a wider company culture which for Enzygo represents core business, community, environmental and sustainability values.

Occupational health and safety in its many forms is an important way of delivering our statutory responsibilities and professional aims – and helping our clients to do the same for their customers.

It also means protecting our extended supply chains pro-actively wherever reasonable, plus short- and long-term contractors, members of the public, and other third-party people.

The upshot is that we have to think continuously about safeguarding our frontline staff - and the people they work with - against known and potential risks that can crop up suddenly in the diverse and rapidly changing workplace environments where we operate.

Constantly in mind

As Senior Consultant with Enzygo’s health and safety portfolio, it is my job to identify and mitigate problems at the offices, industrial sites, confined spaces, client premises, rural, urban, waterway, and coastal settings where my colleagues work - plus travel and transport.

However, there are other ‘technical’ and ‘people’ aspects of modern H&S practice that I would also like to look at in a moment, which implemented properly can benefit everybody.

To explain what I mean, as a backdrop to both health and safety in general and how we manage our H&S strategy at Enzygo, I would like to start with the important concept of ‘safety culture’.

Not a process - more a way of life

H&S at work is a dynamic culture - not a static set of rules - that must be continuously adapted to evolving circumstances. Very importantly, a health and safety culture is a sub-set of an organisation’s main corporate culture, and must reflect the same high principles and beliefs.

And there is more. A health and safety culture should also be an improvement tool for: - systems and processes; employee engagement; personal and staff development; co-operation, coordination; project control; increasing efficiency; plus maintaining and upgrading core standards.

Green health and safety

However, there can be significant environmental and sustainability gains too.

One example is minimising waste and pollution. By spotting the H&S risks of spills and leaks, plus any correlation that key performance indicators might detect, it may be possible to avoid negative future environmental impacts.

Avoiding this kind of disruption can then improve productivity. Preventing spills and contamination, while also raising energy efficiency, can also help to safeguard natural resources.

A culture of development and growth

Before I explain how our health and safety system works at Enzygo (www.enzygo.com) I would like to spend a little longer looking at why the concept of ‘culture’ is important.

‘Culture’ is a slightly vague concept and various attempts have been made to define its role in practice, particularly as a tool for reaching higher goals, such as difficult-to-achieve zero incident targets.

Rather than a set of hard and fast rules, ‘safety culture’ is a mix of the attitudes, values and perceptions held by the people responsible for designing safe working conditions, and those who put them into workplace practice.

In other words, a culture created to meet specific circumstances is about ‘how it is actually done’ rather than ‘how it should be done’, and is based on how well staff understand safety issues, plus the decisions they make using regularly updated information and data from safety managers.

A culture of personal responsibility

One definition I like that explains this well is ‘what people do when no one is watching’. This is about how people judge the appropriateness of their behaviour and requires trust, confidence in the system, plus a team spirit that encourages commitment and personal buy-ins.

Another way of looking at it is that how the system is implemented by everyone involved is as important in preventing incidents and injuries as the details of the system itself.

Key components are often listed as: - management commitment and style; risk control; co-operation, engagement and employee involvement; training and competence; communication; compliance with procedures; and organisational learning.

Or, in summary, good leadership, good worker involvement, and good communications.

A culture with added benefits

While a strong safety culture can increase the rate at which accidents and injuries are reduced, it has other direct and indirect bonuses. As a sub-set of a wider corporate culture, it can help to improve workplace morale and staff retention.

Additional commercial bonuses include a sharper competitive edge, plus an enhanced reputation with clients and third-party bodies, such as local authorities, government agencies, and community groups.

Modis operandi

Creating an effective safety culture can take several years - beginning with an audit and the caveat that this is only a starting point. It is often helpful too to concentrate on specific issues, such as leadership, staff competence, or procedures.

A common mistake is focussing on the staff levels below managers. Senior managers need their perceptions and behaviours challenging too on issues like putting production above safety, being too reactive, having only a short-term focus, or simply continuing to do what they have always done.

Enzygo - committed to a positive health and safety culture

There isn’t room here, nor is it appropriate, to detail every aspect of how Enzygo’s health and safety policy and strategy plays out in practice - although I am happy to answer any questions should you want to contact me directly outside this feature.

What I would say is that our safety culture is based on four basic strengths – our 4 C’s. Under these we have three core aims. These are backed up by a series of action priorities as I will explain in a moment.

Another key point I would like to make is that perhaps unsurprisingly our systems and support have developed and evolved along with our company growth – and will foreseeably continue to do so.

I would then like to spend some time looking in detail at net-zero issues and how we can improve sustainability through good health and safety systems and practice.

- Competence, control, co-operation, communication – our four H&S strategic pillars need no further explanation after the notes above but are our chosen foundation points.

- Health and safety goals – our three primary objectives are to: - improve employee well-being; keep accident and injuries rates as low as possible; and increase our H&S profile, reputation, and levels of voluntary buy-in both internally and externally.

- Action priorities – there are six key points that I want to make here: -

1. We recently implemented/trained an employee in each office as a Mental Health First Aider
2. We now actively ask employees for their ideas on improving H&S processes and procedures
3. H&S Quarterly Meetings, which anyone can attend, are held to consult and engage with our staff on business practices and take on board any points that can help to remove workplace barriers
4. A key priority is to improve employee engagement and safety connections to work processes
5. We issue updates and jointly make changes for more effective and accessible communications
6. A further key priority is to improve employee morale and sense of inclusion

- Health & safety systems and support - again, it may be best if I summarise these as bullet points: -

• We have improved – and will continue to improve – both our risk assessments and method statements as the scope of our site activities evolve over time to keep pace with, and where possible lead, on the implementation of regulations and legislation
• We have developed and run training programmes to help employees maintain competence during busy working lives, develop their skills, foster a greater understanding of key issues, improve productivity, and save valuable time in the long-term
• Enzygo also provides and promotes wellbeing and mental health seminars which all employees are encouraged to attend - these are provided on a monthly basis via external professional Mike Lawrence and Ches ‘The Stress Master’
• The company provides contacts for 1-1 support with external support groups
• We also review company systems periodically to make sure all possible improvements are made

?- Net-zero – improving sustainability via good health and safety

In addition to the strategic actions outline above, we have a number of practical workplace priorities to improve both our health and safety and environmental performance: -

Working online - our Health and Safety Meetings, inductions, and toolbox talks can now be accessed via TEAMS to reduce travel, and therefore our emissions footprint

Low accident record over many years - Enzygo has reduced workplace accident and injuries - and therefore employee time off work - and we are committed to further improvements

Construction site work for our geo-environmental team - we dispose of waste as per legal requirements, and reduce contamination risks by: - limiting soil sampling to cut waste volumes; reusing equipment and materials on site where possible; minimising any exposure to hazardous materials through PPE; enforcing safe working practices; and the suitable storage of materials

Car sharing - this may seem like a small contribution to cutting our carbon footprint when site visits are essential, but it is part of a wider suite of net-zero sustainability measures

Optimising our workplace environments - continuously reviewing work spaces, their layouts, and company policies is a further way of improving safety and reducing emissions

Enzygo provides important net-zero training and education for employees highlighting sustainability and waste reduction (see ‘Carbon literacy and climate adaptation – where our local and global efforts come together’ - https://www.enzygo.com/news/carbon-literacy-and-climate-adaptation-where-our-local-and-global-efforts-come-together/)

The company is currently working towards achieving the internationally-recognised ISO 45001 standard (ISO 45001:2018 - Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use)

Improving the workplace safety environment

I have mentioned the wider implications of a good safety culture, and optimising the workplace environment is key to sustainability. Well-designed spaces with ample light, clean air, ideal temperatures, and ergonomic layouts, can result in not only higher productivity, but also greater wellbeing and valuable energy savings.

As such, it is also important from both a health and safety and environmental standpoint to monitor air quality, ventilation, lighting and layouts through policy and design reviews. More sustainable building materials, and the use of less toxic equipment and furnishings, do have an impact.

Green, light, and spacious

Facilities managers, principal designer, and architects can jointly improve spaces using ‘biophilic’ elements such as plant greenery, natural light and open spaces. Any readily available access to nature is said to improve creativity, cognitive function, and wellbeing. Eco-friendly materials can also help to make spaces more sustainable and appealing.

Minimising any exposure to hazardous substances similarly enhances sustainability, just as controlling risks from toxic materials and emissions can significantly benefit the environment, human health and productivity.

Contact

I hope this broad overview of health and safety issues, and particularly ‘safety culture’, is both helpful and a useful introduction to Enzygo strategic approach to H&S in modern workplaces.

If you would like to discuss any of the points mentioned above in more detail, please feel free to contact me directly.

Greg Parr, Health and Safety Manager, Enzygo Ltd