Policy matters

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As old economic certainties start to fade away, health and safety is often the first thing to be compromised. FMME finds out how ensuring a business has a good HSE policy is one way to beat the banker.

At a time when the economy is starting to suffer from a degree of uncertainty, there is a danger that health and safety can be seen as one of the first things to be compromised in an effort to reduce overheads.

A good health and safety policy, however, allows a business to identify the particular hazards involved in its work and the level of risk. As a result, maintaining a comprehensive health and safety policy is one way for a business to protect its bottom line.

Experts warn that cutting back on HSE policies can in fact be disastrous for a business fighting to remain competitive. "When times are tough, we have to look at every way we can save money within an organisation. If you have a good HSE programme, it reduces the risk of harm to people, loss to process, service interruption and damage to equipment," says Eldeen Pozniak, managing director of safety consultants Pozniak Associates DMCC.

Her views are echoed by Michael Nates, EHS senior general manager of Nakheel. "Construction sites will never be free from hazards," he said at the Construction Week Conference held in October. "However, a good site plan helps prevent problems, and avoiding incidents means avoiding disruption."

This is because a good health and safety policy isn't just about protecting workers. It's also about defining how your business operates. "If you don't plan, sooner or later something will happen that you just don't see coming. If you have a comprehensive plan in place, you have a structured way of working, something you can monitor, something you can learn from and it'll help you manage your business," says Ben Legg, IMS Director, Al Futtaim Carillion.

Helping hands

Given the complex nature of hazards and risks facing workers in the region, creating a comprehensive HSE policy can be a challenge. However, various organisations operating in the Middle East can provide advice and guidance.

Construction companies operating in Dubai are already well covered by the minimum standards set by Dubai Municipality. "[The municipality standards] are fairly comprehensive," says Grahame McCaig, chairman of construction industry safety collective Buildsafe UAE.

"If everybody implemented those minimum systems, we would have very few incidents and very few issues with health and safety in the construction industry in the UAE." However, the DM standards are a bare minimum, general standard. The most successful HSE policies are ones which take into account the specific risks facing a business.

"Off the shelf policies don't help. A policy must be practical, and the procedure must be credible," says Stephen Munn, regional HSS manager of contractor Al Futtaim Carillion. "If people don't see how a policy works, they won't make it happen."

Creating a specific HSE policy can be done with the help of organisations such as Buildsafe UAE, which acts as a forum for sharing best practice information, or groups such as the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). IOSH operates a chartership scheme which enables individuals to become certified experts in HSE. Another option is to bring in an outside consultant, who can perform an audit of business processes and procedures and help a business draft a specific HSE policy.

Key policy points

Since a health and safety policy helps define how your business operates, it's crucial that it plays an active part in day to day operations.

"If you look around the world at health and safety policies, there's been a tendency over years to have them framed on a wall, rather than have a value adding document that defines how a business is going to operate and how health and safety is embodied in all activities," says Legg.

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