The launch of the Health and Safety and Work etc. Act 1974 was preceded by a report from Lord Robens which discussed the importance of raising awareness of matters of health and safety. It was accepted that there was no single panacea and no simple short cuts. It was recognised that progress would rarely be dramatic, but that through ‘patient and unremitting’ effort it would be possible to raise the status of health and safety in the minds of individuals.
Half a century on from this statement we can revisit whether this has been achieved, or whether the goalposts have moved.
Has it worked?
There can be no doubt that health and safety standards in the workplace have increased significantly since the introduction of the Act. A reduction in workplace accidents may be cited as evidence for this but it would also be right to acknowledge that some industries leaving the UK have had an impact on this statistic.
The best evidence of the Act’s success is the visibility of health and safety in today’s society and the workplace in particular. The safety industry is now a significant market, with its own expos and conferences, recognised accreditations and industry bodies. Workplaces now start with safety inductions, safety signage is ever-present and individuals adorned in protective safety wear. Safety committees are also a regular feature of businesses, with safety reporting to the board of directors, who may have a designated health and safety director.
Automation has played a key role in this evolution. It has enabled employers to remove workers from a range of physical threats in the workplace, from machinery traps to repetitive strains. For those processes that still require human intervention, automation has been used to reduce the risks associated with human error.
It is important, however, to recognise the challenges that automation has had to overcome. There have been many incidents involving workers being hurt by machinery that has started unexpectedly or when not properly isolated. Great effort has therefore been spent designing interlock systems and light gates so that machinery can recognise when individuals may be in harms way. We are excited about the future and the introduction of new technology, such as autonomous vehicles.
Yet, has automation introduced new risks?
One major challenge for all employers is dealing with complacency or risk-blindness in the workforce. Individuals may be criticised for taking less ownership of their own safety because they either have become oblivious to the risk or believe that ‘the system’ will deal with it. There have been a great number of very serious incidents where workers have had to interact with the automated system when fault-finding or during maintenance tasks. The success of automation in improving safety may have resulted in reduced appreciation of its importance.
Have the goalposts moved?
If the intention behind the Act was to raise the status of health and safety then it should be considered a success. If the intention was to create a safer workplace then the finish line has been pushed back.
We need to now harness automation, along with other advances in technology such as the use of AI, to bring particular health and safety risks to the fore. In what is now the ‘noise’ of safety information, how do systems designers ensure that key messages are picked out and communicated in a timely fashion? How do we ensure that a workplace designed for safety is still viewed as somewhere that requires a worker to be careful?
More ‘patient and unremitting’ effort is required. Human nature means that we are attracted to novel things; designers should challenge themselves to create new or interesting messages that communicate clearly to an audience with different life experiences and expectations. Automation can also recognise the risks presented by the humans within the system, for example by building in rest breaks to working processes.
Whilst the primary wording of the Act has not changed in 50 years, the focus of those seeking to comply with it requires constant reassessment.
Philip Crosbie, partner at Eversheds Sutherland
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