SAMS Ltd were interested to note that a company from Scotland was heavily fined for an incident involving a forklift truck following a fatality in 2013 having been fined for an incident in 2011. The comments made following the course was that there was no safe system of work in place and that operators were allowed to carry out tasks as they saw fit.
This finding is significant and to SAMS Ltd is a clear indication that the culture of this particular company in respect of safety issues may have been lacking giving rise to SAMS Ltd believing that the culture of the organisation involved created a situation where there was a lack of managerial control within the organisation. Such a belief would be a critical factor in determining any fines and associated costs imposed upon the company.
As SAMS Ltd we are great believers that the culture in place within any organisation or work place is a key factor in making a work place safe or unsafe which, as with so many things, starts and finishes with the level of commitment of owners, managers and supervisors.
In consideration of the fine imposed, which totalled close on £250k the impact of the Fee for Intervention (see previous blog – The highest growth industry – Its all in the fees.) must be added.
One element in the development is the engagement of the work force the starting point for which is the provision of appropriate training for staff.
At SAMS Ltd we can assist in the process with a range of relevant classroom and e-learning courses backed by UKATA, NEBOSH, IOSH and CIEH all of which offer quality training packages which can be completed by managers and staff at a time and place of their choosing. For more information please go to www.samsltd.co.uk
