wrgcsrreport.co.uk

Accident rates within the waste industry, in general, remain high and also remain high on the enforcers' radar screens. WRG continues to focus on safety across all aspects of the business, developing and implementing robust systems to improve safety performance. 2008 saw a 26% fall in minor non-reportable incidents compared with the previous year. The Group has also seen a reduction in both employee reportable 'over 3 day incidents' and 'reportable major injury' incidents. WRG exceeded its corporate target of a 10% reduction in RIDDORs on the previous year by a further 8%.

Figure 3 - Injuries

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) reportable accidents were predominantly associated with minor injury slips, trips and falls involving more than three days off work. Vehicle and Plant activities were the second most common incident type. The further reduction in manual handling injuries is very encouraging, since this is the second year running where we have shown a reduction in this area, this is indicating that our awareness campaigns and 'E-Module' training initiatives are working well.

As a direct result of the reduction in accident numbers, the Accident Incident Rate (AIR), which is a rate of accidents per 100,000 employees, shows a decrease for another consecutive year. As a direct comparison to the whole of the companies within the Environmental Services Association, we have a rate of 1,222, versus an ESA rate of 2,184. The lower the figure, the better the performance.

Figure 4 - Accidents

In 2008, WRG achieved CHAS re-accreditation. This is a Contractor Health and Safety Assessment scheme used by local authorities to determine a contractor’s suitability to operate local authority contracts. The Incident Review Panel (IRP) format has continued to be extremely valuable for the business throughout the year. Communications from the IRP are routinely issued to the business to assist in preventing repeat accidents.

The key focus for 2008 has been the introduction of the new accident investigation system, which aims to get to the root cause of all accidents. The new format allows for effort to be channelled to the right areas, so that actions can be taken to prevent recurrence. The majority of site managers and supervisors have been trained in the new system. Within the monthly report on health and safety performance to the Executive Committee, the quality of the accident investigations are scrutinised and graded to encourage continuous improvement.

Corporate health and safety objectives for 2008 included:

• 10% reduction in RIDDOR rates against the previous year.
• Reduce the number of lost days due to injuries at work by 20%.
• Implementation of a new accident investigation system.
• Review and revision of risk assessment processes.
• Update procedures into the format of the business’s integrated management system and achieve pre-audit stage for OHSAS 18001 by the end of 2008.

All of the corporate objectives were met, apart from the reduction in lost days. Here we addressed the reporting aspects across the business to get a more accurate representation of the true days lost figures. With robust data from 2008, we can now confidently target a reduction for 2009.

The corporate health and safety objectives for 2009 are:

• Reduction in accident statistics
  1. Reduce RIDDOR rates by 10% by the year end.
  2. Reduce the number/rate of days lost due to Injuries at work by 20% by the year end.

   

• Near Miss Reporting
  1. Review the current near-miss reporting format.
  2. Introduce a rating system to differentiate levels of near-misses and requirements for investigating incidents.
  3. Set up a near-miss to incident ratio and report progress on a monthly basis.
  4. Ensure that the business is equipped to implement this new process.

   

• Risk Assessment Process
  1. Introduce the new risk assessment process to the business.
  2. Ensure that the business is equipped to implement this new process.
  3. Ensure all risk assessments are in the new format by the end of 2009.
  4. Measure the progress of the roll-out and liaise as necessary to ensure targets are met.

   

• Integrated Management System
  1. Progress the roll-out of the system and get to the point for accreditation to the 3 standards.
  2. Ensure that the business is equipped to implement this new process.
  3. Ensure accreditation to the three standards by the year end.

   

• Insurance Claims
  1. Measure the number and cost of claims resulting from Employers Liability and Public Liability by region. Reduce the cost of claims by the year end by 10%.
  2. Measure the success in defending claims by the efficient production of evidence and documentation by region. Ensure actual claims value is lower than reserve figures by year end.

   

• Occupational Road Risk
  1. Develop and implement a risk assessment process for all company vehicle users and those that use their own vehicles on company business.
  2. Ensure all appropriate documentation for users of cars on company business is checked against a company standard.
  3. Implement a policy for the use of mobile phones whilst driving on company business.

   

• Safety Culture
  1. Involve colleagues more in current systems of near miss reporting and risk assessments.
  2. Promote safe behaviours across the business.
  3. Encourage colleague involvement in the design of health and safety systems.
  4. Set up a national safety forum to encourage discussion and consultation on key safety issues affecting the business.

   

  The key health and safety projects for 2009 are OHSAS 18001 implementation, conversion of risk assessments to the new format, re-launch of COSHH across the business and a general consolidation of all the new business areas into the WRG safety management systems.