Health and Safety Record keeping, Documentation and other Statistics

Which health and safety records do you need to keep?

H&S Record Keeping (Collating the H&S information) : Introduction

All records relating to H&S in the workplace must be retained by the organisation.

Many organizations choose to store these electronically.

The Health and Safety information can be broadly classified into two category :

Internal Source of Information
External Source of Information ( National level and International Level Information)

Internal Source of Information for Health and Safety :

This information is available at Organisation level . Internal H&S records can include:

Health and Safety Policy
Accident records/ reports ( Accident data , near-miss , injury etc.)
Ill-health data
Absence records
Staff Turnover reports
Medical records. ( e.g. First Aid records etc.)
Previous Risk assessments
Maintenance records & reports
Active monitoring data
Safety representative inspections (Safety Inspection records and corrective Action taken data)
Audit Reports ( Includes Internal Audit reports and External Audit Reports )
Safety Survey reports
Safety Tour Reports
Benchmarking Data
Reactive monitoring data
Accident Investigation reports (Includes Action Taken reports)
Safety Alerts
Learning from Incidents records
Safety committee meeting reports & minutes of meetings records.
Previous enforcement notices records (Include Prohibition notices, Improvement notices and Crown notices etc.)
Complaints Register (Complaints records from workforce, Customer, Stakeholders related to health and Safety )
Worker Consultation data
SSW (Safe System of Work) records- SSW Register
Safety Statement records
SWM (Safe Working Methods) records
PTW records- - Permit (PTW) Register
JHA (Job hazard Analysis) records
Methods Statement records
SOP (Safe Operating Procedures) records
JSA( Job Safety Analysis)
Legal Register (Record to be maintained of all Health and safety legislation which are applied to your organisation)
Risk Register / Risk Assessment Register ( sometimes known as HIRA Register (Hazard identification and risk assessments))
Health Register/ Medical Records Register (e.g. First Aid Register, Health Surveillance records) (First Aid register may contain the Record of the First Aiders at Site, Record of Treatment for whom, when, where and why etc.)
Maintenance log book (Equipment records including inspections, maintenance and repair etc.)
Audit Register (audit reports)
(Safety inspection and audit reports)
Corrective Action Reports
Accident Book( Register of Injuries)
Training Record Register
PPE Register
Hazardous Substances Register (Chemical Register) / (Dangerous Goods Register)
Muster Roll or Wages register
Confined Space Register
Lifting Tools and Equipment Register
Fire & Emergency Safety Register
Health and Safety manuals generated internally by the organisation
HSE Plan records
Lifting plan records
Excavation Plan records
Any Specific information related to the organisation

External Sources of Information:

External (national level information ) sources for OSH may include :

National legislation ( specific to the Industry DSE Regulation 1992, PUWER 1998, COSHH 2002, CDM Regulation 1994 from www.hse.gov.uk) (DSE- Display and Screen Equipment, PUWER- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulation, COSHH- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health, CDM-Construction & Design Management)
Approved Codes of practice. (ACoP) / CoP
Safety data sheets. (SDS) or Material safety data sheets (MSDS) from chemical suppliers.
Manufacturers’ information such as: Operating manual , maintenance manual , instructions manual for plant and machinery
Contractor Prequalification data
Supplier and vendors information
Guidance notes. (HSG65 , HSG245 etc. refer www.hse.gov.uk)
Insurance companies reports
Trade associations information
Safety Journals
Safety magazines
Safety related publications
Standards published by the British Standards Institution (BSI)

External ( International level information ) sources for OSH may include:

International Labour Organisation (UN) - www.ilo.org
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (USA) - www.osha.gov
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH),
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU)- http://agency.osha.eu.int
Health and Safety Executive (UK) - www.hse.gov.uk
Worksafe (Western Australia) - www.commerce.wa.gov.au/WorkSafe
World Health Organisation www.who.int
IOSH-Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (https://iosh.com)
IIRSM(www.iirsm.org )- International Institute of Risk & Safety Management
CCOHS-Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) Canada (https://www.ccohs.ca/)
European and international authorities such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). (https://www.iso.org/home.html)

The benefits of maintaining good OSH record management :

(shredall.co.uk/blog/health-safety-records-management)

Ensures key information is easily retrievable- keeping everything organised and in one place helps when files are needed quickly or in an emergency. Records can easily be shared between colleagues, ensuring consistency and continuity.
Monitoring performance- It enables senior managers to monitor health and safety performance.
It’s a legal requirement- Certain health and safety records need to be available for inspections. Health and safety inspectors and representatives have the legal right to inspect a business’s health and safety records.
Compliance- It ensures an organisation can demonstrate compliance (internally and externally) with legal duties under the health and safety law.
Efficiency- keeping everything up to date and organised makes the job of Health and Safety easier as you can keep track what needs to be done and when.

How long should you keep health and safety documents/ information/records?

(Refer https://www.shredall.co.uk/blog/health-safety-records-management )

Most health and safety records need to be kept for five years.

however, risk assessment records should be kept if the process or activity is performed.

Also, civil claims for injury can be made up to three years after an incident. Furthermore, some records relating to health or environment risks must be kept for longer periods.

There are several documents that have a statutory requirement to keep for a certain time:

Accident book: 3 years from last entry
List of employees exposed to group three and four biological agents: 10 years
Reportable injuries, disease, or dangerous occurrences: 3 years
Asbestos at work- survey and health surveillance for 40 years from last incident
Exposure to Hazardous Substances in the workplace should be kept up to 40 years depending on the record.

Any Health and Safety records created must be kept, safely stored, and securely destroyed when no longer needed.

It’s important these records are kept for legislative reasons and to demonstrate the correct safety procedures and processes within an organisation.