The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published new guidance to help directors and senior managers in major hazard industries to improve the effectiveness of their leadership.
Leadership for the major hazard industries also aims to encourage senior managers to reflect on their current approach and challenge them to continuously improve health and safety performance in their companies.
The HSE said several inquiries had concluded that failures at managerial levels were at least as significant as technical failures and human error in causing accidents in major hazard industries.
Such industries include nuclear, offshore oil and gas, mining, chemicals and rail. Subsequently, the HSE has been working in consultation with these industries to develop appropriate guidance.
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Chris Willby, head of HSE’s Hazardous Installations Directorate, said senior management commitment and involvement were vital for successful health and safety performance.
“This booklet is intended as a guide for senior managers in the major hazard industries to help them achieve the continuous improvement in health and safety, which should be a key objective of every organisation,” he said. “The checklist format gives useful prompts in terms of some of the behaviours required to successfully lead for health and safety.”
