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Task 4: Working within a health and safety management system
UNIT NG1 UNIT IG1
SCENARIO
You have recently started your new role as the maintenance manager (MM) at Hollowbrook Garden Centre (HGC)
The workforce includes 25 permanent workers, with worker numbers doubling in the summer months due to temporary, seasonal hires - many of which are students. The garden centre manager (GCM) oversees operations, supported by two deputy managers and two supervisors in the café and garden supplies department. From your first week, it is clear that the garden centre is facing challenges. Recently, four permanent workers have left HGC. Due to supplier price increases, HGC cannot afford the salaries of replacement permanent workers. This has led to existing workers taking on a variety of additional duties, sometimes outside of their normal working hours. Tasks are often neglected, with some routine jobs being missed altogether. There is also a noticeable inconsistency in how well daily tasks are being completed across each area. The GCM expresses relief that you will be overseeing health and safety ; they quickly add, “I don’t have time for that type of thing.” The two deputy managers tell you that they discuss health and safety during their monthly meetings. The GCM rarely attends these safety-related discussions, and are mainly only seen when something goes wrong.
As you begin to familiarise yourself further with the site, you walk through the entrance of the building and stumble over some uneven floor tiles. A nearby worker has difficulty manoeuvring a trolley due to the jagged edges of some of the floor tiles. When you ask if this has been reported, they reply, “We have mentioned it a few times, but it has not been fixed yet.”
Walking into the café, you see an up-to-date clipboard of hygiene checks hanging by the kitchen door. You then enter the pet store, which has a laminated rota on the wall listing feeding and cleaning times for the animals. You also notice how fresh it smells. First-aid kits are available in the office in one of the desk drawers.
You notice a fire exit is blocked by trolleys full of stock. Workers say that they move stock when asked to, but are not sure who is responsible for keeping exits clear. In the outdoor area, the contents of some of the racking units lean slightly into the narrow aisles where customers twist and turn with prams and shopping baskets. You see a child quickly lower their head to avoid a hanging wind chime. Although the hot tubs are visually appealing, on closer inspection, you see a faint green sheen clinging to the sides of one of the hot tubs. A worker walking by casually mentions that the chlorine tablet supply ran out one month ago. “They still look clean though” they add with a shrug; “we sometimes use them when the store is closed.” You ask about cleaning logs, but no one seems to know where they are kept or if they exist at all. One supervisor tells you that they have also informed the GCM about the lack of chlorine sterilising tablets for the hot tubs. You notice a few workers stepping cautiously around certain areas, and one remarks, “It is always a bit tricky near to the compost bags.” During some informal conversations, these workers refer to certain corners and walkways as ‘easy to misjudge’, especially when carrying stock.
One of the temporary workers limps towards you. You ask them what happened, and they tell you how they twisted their ankle carrying a heavy bag of compost to a customer’s car.
Another worker tells you that it can get very hot inside the garden centre during the summer, especially near to the glass-fronted display area. They say, “We have told the GCM, but nothing ever changes, and we don’t want to be seen as a moaner.” The GCM is known for demanding fast results and tolerating shortcuts. Workers admit that they sometimes skip safety steps to get the job done. A worker says, “We know it is not ideal, but we are under pressure.”
During your second week, you search for risk assessments and find one generic risk assessment for the whole garden centre, for permanent workers. The risk assessment has no date and has been developed and signed by the GCM. Most of the risks mentioned are:
slips on water when watering plants;
minor strains / slips from sweeping leaves;
minor bumps / strains from stocking lightweight items on low shelves;
contact with mild cleaning agents in the café;
minor bites and scratches from feeding / checking animals;
paper cuts from promotional leaflets;
repetitive strain from working at the cash register.
You set up a meeting with the GCM for two days later, as they are not currently on site. During this meeting, when you discuss the lack of information in the generic risk assessment, you try to convince the GCM that health and safety of the hot tubs needs prioritising. You tell them about a conversation you overheard between two workers regarding a customer who had recently complained of a rash they developed after trying one of the hot tubs. The GCM says “That is a minor concern, we have got bigger problems right now with the supplier price increases.”
The accident One afternoon, you hear a scream from the front of the garden centre. You go to see what has happened. A display unit near to the cash registers has fallen over. It had been stacked high with impulse-buy items such as sweets, gloves, and planters. It now lies on its side, with a worker trapped underneath it. Other workers rush to help and try to find the first-aid kit, while you call for an ambulance. The worker is conscious but clearly in pain. The display unit is lifted off the injured worker, who is helped up and moved to the office. The other workers clear the area and put the items back onto the display unit. A month later, you are asked to attend a meeting at the office. The injured worker has been absent from work since the accident and now has legal representation, as they are pursuing a compensation claim. Two enforcement officers are waiting in the office. They are investigating the accident and ask to be shown around the site. The GCM, glancing at their watch, quietly asks you to talk to the officers, as the GCM has not had a good experience with enforcement officers in the past. The officers take notes and photographs as you escort them around the site. When they reach the hot tubs, one of the officers frowns and steps back. “When were these last cleaned?” they ask. You hesitate. They issue a prohibition notice, stopping the use of the hot tubs immediately. The enforcement officers think that it is only a matter of time before workers and customers are more seriously injured at the garden centre. The officers want to see evidence of a more effective health and safety management system at their next visit.
You speak to the GCM and they reluctantly agree to have a full health and safety audit of the site. You arrange for an experienced, external health and safety consultant who is a Chartered member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)
The audit On the morning of the audit, you meet with the consultant on-site, and while escorting them to see the GCM, you explain, “We really need this audit, as I am concerned that workers and customers are being put at risk.” Once inside the GCM’s office, the consultant introduces themselves and explains the purpose of the audit. They ask to see all relevant health and safety documentation. The GCM states that they have passed all of the health and safety documentation over to you and therefore, you will be the best person to assist them. In the meantime, the GCM says that they have a few important telephone calls to make.
You walk the consultant back to your desk and gather all of the documentation you have been able to find. This includes the health and safety policy, dated March 2021, the generic risk assessment, and a guidance document on working safely with small animals. After reviewing the documents, you take the consultant on a tour of the garden centre. You explain that you are new to the role, and this is the first time that you have been responsible for health and safety. You give the consultant a brief overview of the findings from your internal review, including details of the recent accident. After the tour, the consultant speaks to one of the supervisors. The consultant asks the supervisor about any health and safety documentation relevant to their area. The supervisor replies that they were given some documents to read at their induction many years ago. The supervisor says, “We explain things when workers start, but we do not write anything down.”
When the consultant returns to you, they ask about accident investigations at the site. You explain that the details of any accidents and incidents are recorded, if they are reported; you add that you doubt that all accidents and incidents are reported. The consultant asks to see the GCM to provide a summary of their findings, but the GCM has already left the site. The consultant confirms that they will send a written report detailing levels of compliance and the priorities for action.
After a few days, the GCM receives the report but does not read it. Instead, they pass it to you and instruct you to review the risk assessments with the deputy managers now, and then repeat the review annually. Two weeks after the health and safety audit, the GCM announces a new business initiative: HGC will begin fulfilling online orders directly from the garden centre. A small section of the outdoor area will be converted into a warehouse and packing zone, with workers assigned to pick, pack, and dispatch items for delivery. HGC will also extend its opening hours by an additional two hours each day. Existing workers will be expected to change to shift work to cover these additional hours.
The GCM explains that this new business initiative is necessary to boost revenue and offset supplier cost increases. The GCM writes a letter to all of the workers to inform them of the changes.
1 What are the weaknesses of HGC’s approach to managing risks? Note: (16)
2 What could be done to involve workers in improving health and safety standards at HGC? Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant information from the scenario.(16)
3 As the newly appointed maintenance manager (MM), you are developing a proposal for the GCM to convince them to improve health and safety at HGC. (a) What financial arguments for managing health and safety at HGC could you include in this proposal? Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant information from the scenario. (b) What are the potential consequences to HGC of not complying with health and safety law? (16) (10)
4 To help improve HGC’s future health and safety performance, the enforcement officers recommended that a formal health and safety management system be implemented. How will HGC benefit from a formal health and safety management system? Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant information from the scenario.(15)
5 (a) What was positive about the approach taken to the health and safety audit of HGC? Note: Your answer must be based on the scenario only.(b) What was negative about the GCM’s approach to the audit? Note: Your answer must be based on the scenario only.(10) (5)
6 As the maintenance manager (MM), you have been asked to lead the new online order initiative. Explain the potential impact on health and safety at HGC if the introduction of this initiative is poorly managed. Note: You should support your answer, where applicable, using relevant information from the scenario.(12)
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