2.1 OSH Management Systems: Planning, OSH Policy, Site Organisation & Safety Committees

From ad hoc safety to a management system

A construction site changes every week, so safety cannot depend on one inspector noticing problems. An occupational safety and health management system (OSHMS) is a structured way of planning, doing, checking and improving safety. The NIOSH curriculum lists ISO 45001 among its references. Malaysia's national standard is MS 1722 (OSHMS requirements), and the ILO's Guidelines on OSH Management Systems (ILO-OSH 2001) set out the same idea for government and industry.

Plan-Do-Check-Act in ISO 45001

Two legal links make OSHMS more than paperwork:

• Section 18A(3)(b) of OSHA 1994 requires principals to allocate sufficient time, budget and other resources for construction work.
• CDM 2024 regulation 4 requires the client to provide adequate time, funds and other resources. Regulations 13 and 15 require the principal contractor to plan, manage and monitor the construction phase through a construction phase plan.

Part 3(A): OSHMS planning

Planning for a construction project typically produces:

1. A legal and other requirements register. This lists the Act and regulations that apply, the relevant ICOPs (for example confined space), DOSH guidelines, client requirements, and other laws such as the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and local authority by-laws. Remove repealed instruments such as BOWEC 1986.
2. A baseline HIRARC for each work activity, reviewed as the project moves through its phases (Section 2.3).
3. Measurable objectives, for example 100% induction before site entry, weekly scaffold inspection completion, or monthly closure of audit findings. Use leading indicators as well as lagging ones such as lost-time injuries.
4. Resources: budget lines for edge protection, scaffolding, PPE, welfare, first aid, training and supervision.
5. Arrangements for Fourth Schedule work (for example excavation, explosives, work near high-voltage lines), which must appear in the construction phase plan.

Part 3(B): the OSH policy

The legal requirement

Section 16 requires every employer to prepare, and revise as often as appropriate, a written statement of:

• its general policy on the safety and health at work of its employees, and
• the organisation and arrangements for carrying out that policy.

The employer must bring the statement, and any revision, to the notice of all employees. The Employers' Safety and Health General Policy Statements (Exception) Regulations 1995 apply section 16 to every employer and self-employed person except those carrying on an undertaking with not more than five employees. A breach of section 16 carries the section 19 penalty of up to RM500,000 or two years or both.

The three elements

Good practice, and the reason examiners award marks, is to:

• sign and date the policy at the highest level
• display it at the site office and induction area
• explain it during induction in languages the workforce understands
• review it after reorganisations, serious incidents or major changes in the work

Part 3(C): OSH management and site organisation

Typical responsibility chain

Client ── appoints ──> Principal designer        Principal contractor
                                                    │
                       Project director / project manager (resources, authority)
                                                    │
        ┌──────────────────────┬────────────────────┴───────────────┐
  SHO (if the SHO Order   Site Safety Supervisor           Engineers, supervisors,
  applies: system,        (CDM reg. 39: daily              foremen, subcontractors
  committee secretary)    inspection & correction)         (control the work)
                                                    │
                                   Workers (OSHA s.24 duties; s.26A right)

Key points for exam answers:

• Line managers own safety. The project manager and supervisors control the work, so they control most of the risk. The SSS advises, inspects and stops unsafe work, but does not replace line responsibility.
• SSS and SHO. On projects covered by the SHO Order 1997 (building operations or engineering construction above RM20 million) an SHO is also employed. The SHO prepares a monthly report to the employer (SHO Regulations 1997 regulation 19) and is secretary of the committee.
• OSH coordinator. An employer not covered by section 29 that has five or more employees must appoint an OSH coordinator (section 29A). Small subcontractors often fall in this group.
• Safety and health assistants. Under CDM regulation 38, any duty holder may appoint people to help it comply, provided they are competent and are given enough time and means.
• Worker engagement. CDM regulation 16 requires the principal contractor to consult workers and give them access to relevant safety information.

The safety and health committee

When it is required

Under section 30 a committee is required where there are 40 or more persons employed at the place of work, or where the Director General directs. The committee's job (section 31) is to keep safety measures under review, investigate matters workers raise, and try to resolve them. If it cannot, it asks DOSH to inspect. Failing to establish a committee carries up to RM100,000 or one year or both.

Composition (SHC Regulations 1996)

Meetings, inspections and records

Many construction committees meet monthly because hazards change quickly. That is good practice; the legal minimum is quarterly.

Scenario: setting up the committee

A principal contractor has 140 workers on site, including subcontractors' workers, and no SHO, because the contract value is RM14 million.

1. A committee is required, because more than 40 persons are employed.
2. It needs at least four management and four worker representatives, because the workplace has more than 100 employees.
3. The project manager chairs as the authorised manager. With no SHO on the project, the chairman appoints a secretary, often the SSS, or the members elect one by secret ballot.
4. The first quarterly inspection is diarised, and the SSS's daily findings feed into the agenda. Minutes are circulated within two weeks and filed for seven years.