, Consultant, EHSconsult

General direction to Boards and senior managers with regard to health and safety governance is now widely available through organisations such as the Institute of Directors and WorkSafe. Boards must ensure that there are processes for strategic planning, risk management and performance review, and must obtain independent verification that these processes are effective. They must apply the same good governance principles and practices to health and safety as have been developed for achieving other organisational objectives. In fact, close alignment with their other governance processes will ensure effectiveness.

Organisations must have a health and safety strategy, and this is developed in the same way as broader organisational strategies. Significant health and safety risks must be included in enterprise risk registers. Boards must seek information from their managers that enables them to assess whether the strategy is being effectively implemented and risks mitigated as planned. Indicators of the efficacy of health and safety risk management need to be developed, (rather than a reliance on injury rate statistics alone). Boards need to be aware of serious incidents and follow-up actions. There must be direct access to expert and independent advice and verification. Directors must have knowledge of significant hazards and have direct engagement with front-line workers who are exposed to these hazards.

This paper provides specific examples of good health and safety governance in practice drawn from experience working with a number of large New Zealand organisations. It aims to inform directors, senior managers and health and safety professionals of good governance practice. It aligns health and safety governance processes with other organisational governance processes, particularly strategic planning, risk management and verification. It provides specific and proven examples of processes that have been used in these organisations to achieve improved health and safety governance.