Glossary of Terms

A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what could cause harm, so that you can consider whether you have taken sufficient precautions to prevent harm. "5 Steps" is a methodology suggested by the HSE and used by J A D Associates. The 5 steps are:
1. Identify the hazards
2. Decide who might be harmed and how
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precaution
4. Record your findings and implement them
5. Review your assessment and update if necessary

5S is the name of a common and easy to apply lean tool in optimising a workplace. 5S is often the starting point in a continuous improvement project as it provides a strong foundation onto which further improvements can be built that gets employees involved and participating. 5S isn't complicated and with a little preparation an event can achieve amazing results – it can also be used effectively as a team building activity! The 5 S's were originally Japanese words that have over time been loosely translated into English. The five stages or steps of an event or programme are:

SORT- establishing criteria for workplace items that are necessary and those that are unnecessary. Sorting then gets rid of this unnecessary clutter and begins to remove the reason for untidiness, a common reason for reduced or poor efficiency.
STRAIGHTEN or SET IN ORDER- Arrange and place items so that they are easy to find – Place the items that are often required within easy reach and organise cupboards and shelves etc. using labels to identify what is stored where.
SHINE or SCRUB -Routine cleaning, tidying and inspections to keep things in order This helps you spot problems and potential safety hazards such as leaking fluids, missing tools and missing files.
STANDARDISE - Create the rules for maintaining and controlling the first 3 S's possibly by using visual controls. Checklists, inspection schedules and photographic examples of correct order are often deployed.
SUSTAIN - Often the most difficult part of 5S, as once the short term benefits have been forgotten you slip back into "old habits". In this final part of the 5S journey you should develop a strategy for long term sustain of the 5S program.

This is unique registration number issued by the International Register of Certificated Auditors to show that J A D associates are delivering SSiP training courses to the correct standard and are following the guidelines for quality assurance of the courses and examinations required.

This is a specification, generally agreed by a governing body which details the skill profile and list of positive and negative traits an individual will need to have to carry out specific assessments effectively. To be an SSiP assessor the competency specification has been set by IRCA in association with the HSE and SSiP.

Audits can be used by an organisation to review and evaluate the performance and effectiveness of activities, procedures or management systems. Audits are generally planned and carried out by competent, trained individuals. Checklists are used to maintain the scope of the audit and a report is produced to highlight any issues and also good practices detected.

To J A D Associates, business simplification means the reduction of waste in a process or in the operation at large. This means that activities can be carried out more rapidly and more efficiently and hence more profitably. There are normally 7 types of waste that need looking into; these are Processing, Waiting, Motion, Inventory, Moving Things, Overproduction and Defects/Inspection.

This is an integral part of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations that require specified duty holders to assess the competence of potential contractors and sub contractors.

This usually ends the "on site" segment of an audit and is where a resume of findings are presented to management. Close out presentations are also appropriate at the end of a business improvement project to clarify what has been done and what benefits have been achieved.

To help you ensure that a construction project is safe to build, safe to use, safe to maintain and delivers good value. This is done by making the focus planning and management rather than paperwork, to make it easier for duty holders to know what is expected of them, strengthening the requirements regarding co-ordination and co-operation, particularly between designers and contractors.

These are the action or arrangements put in place to manage risk and reduce hazards. BS OHSAS 18001 requires that consideration is given to reducing the risks according to the following hierarchy:

1. Elimination
2. Substitution
3. Engineering controls
4. Signage/warnings and/or administrative controls
5. Personal protective equipment

Do you need to decrease the number of your employees, or restructure your business involving making employees redundant?

A redundancy situation can exist where business, or part of it, is shut down completely, shut down at a specific location (even if moving to a new location) or the requirement for employees to do work of a particular kind has reduced or come to an end.

There are numerous legal claims employees might bring in relation to redundancy, which is why it is important to plan all redundancy exercises carefully.

There is a duty to consider if there are alternative measures to redundancies that could be implemented.

Consultation needs to take place when the plans are at a sufficiently formative stage that the employees can influence the process. It should include discussions about ways to avoid dismissals; ways to reduce the number of employees being dismissed; and ways to mitigate the consequences of dismissal on the affected employees.

You will need to define the method of selection, unit for selection and selection criteria you intend to use. You have considerable freedom to frame the redundancy process in the manner which works for you provided that it falls within the 'range of reasonable responses of an employer' and you can justify why you have chosen the methodology you have.

Often used as a basis for organisational self-assessment, an organisation grades itself against the 9 set criteria. This exercise helps organisations to identify current strengths and areas for improvement against strategic goals. This gap analysis then facilitates definition and prioritisation of improvement plans to achieve sustainable growth and enhanced performance.

The most common standards used in the UK are ISO 14001 and the European Union Eco-Management and Audit System (EMAS).

Historically topics like Health and Safety, and Environmental management were dealt with by distinct company departments. Over time it has been recognised that there are many similar activities associated with these disciplines and hence a degree of integration has evolved. Management system Standards such as ISO 14001 and BS OHSAS 18001 help companies with this integration by listing common clause requirements.

This is a tool used to identify the gap between where an organisation is and where it should or would like to be. Prioritisation of action can then be made in relation to legislative compliance, policy requirements or industry best practices.

Many organisations run their own PQQ (pre-qualification questionnaires) systems to assess the basic requirements of suppliers before they can become actively involved in a project or quoting process. Organisations like CHAS undertake Core Criteria Stage One assessments under the SSiP umbrella on behalf of purchasing organisations.

Guides in the form of core policies and employee terms and conditions of employment, or operational procedure manuals.

A hazard is something (e.g. an object, a property of a substance, a phenomenon or an activity) that can cause adverse effects. For example:

Water on a staircase is a hazard, because you could slip on it, fall and hurt yourself
Loud noise is a hazard because it can cause hearing loss
Breathing in asbestos dust is a hazard because it can cause cancer

It's about preventing people from being harmed by work or becoming ill by taking the right precautions and providing a satisfactory working environment. It is not about excessive paperwork and wrapping everything in cotton wool!

The HSE is the UK's national independent watchdog for work-related health, safety and illness. They are an independent regulator and act in the public interest to reduce work-related death and serious injury across Great Britain's workplaces.

A basic review of all systems and processes relating to the management of Human Resources within an organisation, giving an assessment of how robust and compliant they are.

An HSE guidance document on the essential philosophy of good health and safety: what it means, how to achieve it and how to maintain it. The guidance is for directors, managers, health and safety professionals and employee representatives wishing to improve healthy and safe organisational standards within their companies.

Human capital; employees.

People management; management of a company's most important asset: its people.

Health and Safety risk is defined as a combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event or exposure(s) and the severity of injury or ill health that can be caused by the event or exposure. Risks are different for all organisations and require a process and methodology such as "5 Steps" to identify them and reduce them to acceptable levels.

The process of enhancing a system in order to achieve better overall performance of the process or company.

An integrated management system is a management system that integrates all of an organization's systems and processes in to one complete framework, enabling an organization to work as a single unit with unified objectives. This generally means that H&S, Environment and Quality systems are amalgamated. PAS 99 can help an organisation achieve this aim.

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards.

ISO 14001:2004 specifies requirements for an environmental management system to enable an organization to develop and implement a policy and objectives which take into account legal requirements and other requirements to which the organization subscribes.

ISO 9001:2008 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

Simply, lean means creating more value for customers with fewer resources or to maximize customer value while minimizing waste.

Legislation relating to employment is constantly changing. Health and safety law is always developing. New case laws emerge on a daily basis. At the same time the risks and penalties for getting things wrong increases. Knowing the latest legislation is vital to survival for the modern business.

Management reporting in respect to management system requirements is generally referred to under the clauses for Management Review in all standards. These address important aspects and indicators that help assess the overall performance of an organisation.

A method statement is a useful way of recording the hazards involved in specific tasks and communicating the risk and precautions required to all those involved in the work. The statement need be no longer than necessary to achieve these objectives effectively. Method statements should be clear and can be illustrated by simple sketches where necessary. Statements are for the benefit of those carrying out the work and their immediate supervisors and should not be overcomplicated.

The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung (1921/1971) understandable and useful in people's lives.