Passport to safety01 March 2008

No one would disagree with the HSE's insistence that health and safety training, as well as engineering competence, must be demonstrated before employees, contractors or visitors are allowed on-site. That's the proof we all demand of people's ability to carry out their tasks safely. So we should welcome the growth of safety passport schemes across industry sectors, because at least they guarantee the health and safety basics. Shouldn't we?

Well, yes and no. The problem today is not that we have the passports, but that there are so many of them - and that industries and organisations are increasingly demanding their specific passport must be presented, or you don't get on site. Site familiarisation, method statements and competence checks are no longer enough - and no allowance is made for professional standing, health and safety certificates, or other passports.

So the training for these passports must be fairly impressive and very industry-specific, right? Again, yes and no. Most are quite basic, designed primarily for workers with no health and safety awareness training. You're looking at around 16 modules being taught, revised and examined within two days, so about half an hour on each. Also, although they do vary marginally in syllabus, all follow the HSE guidelines and the reality is that any engineer with NVQ, or certainly EngTech certification, will have had far more training.

Legal compliance?
So why are so many companies and industries insisting on the passports? Because they appear to believe that, by doing so, they are complying with the law - despite the clear fact that they are not. As Richard Hulmes, chief executive of the Safety Assessment Federation (SAFed) says: 'This restrictive process does not guarantee compliance with the law, nor is it the only method of compliance. In addition, it rarely covers the contractor's specialist tasks, nor could it be appropriate for the area to be accessed.'

He gives some examples: 'Plumbers and electricians have at least two weeks' training in health and safety to get their EBIOS certificate, but before they go on-site - say, at a quarry - to install a toilet or some wiring, the industry's passport scheme requires them to do another two-day course. It's the same in construction.

'And think about the food industry: there can be little need to have food hygiene training, if you're an engineer repairing equipment in the maintenance yard, even though the equipment and its operator may work in food preparation areas. It's just rather daft really. Very few industries can justify a requirement for specialist training, other than that covered by the HSE listed syllabus.'

Not just daft, though: this is costing engineers, companies and the UK a lot of time, money and inconvenience. Says Hulmes: 'There is a cost to these schemes, which can vary from £500 to £2,000, depending on whether candidates are required to attend residential courses, or merely sit an online test at a testing station. Also, they have to be revalidated every three years.'

And that's not all: 'Engineering contractors are increasingly being told to acquire multiple passports just to access their customers' different sites, even though they're going to carry out the same tasks. It's all encouraging a growing safety training industry, which is potentially anti-competitive. More importantly, it's costing UK plc millions of pounds a year in a repetitive and bureaucratic process which, in the majority of cases, adds no value to the aim of improving safety and reducing accidents.'

SAFed is arguing for mutual recognition between passport schemes, noting that they're not qualifications: they're an acknowledgement of health and safety training. 'We launched a passport scheme in March 2004 for engineer surveyors, working with the SOE, that's endorsed by the HSE, with independent assessments from UKAS [UK Accreditation Service] and RoSPA [the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents].

Says Hulmes: 'We work in the safety industry, so it goes with the territory, but we're happy to recognise others' passports. Industry doesn't need so many specific schemes: working at height is the same, whether you're in a quarry, on a construction site or in a warehouse. The pendulum needs to swing back towards common sense, with a little less focus on restrictive practices and a lot more on what health and safety is all about.'

SOE

This material is protected by MA Business copyright
See Terms and Conditions.
One-off usage is permitted but bulk copying is not.
For multiple copies contact the sales team.