Health and Safety - Procedure

Contents

Introduction

What do these Procedures cover?

What is the need for H&S policies?

Risk Assessments

Incident and Near Miss reporting

Communication and Guidance

Annual Reporting  

Introduction

This document sets out the procedures to be followed to ensure the safety of those attending events run directly by the British Go Association (BGA) and the fulfilment of its Health and Safety Policy. Full health and safety documentation comprises the following:

1. Health and Safety Policy
2. Risk Assessment Template (downloadable)
3. Health and Safety Procedure (this document)
4. Incident and Near Miss Report
5. BGA Events H&S Form

To ensure that these policies and procedures can be efficiently implemented, the Board has appointed a "Health and Safety Officer" who can be contacted via HSE AT:britgoDOTorg.

What do these Procedures cover?

These Procedures are mandatory for all events run by, or on behalf of, the BGA. They describe the actions that need to be taken, at what points, and by whom in order to meet the requirements of the BGA's Health and Safety Policy .

For other Go events, such as tournaments run by Clubs or BGA members (either singly or in groups) compliance is optional. However, the BGA strongly recommends that all such events adopt these procedures, as:-

• They are intended to represent good practice.
• Compliance is likely to minimise the risk of adverse consequences in the unlikely event of a legal action arising.
• Compliance is essential if event organisers are to benefit from the BGA’s Tournament “umbrella” insurance.

In order to make the above as simple as possible, and to facilitate any future handovers of Health and Safety responsibilities within the BGA, these procedures cover five particular areas:

1. What is the need for H&S policies?
   • Discussing why the policy is important and why the BGA is implementing it.
2. Risk Assessments
   • What is the purpose of risk assessments and a description of the procedure to get them completed for relevant events.
3. Incident and Near Miss Reporting
   • What is the reporting procedure in the instance of an incident or near miss taking place.
4. Communication and Guidance
   • Explaining the additional role of the BGA HSE Officer in providing assistance and guidance to the membership on H&S matters and acting as a point of contact for suggestions and concerns.
5. Annual Reporting
   • What is the procedure for reporting on the implementation of these policies and procedures over the course of the year.

What is the need for H&S policies?

It might be that event organisers are unsure why these policies and procedures are necessary, as the prevalence of incidents at BGA events in the past has been negligible. There are three main purposes of putting this in place:

1. The actual health and safety of attendees and volunteers:
   • While past incidents may have been negligible, this does not mean that the BGA should not be prepared for future incidents, or the various risks posed by running events. The easiest way to ensure that mitigations are in place is to implement policies and procedures such as these.
2. Compliance with the law:
   • While the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) does not apply to events run by the BGA, as the BGA does not employ anyone, this does not mean that it will never apply in the future. In any case the Health and Safety at Work Act provides a framework for implementing best practice. Putting these policies and procedures in place now ensures preparedness for the future.
   • If an incident were to occur, the BGA needs to be able to demonstrate that all appropriate measures were taken to prevent such incidents occurring. By putting these policies in place the BGA can protect itself (and the people it works with) not only from the possibility of an incident occurring but any subsequent consequences as they pertain to civil law.
3. Insurance:
   • The BGA has taken out an "umbrella" insurance policy which covers all events directly run by the BGA, and one of the requirements of this policy is that there is an extant Health and Safety Policy, and appropriate risk assessments are completed. This ensures that the insurers are satisfied that the BGA is doing everything within its power to prevent the need for an insurance claim in the first place. The insurance also covers other Go events, not directly run by the BGA, provided that the event organiser(s) agree to adopt these policies.

Risk Assessments

The main way that the likelihood of incidents can be minimised, and the safety of all those attending events is ensured, is to complete appropriate Risk Assessments. This means that thought must go into the consideration of hazards and risk related to such events, and if necessary taking action to minimise them.

The primary means of doing this should be completion, and comprehension, of the downloadable Risk Assessment Template. It should be noted that this template has been designed to cover a “typical” event, and there may be special cases related to individual events that are not covered within this document. The procedure for meeting the BGA’s Health and Safety Policy for events should be as follows:

1. The HSE Officer and event organiser communicate to provide the pertinent information to complete the risk assessment.
   • This can be done as befits the circumstances, but a Google Form has been designed to cover most instances:
2. A member of the Board of Directors will review and sign off the risk assessment to ensure that it has been appropriately completed.
   • This is to ensure that the HSE Officer has completed the risk assessment appropriately and that no required information has been omitted without reason.
3. The completed risk assessment is passed back to the event organiser, filed by the HSE Officer and can be made available upon request to HSE@britgo.org
4. The contents of the risk assessment are read and understood by the event organisers and any volunteers.
5. Any pertinent contents of the risk assessment are communicated to attendees of the event during the initial registration process. The exact nature of this information may vary depending on the nature of the event. For example, this may include, but is not limited to the following:
   1. The presence and location of emergency exits and the associated assembly points.
   2. The presence and location of designated smoking areas.
   3. The presence and location of first aid and/or firefighting equipment.

Incident and Near Miss reporting

Obviously, it is hoped that no incident ever occurs which causes either physical or financial harm to any person, institution or object. However, if incidents do occur it is important that they are reported in order to ensure the nature of the incident is understood and that appropriate measures are in place to minimise the risk that it reoccurs. In some instances, especially if the BGA ever decides to employ anyone, there may be a legal requirement to report certain incidents.

In general, for every serious incident that occurs there are a substantial number of “near misses” - events which might have resulted in adverse consequences but fortuitously did not. It is important that all such near misses are also reported as this provides a valuable learning experience.

The incident and near miss reporting procedure is as follows:

1. As soon as it is safe to do so the BGA HSE Officer should be informed of the occurrence of an incident or near miss through HSE@britgo.org
2. After the HSE Officer has been informed an investigation will commence during which the HSE Officer will complete and file the form Incident and Near Miss Report.
3. The HSE Officer, in conjunction with any relevant parties, will compile a report to be presented to the Board, including any recommendations to prevent future occurrence.
   • If the nature of the incident involves the breaching of the BGA Code of Conduct, the Board of Directors may wish to refer the case to the Disputes Panel.
   • If the incident or near miss relates to a safeguarding issue then the appropriate action should be taken in accordance with the BGA safeguarding policies on Young People or Vulnerable Adult

Communication and Guidance

It is essential that appropriate communication exists between those in positions of responsibility, and those who might be affected by health and safety incidents.

Part of this necessity is laid out through the incident reporting; however communication should be actively encouraged before incidents occur as well. As such, the HSE Officer will act as the first point of contact for any matters related to health and safety as it pertains to the BGA. This responsibility will be two-fold:

1. To act as a point of contact for health and safety concerns which are raised, in advance of, during the course of, and after events run directly by the BGA
2. To act as a source of guidance and information on health and safety matters for the membership of the BGA.

The contact with the HSE Officer will be HSE@britgo.org and will be widely advertised to ensure that the membership is as aware as possible of the presence of this source of communication and guidance.

Annual Reporting

While it is not anticipated that any health and safety incidents will occur at any BGA run event, an annual health and safety report must be compiled to ensure that the policies and procedures put in place by the BGA are being followed and that information related to health and safety is adequately recorded and understood.

If policies and procedures are not being followed the BGA may open itself up to liability and/or failed insurance claims in the event of an incident.

As such, each year the policies, procedures and documentation should be subject to review by the HSE Officer and approval by the Board. This should not become an overly bureaucratic or strenuous task and should never amount to more than a single page of information.

As part of this review process a short report is to be prepared by the HSE Officer, for presentation to the Board at the first meeting of each year. The report should include, at a minimum:

1. Details of all health and safety incidents at events run directly by the BGA.
2. Details of all health and safety concerns/suggestions raised to the HSE Officer over the year
   • As well as the actions taken to resolve these issues
3. Any other pertinent statistics/information related to health and safety
   • E.g. number of risk assessments filed over the year vs number of BGA events
4. An assessment of the need for any change to the health and safety policies, procedures, or documentation.

This annual report will be approved (after amendment if necessary) by the Board of Directors, and any amendments to the policies and procedures implemented as a matter of urgency. This report is to be included in the information provided to the AGM.