321 / 648
Case study: WOSL
Page 3 of 6
Health and Safety
Executive
the basis of the standard operating procedures (SOPs), with the understanding of
why errors occur and the different factors that make them worse, helping WOSL to
develop and improve their procedures.
ERM and WOSL ensured a high level of worker engagement, where operators and
supervisors were actively involved in the updating of the safety critical procedures,
using human factors professionals to apply design usability principles, like
consistency, clarity and navigability. This noticeably improved the usability of critical
operating procedures.
All this information makes a valuable addition to WOSL’s COMAH safety report,
helping to demonstrate how the competency of staff, particularly in relation to
safety critical tasks, is assured on site. The linking of the CMS with the COMAH
safety report is outlined in the COGENT guidance (2011).
To facilitate the mapping of competency to the safety report, ERM ran workshops
with WOSL employees to identify on which of the safety critical tasks they have
an impact. Figure 2 is a photograph taken at the workshop, and shows WOSL
staff and management all involved in the mapping exercise. This was found to be
beneficial to all those involved, as it highlighted that everyone had a role to play in
reducing accidents. In addition, individuals reported that this task had highlighted
the impact that they have on safety and accident prevention.
Figure 2
Everyone at WOSL gets involved with the mapping exercise