Safety and Occupational Health
The Partnership is committed to ensuring that we provide and maintain a safe and healthy place for our Partners and customers to work and shop in. We use an established method of risk assessment to identify the significant issues associated with our operations and we employ effective control measures to minimise the potential for incidents occurring.
Order picking at the Aylesford Regional Distribution Centre
Risk Assessment
Our safety and occupational health risk management system is designed so that managers at all levels can focus on the risks identified as most significant first. This ensures resource in the respective trading divisions and the Partnership as a whole is focused in the right place at the right time.
Local level managers focus on individual issues and implement appropriate control measures for specific tasks. Middle managers ensure the most significant issues are considered as part of our wider operational risk management. Collectively, the most significant safety and occupational health issues are reported to the management Boards who then direct the necessary resources making sure action is taken to address the most commonly shared challenges.
Whilst the primary focus of our risk management system is to be preventative, we have to acknowledge that the actions of some individuals are largely beyond our control. Where this is the case we will record our efforts in reducing potential risks to a position that is socially tolerable.
We investigate all significant incidents regardless of actual outcome to identify any management systems failures. We then seek to put in place measures that ensure any incident does not reoccur. The most significant incidents are reported to the management Boards on a monthly basis. An electronic collection and notification system called IRIS is used to inform managers of relevant incidents requiring their investigation.
Occupational Health Service
The Partnership provides an occupational health service that offers advice to Partners on a wide range of health issues including those raised at recruitment and on any necessary adjustments to ensure that individuals will not be harmed by their work. Whilst Divisional differences exist, the core responsibilities of the service as a whole in supporting the risk management and control programme, include:
- Undertaking specific health assessments on individuals
- Advising on compliance with legislation and internal documentation.
- Rehabilitation and return to work of Partners following ill health absence
- Dealing with ill-health referrals from managers including retirement
- Quality control of internal risk assessment documentation
- Administration and control of First Aid at Work programme
- Management of GP service and other specialist medical practitioners
- Administration of local physiotherapy and podiatry services
- Promotion of health initiatives at local and national level.
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