New tool launched to help companies monitor health and safety in the workplace

Almost half of all respondents to EEF's latest health and safety survey said they would welcome help on setting and monitoring key performance indicators. The new health and safety scorecard will help company boards manage health and safety in a pragmatic way. The scorecard is being made freely available to all EEF member companies in a pilot scheme launched today (17 March). If the pilot proves successful it will be made available to all companies later this year. Steve Pointer, Head of Health and Safety Policy at EEF said: "We believe that this kind of initiative will make a real difference. The tool is loosely based upon the structure of a balanced scorecard. It helps boards set and monitor meaningful targets without the need for them to get into the minutiae. Having identified the key performance indicators, the scorecard shows how to use these to measure and monitor improvements in health and safety performance." Leadership of health and safety is a hot topic at present, with companies facing the possibility of being prosecuted for corporate manslaughter, while individuals who are found guilty of health and safety offences can now face prison. The initiative has been sponsored by the property and casualty insurer Travelers and is also being backed by the Health & Safety Executive. HSE Chief Executive, Geoffrey Podger (pictured) commented: "I welcome this work to provide a practical tool for monitoring health and safety performance. The tool aims to complement the joint HSE / IoD guidance for Directors and Board members Leading Health and Safety at Work, which calls for senior management to monitor and review health and safety performance. I look forward to hearing how EEF members respond to the pilot."