HSE Topics: the 20 Topics That Make the HSE

The base: the risk assessment, the SOP, the PTW

The base topics are the ones every HSE uses on every site. The risk assessment is the base of the base — the 5-step method (the identify, the decide, the evaluate, the record, the review), the matrix (the likelihood × the consequence), and the control (the hierarchy).

The SOP and the PTW define the task: the SOP (the standard operating procedure) is the task the way it should be done, and the PTW (the permit to work) is the authorisation for the high-risk task. The PPE is the last line — the equipment that is the worn control, and the worn control is the final one.

The high-risk: the fire, the chemical, the lifting, the electrical

The high-risk topics are the ones that kill: the fire, the chemical, the lifting, the electrical. The fire safety is the fire risk assessment, the detection, the extinguisher, and the drill — the three lines of the prevention, the detection, and the protection.

The chemical (the COSHH) is the assessment, the storage, the handling, and the exposure control. The lifting (the LOLER) is the crane, the sling, the load, and the exclusion. The electrical is the isolation, the LOTO, the try-out, and the clearance. The high-risk topics are the ones the permit to work exists for.

The access: the confined space, the work at height

The access topics are the ones where the worker enters or climbs. The confined space is the entry: the atmosphere test (the O2, the LEL, the toxic), the PTW, the attendant, and the rescue. The UK is the confined space guidance and the PTW; the US is the OSHA 1910.146.

The work at height is the fall: the scaffold, the ladder, the harness, and the MEWP. The UK is the Work at Height Regulations — the avoid, the protect, the minimise. The two topics are the entry and the height — and the two are the fatal ones.

The exposure: the noise, the vibration, the ergonomics

The exposure topics are the ones that cause the ill-health over the time. The noise is the 8-hour TWA, the 85 dBA (the action level), and the hearing protection. The hearing loss is the avoided one — the exposure is the controlled one.

The vibration is the hand-arm and the whole-body — the tool, the vehicle, the control. The ergonomics is the manual handling, the workstation, and the DSE. The exposure topics are the health pillar in practice — the slow injury, the exposure over the years.

The system: the ISO 45001, the incident, the culture

The system topics are the organisational ones. The ISO 45001 is the management system — the clause 4 to the clause 10, the PDCA, the plan and the check. The ISO 45001 is the system, and the system is the HSE working.

The incident investigation is the 5-Why, the bowtie, and the corrective action — the lesson from the event. The safety culture is the report (the near-miss, the observation), the lead (the visible one), and the trust (the no-blame one). The system topics are the ones that keep the other 15 working.