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J. Gilbertson - Health and safety glossary Category: Agriculture and Industry > Health and Safety Sound Date & country: 12/11/2007, UK Words: 1069

Respirator
Respiratory protective device which purifies air by drawing it through a filter medium which removes most of the contaminant. Not to be used in oxygen deficient atmospheres.

Respiratory Protective Device
A device falling into the category of respiratory protective equipment. See Respirator and Breathing Apparatus.

Respiratory Sensitiser
A substance which can induce changes in the immune system of susceptible workers such that respiratory symptoms will present themselves on future exposure to the substance even at very low doses. This may lead to occupational asthma.

Responsible Person1
In the context of a permit to work system, the person undertaking the work in question who is bound by the conditions and requirements of the permit.

Responsible Person2
The manufacturer or importer of a product into the European Economic Community.

Retinal Burns
Eye injury caused by exposure to infrared radiation and lasers. Retinal burns and tears produce irreversible damage to that area of vision (blind spots).

Reveal Tie
A method of fixing a scaffold to a permanent or existing structure which involves wedging or jacking a tube tightly into the opposing faces of a window opening.

Review
The final component of a safety management system which involves the periodic revisiting of previous activity in health and safety in order to determine whether or not the standards set and achieved are still appropriate, eg a review of risk assessments.

Reward Power
The ability to influence the behaviour of people because they believe you are able to provide the benefits they desire. See also Coercive Power and Expert Power.

RIDDOR
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences.

Ring Tie
A method of fixing a scaffold to a permanent or existing structure which involves fixing a ring to the outside of the structure and securing the scaffold with wire or steel ties.

Risk Analysis
The process of discovery of predisposing risk, associated with disciplines (eg ergonomics) where individual susceptibility is an overriding factor.

Risk Assessment
The process of identifying and evaluating the risks associated with exposure to a particular hazard. Process now prescribed by various legislation including the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. See Generic Risk Assessment and Quantified Risk Assessment.

Risk Avoidance
The conscious decision on the part of an organisation to avoid a particular risk by discontinuing the hazardous operation which gives rise to it.

Risk Control
The application of technical, procedural and behavioural measures to reduce risk.

Risk Control Systems
Systems put in place to ensure the provision and continued operation of workplace safety precautions, eg (for PPE) purchasing standards, issue, training, maintenance and storage arrangements.

Risk Estimation
A component of risk assessment based upon objective or quantitative data such as failure rates, reliability data, experience etc.

Risk Evaluation
A component of risk assessment based upon subjective or qualitative data influenced heavily by the perceptions and experience of the observer.

Risk Management1
The systematic process of identification, evaluation and subsequent control of risks. The object is to reduce the impact of risk on the business as a whole.

Risk Management2
The process which achieves the most efficient combination of controls necessary to provide reassurance that business objectives can be achieved reliably. â€` Turnbull Report.

Risk Phrase
A concept introduced by the Chemicals (Hazard, Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations. Chemicals possessing specified risk characteristics must be labelled with the relevant risk information (phrase) eg R45; may cause cancer.

Risk Reduction
A strategy applied after techniques of risk avoidance, risk transfer, and risk retention have been undertaken. Involves application of safety and loss prevention techniques to protect company from indirect and uninsured costs.

Risk Retention
Usually a conscious decision on the part of a company to retain a risk within its financial operations. This may involve the formation of a captive insurance company or, more usually, the acceptance of a voluntary excess.

Risk Transfer
Conventional use of third party to take risk on one`s behalf. eg use of insurance company or by contract.

Risk1
The probability of a consequence of particular severity arising out of exposure to a hazard, usually associated with adverse outcomes (John Gilbertson). See Acceptable Risk, Assessed Risk, Estimated Risk, Tolerable Risk and Unacceptable Risk.

Risk2
The likelihood that a specified undesired event will occur due to the realisation of a hazard (HSG65).

Robens Report
Watershed report of a Government committee of inquiry into health and safety at work chaired by Lord Robens. Its findings and recommendations in 1972 were immediately followed by the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Role
The way individuals express themselves within the context of those around them. Specific behaviour patterns which conform to the expectations of others, eg father/husband; wife/mother; boss/subordinate; teacher/students.

Role Ambiguity
A condition experienced when the role offered to us does not match our expectation of it.

Role Conflict
A condition experienced when an individual is confronted with the simultaneous existence of two or more sets of role expectations where compliance with one makes it difficult to comply with others eg boss/friend.

Role Culture
Euphemism for the more pejorative expression bureaucracy offered by management guru Charles Handy. A culture bound by rules and procedures and managed by officialism.

Root Cause
The underlying cause or causes of an accident which exist as weaknesses or failures in a company`s management system, described in some texts as basic causes.

Rotameter
A float type measuring device used for the on site calibration of a sampling train immediately prior to and after the sampling period.

Rotating Vane Anemometer
Instrument used for measuring air velocity comprising a disc of angled vanes attached to a rotating spindle. The speed at which the vane assembly rotates when placed in the airflow is a measure of the air velocity acting upon it.

Route of Entry
In occupational hygiene, the route of entry into the body of a substance hazardous to health. The routes of entry in order of importance are inhalation, ingestion, absorption and injection.

Routine Monitoring
Regular sampling programme applied in conditions where employee exposures are significant but below the exposure limit and rising, or not as low as is reasonably practicable.

Routine Violation
A violation which, through custom and practice, has become the norm. A disastrous example of this (Herald of Free Enterprise) was the leaving open of the bow doors on cross channel ferries until the journey was underway so as to reduce the time in port. See Situational Violation and Exceptional Violation.

RPE
Respiratory Protective Equipment.

RSI
Repetitive strain injury. An out of favour expression coined in the 80`s to describe conditions now included in the collective description work related upper limb disorders.

Rule-based Behaviour
On recognition of certain cues indicating the environmental state(s) a worker will use learned rules or procedures. These rules may be derived through experience (trial and error) or may be communicated through training. See Rule-based Mistakes.

Rule-based Mistakes
Where the operator is familiar with the situation (or believes that they are) and evokes a plan of action to deal with it. The choice of the rule(s) follows an ‘if...then` logic. If their understanding of the environment or conditions matches the ‘if` part of the rule or when the rule has been used successfully in the past, the ‘then` part is activated, sometimes in the wrong circumstances.

Safe System of Work
A formal procedure designed to eliminate or control hazards which includes the physical layout of the job, the sequence of operations, provision of tools and equipment and the issuance of relevant notices, warnings and specific instructions. A planned procedure to prevent harm to personnel.

Safety
The minimisation of contact between a person and hazard, predominantly concerned with the prevention of physical harm to an individual.

Safety Assurance
The concept that safety can be managed in a similar way to quality assurance, by following management systems designed to eliminate accidents. The concept was at its height in the mid 1980s but has been largely superseded by HSG65 and BS8800.

Safety Audit
A systematic and critical examination of each area of a company`s activity, the object of which is to reduce accidents and minimise loss. The process not only looks for the presence of a safety related activity but also how well it is carried out.

Safety Case
A systematic and often quantified model of a system or installation which demonstrates that it meets specified safety criteria. It is a legal requirement in certain industries such as offshore workings, nuclear power generation and the operation of railways.

Safety Climate
The environment in which a safety culture thrives or otherwise, indicated by the number of accidents and failures, attitudes of management, presence of policies and procedures etc.

Safety Culture1
The set of norms, roles, beliefs and attitudes, and the social and technical practices within an organisation, which are concerned with minimising exposure to hazard and risk. (John Gilbertson).

Safety Culture2
“The safety culture of an organisation is the product of individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies, and patterns of behaviour that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organisation`s health and safety management. Organisations with a positive safety culture are characterised by communications founded on mutual trust, by shared perceptions of the importance of safety and by confidence in the efficacy of preventative measures�. (HSC`s Advisory committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations).

Safety Data Sheet
Information sheet relating to a chemical supplied with intention of being used at work. Required by virtue of CHIP the information to be included is specified in the schedule to the regulations.

Safety Factor
See Factor of Safety.

Safety Inspection
An examination of a work area against a pre-determined checklist which seeks to identify substandard conditions and acts.

Safety Management System
An integrated combination of policies, procedures, codes and rules which dictate how the company responds to the safety demands placed upon it. A framework for management decision making which helps to clarify any areas of ambiguity.

Safety Phrase
A concept introduced by the Chemicals (Hazard, Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations. Chemicals requiring specified safety precautions must be labelled with the relevant safety information (phrase) eg S20: avoid contact with skin.

Safety Policy
A fundamental component of an organisations OH&S management system established by statute (HASAWA s2(3)). Three main elements include a statement of intent, organisational means for implementation, and the arrangements made for OH&S in the workplace. MHSWR added the requirement to include arrangements for assessing and recording significant risks.

Safety Practitioner
Evolutionary title now given to one who practises the discipline of occupational safety and health. A practitioner is one who can identify symptoms of problems in an organisation; determine the cause; and deliver a remedy (John Gilbertson).

Safety Representative
A worker representative appointed by a recognised trades union in a workplace who has rights to perform statutory functions such as inspections, accident investigation, attend safety committee etc (Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations). See also Representative of Employee Safety.

Safety Sampling
A routine, repeatable technique used to measure the accident potential of a particular area against a pre-determined list of unacceptable deviations from standards.

Safety Survey
A detailed examination of critical areas of operation or particular operations or departments within an organisation eg machinery guarding survey, fire precautions survey.

Safety Tour
An impromptu, unscheduled examination of a work area to review a particular subject or issue. Undertaken by, for example, safety committee at an appropriate juncture or a supervisor or manager in response to a problem etc.

Sampling Head
The working end of a sampling train which holds the sample collection medium. See Open Face Head, Protected Face Head, Cyclone Head, Solid Adsorber and Liquid Adsorber.

Sampling Train
The set of equipment used for personal sampling for airborne concentrations of substances hazardous to health, comprising a filter, sampling head, flexible tubing and a portable pump.

Sampling1
See Safety Sampling.

Sampling2+A889
The measurement and analysis of general and personal exposure to hazardous substances in order to evaluate compliance with occupational exposure limits.

Scaffold
A temporary working platform constructed of sound, strong materials, usually metal tubes. See Putlog Scaffold, Independent Tied Scaffold and Birdcage Scaffold.

Scaffold Tie
A method of fixing a scaffold to a permanent or existing structure. See Reveal Tie, Through Tie and Ring Tie.

Scaffold Tower
A portable scaffold structure comprising of prefabricated sections which can be easily transported and fitted together at a worksite. They are frequently fitted with castor wheels for ease of movement in place.

Scientific Management
A school of management developed between 1910 and 1940 which was based upon a logical and rational approach with an emphasis on making people work more efficiently by breaking down large tasks into smaller components and clearly defining how the job should be done and how long it should take. See Taylor.

Scintillation Counter
A device containing material that emits light flashes when exposed to ionising radiation. The flashes are converted to electric pulses and counted. The number of pulses is related to dose.

Second Action Level
A point at which an employer must take action to reduce an employees exposure to noise by means other than personal protection where reasonably practicable. A daily personal noise exposure of greater than or equal to 90dB(A) (at time of going to print).[3] See also First Action Level and Peak Action Level.

Secondary Explosion
An explosion of dust layers and deposits which have been disturbed by a smaller primary explosion.

Secondary Group
A large, relatively formal group such as a department or section within an organisation. Role relationships are predominant and the group functions impersonally at a fairly instrumental level.

Secondary Irritant
A substance whose reaction on the skin occurs some time after repeated exposure and occasionally the effects may be observed on parts of the body other than those originally exposed. Condition is also known as allergic dermatitis.

Selectivity
A function of human perceptual processing which either consciously or unconsciously allows the brain to recognise signals or data from the environment. We ‘see`, ‘hear` etc what we want to.

Self Actualisation
A state of self fulfilment which emerges when lower order needs have been satisfied, described by Maslow as a degree of autonomy and choice about self and a release of potential.

Self Regulation
Modern trend in safety legislation which sets standards and objectives and leaves it to the duty holder to determine how best to achieve them.

Sensitiser
See Respiratory Sensitiser and Allergic Dermatitis.

Sensory Illusion
A type of error experienced through sensory perception when information received confuses sensory receptors eg very cold substances appear hot, glass doors appear invisible because of lighting.

SEPA
Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

Severity Potential
The worst injury, illness or damage that could result from an accident.

Severity Rate (SR)
Statistic used to illustrate the average number of working days lost due to accidents for every 100,000 hours worked. SR = Total Number of days lost x 100,000 Total person hours worked Note: that multiplier may vary for different organisations, agencies and countries, use caution when making comparisons.

SFAIRP
So far as is reasonably practicable. See Reasonably Practicable.

Shackles
A device in the shape of a bow or the letter D incorporating a removable bolt which can be attached to an eye bolt or part of a fixture to create a lifting point.

Short Term Exposure Limit
The 15 minute TWA exposure which should not be exceeded at any time during a work day even if the daily TWA is not exceeded. It is designed to take into account the acute effects of short term high exposure to chemicals.

Sievert
See Effective Dose.

Silencer
See Reactive Silencer and Absorptive Silencers.

Silicon Diode
A device made of a silicon compound in which current flows when exposed to ionising radiation. The current is converted to electrical pulses and counted. The number of pulses is related to dose.

Silicosis
A prescribed disease of the lungs characterised by the development of fibrotic modules around the embedded Silica dust. The disease gradually develops as large coalescent nodules reduce lung function and cause breathing difficulties.

Simple Asphyxiant
A substance which causes suffocation by reducing the amount of oxygen available in the atmosphere for gas transfer in the lungs; examples include nitrogen and carbon dioxide. See Chemical Asphyxiant.

Single European Act
In 1986, a European Union Treaty which set out the conditions and mechanisms for European integration by the end of year 1992.

Situational Violation
A violation where the rules are broken due to pressure to complete the task, or because it is difficult to comply with the rule in the circumstances, e.g. a scaffolder not using a harness because there is no where to secure it at that time. See Routine Violation and Exceptional Violation.

Six Pack
Reference to six sets of regulations brought into force by the end of 1992 to meet targets for a particular phase of European unification. The expression is no longer of significance due to the many changes which have taken place since their introduction.

Skill-based Behaviour
Is displayed in familiar situations where the operator recognises a signal, understands that this requires a normal routine and therefore executes a well learned and practised response more or less automatically. See Skill-based Errors.

Skill-based Errors
May be considered as intention (of outcome) being correct but the action (motor-response) is executed badly. Examples include pressing the wrong button on a telephone or computer keyboard where the consequences are relatively trivial - however, pressing the accelerator instead of the (intended) brake in a driving emergency may be a more costly slip.

Skin Ulceration
The result of exposure to hexavalent chromium (eg: cement burns and chrome holes) and, in extreme form, in perforation of the nasal septum (work in plating shops).

Sling
Flexible equipment constructed from chain, fibre rope or wire rope used to lash or secure loads to lifting devices.

Societal Risk
Term used when determining the tolerability of risk to define the chance of a large accident in a hazardous industrial installation causing a defined number of deaths or injuries. See Individual Risk.

Socio-Technical System
Concept of an organisation which illustrates the interdependency of its technical components (task and technology) and its social components (structure and people).

Sociogram
A diagrammatic or mapping technique used to display the interpersonal preferences of members of a group ie. who likes who, who works best with…, who is the preferred leader etc?

Sociology
A branch of the behavioural sciences concerned with theories and predictions about complex social groups, the differences between them and structural influences upon them.