HSEMS Element Overview

The following information outlines the Guidance Documents pertaining to the various elements of the HSEMS.  It provides an introduction to the different aspects of the comprehensive Health, Safety and Environmental Management System. 

Use the index below to go directly to specific elements. For further explanation of the HSEMS elements, please refer to the full version of the Guidance Documents. 

 

Formats		Document Name
		HSEMS Element Overview

Document Index

1.0 Leadership

Section 1 sets the stage for the rest of the HSEMS.  Unit leaders must champion the management of HSE issues and ensure that people within the unit understand their roles in managing HSE issues.  Section 1 also sets goals and objectives and enables communication within the unit to ensure effective management of HSE issues.

1.1 Management, Commitment and Leadership

• Senior leaders in the unit must show that they are committed to implementing and operating the HSEMS. Without committed leadership, HSE management will be ineffective.

1.2 Responsibility, Accountability and Authority

• People within units must understand what their roles and responsibilities are with regard to managing HSE issues. Senior leaders within the unit will define roles, responsibilities and accountabilities.

1.3 Management Representative

• Senior leadership will assign an HSEMS liaison from within the unit to act as a conduit between the unit and the HSEMS team and facilitate implementation and operation of the HSEMS.

1.4 Worker Participation

• Workers must be encouraged and rewarded for being actively involved in the HSE management processes within their workplaces.

1.5 Health Safety and Environmental Policy

• The policy defines the University's expectations for managing safety in the workplace and people at all levels of the unit should be aware of these expectations.

1.6 Objectives and Targets

• Each unit will set measurable and achievable objectives for an improvement in management of HSE issues - to be measured during the assessment process (section 4).

1.7 Communication and Awareness

• Communication processes will be developed to ensure that people within the unit are aware of HSE issues that affect them.

2.0 Hazard Assessment and Management

Section 2 deals with management of hazards in the workplace by ensuring that all hazards are identified and appropriately managed, and people within the workplace understand how to manage the hazards in their workplace.

2.1 Review

• Inventory activities that occur in each workplace as the starting point of identifying hazards.

2.2 Hazard and Risk Identification and Assessment

• Job Safety Analyses, Standard Operating Procedures, regular workplace inspections, and safety meetings will be used to identify hazards in the workplace.

2.3 Preventative and Protective Measures

• Once hazards are identified, appropriate control mechanisms must be put in place to manage each hazard.

2.4 Competency and Training

• People within each workplace must be sufficiently competent and appropriately trained to conduct their job in a safe manner.

2.5 Management of Changing Activities

• As workplaces and work processes change, steps must be taken to ensure that new or changing activities are reviewed to identify and manage HSE issues.

2.6 Incident Investigation and Analysis

• If failures occur in the HSE system and an incident (including a near miss) occurs, it must be analyzed to identify where the failure occurred so HSE processes can be modified to ensure that another incident does not occur.

3.0 Liability Management

Section 3 provides the process to manage the liabilities associated with HSE issues.  All legal requirements will be met and documents and records will be developed and maintained to provide evidence of due diligence on behalf of individuals and the University in the event of an HSE incident.

3.1 Legal and Other Requirements

• All regulatory statutes (acts and regulations) and best practice requirements (guidelines etc) pertaining to management of HSE issues will be identified and processes developed to ensure compliance.

3.2 Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response

• Locally appropriate emergency response plans will be developed to ensure that people within each unit understand how to respond in the event of an emergency.

3.3 Control of Documents

• Document control processes are critical to ensure that only current, accurate information related to HSE issues is available at points of use.

3.4 Control of Records

• Records management processes will ensure that all records necessary to ensure compliance to legal requirements as well as any records related to liability management are appropriately retained and stored.

4.0 Evaluation

Regular evaluation and measurement of the effectiveness of HSEMS processes is critical to ensure that HSE issues are being appropriately managed in each workplace.

4.1 Monitoring and Measurement

• Regular internal evaluations of workplace HSE management will be conducted by people in each workplace to ensure that all HSEMS processes are functioning appropriately.

4.2 Internal Assessments

• The HSEMS team will regularly assess performance of the management of HSE issues in each workplace against the international standards to which the University's HSEMS has been developed and reports will be given to line managers and unit leaders to use in decision making.

4.3 Preventative and Corrective Action

• Results of monitoring and measurement and internal assessments will be used to make decisions to improve performance of the HSEMS processes which will result in more effective management of HSE issues.

5.0 Review

Once the HSEMS has been implemented and has been operating for a period, unit leaders will review the effectiveness of the management of HSE issues, based on data collected in section 4.  Results of the review will be used to update or modify processes to ensure that all HSE issues are managed in the best manner possible.  The review process will lead to a cycle of continual improvement in the management of HSE issues across the campus.