Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.04
Liaison Richard Manton
Submission Date July 30, 2021

STARS v2.2

Ollscoil na Gaillimhe - University of Galway
PA-15: Workplace Health and Safety

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.27 / 2.00 Alice Daly
Health and Safety Officer
Health and Safety Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Health and safety management system

Does the institution have an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS)?:
Yes

Does the system use a nationally or internationally recognized standard or guideline?:
Yes

The nationally or internationally recognized OHSMS standard or guideline used:
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005

If no, provide:

A brief description of the key components of the custom OHSMS:
NUI Galway similar to the other Irish Universities operates a devolved safety management system to ensure at a minimum that the University and its staff are in compliance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and associated regulations. The main components of this system operate on the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle of continuous safety improvement:

Plan:
NUI Galway Safety Statement and associated policies
Each Unit Safety Statement Policy is the Head’s local plan (55 Units)
Health & Safety website
Unit’s safety training needs assessments ® Central Safety Training Programme
Emergency Procedures

Do:
Unit Risk Assessments
Staff Communications (Central, Units)
Attendance at training by Unit staff (from Induction to Specialist Risks, etc.)
Key Safety Responsibilities Training for Heads of Units and Principal Investigators
Unit Heads to implement safety actions identified in the Unit Safety Statement Policy
Unit Heads to ensure periodic safety inspections/audits are carried out and any necessary improvements are made
Health & Safety Office(HSO) provide supports to high risk Units or specific priorities

Check:
Unit Safety Statement Policies are submitted to HSO on behalf of UMT/Governing Authority annually
Accident and near miss reporting and investigation policy and procedure
Annual PI Compliance Checklist to be provided by each PI to their Head of Unit
Safety Working Group on behalf of UMT/NUI Galway Safety Committee reviews and consults on health and safety issues
Staff surveys e.g. All Staff WorkPositve Survey in 2018

Act:
Key Unit Safety Statement Policies are reviewed
Annual Health & Safety Report including Key Safety Indicators
Address lessons learned including accidents, other collective issues.

All these feed into the next cycle of Plan->Do->Check->Act
Full NUI GALWAY SAFETY STATEMENT POLICY attached.
Our president discusses NUIG health and safety in this video: https://youtu.be/1nnemY-K2T8

More information here: http://www.nuigalway.ie/health-safety/

Part 2. Incidents per FTE employee

Annual number of recordable incidents of work-related injury or ill health:
45

Full-time equivalent of employees:
2,321

If the institution wishes to report on other on-site workers, provide:

 

Full-time equivalent of workers who are not employees, but whose work and/or workplace is controlled by the institution:
0

A brief description of the methodology used to track and calculate the number of recordable incidents of work-related injury or ill health :
The methodology to track and calculate NUI Galway accidents and near misses is set out in the NUI Galway Safety Statement Part 5. In summary:

· The primary aim of accident reporting is to identify the causes and prevent the recurrence of such events.

· The “NUI Galway Accident Report Form” is to be used to promptly report all accidents or near misses in Units or common areas (online system but in limited use).

· Accidents should be reported to the University’s Health and Safety Office within 24 hours of their occurrence.

· Contractors and other non-NUI Galway employees must complete their own employer’s accident report form.

· All accidents and near misses are to be investigated promptly by the Head of the relevant Unit and Safety Co-ordinator with the objective of determining the root causes of the accident or near miss and the prevention of their recurrence.

· Where there are reasonably practicable measures which can be taken to prevent recurrence, Heads of Units have a duty to ensure that these are implemented and subsequently checked to monitor their effectiveness.

· The investigation must also include a review of the relevant risk assessment(s) and Safety Statement, to ensure that they are current and reflect best practice.

· The NUI Galway Health and Safety Office reports certain accidents and dangerous occurrences to the Health and Safety Authority as required by the regulations.

· Interim safety measures may also be needed to ensure safety in the meantime e.g. the machine cannot be used until repaired and it should be tagged off and made unusable in the interim.

· As part of the accident/near miss review within a month of the accident it should be followed up to ensure that the remedial actions are being appropriately addressed and that the casualty has been appropriately involved in the accident follow-up process.

Annual number of recordable incidents of work-related injury or ill health per 100 FTE employees:
1.94

Optional Fields

Website URL where information about the occupational health and safety program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.