STEP 1: Identify Safety Critical Work and Workers

Safety Critical Work denotes

Work activities which due to their nature may put at risk the health and safety of other employees, members of the public or others not employed by you but who might be affected by your work activities.

People in these jobs are called ‘Safety Critical Workers' , and the jobs which they do are called ‘Safety Critical Jobs' .

Examples:

• a dumper truck driver with uncorrected poor eyesight could put himself and others at risk;
• tower crane drivers with uncontrolled high blood pressure or diabetes could put themselves or rescue workers at risk if they were to collapse whilst climbing the crane;
• a highways worker with a heart condition could put themselves or others at risk when crossing high speed roads;
• a banksman with uncorrected poor eyesight could put themselves or others at risk;

In smaller firms identifying safety critical workers will be straightforward as you can consider each employee in turn.

In a larger firm, a simple way of identifying safety critical workers would be to group together all those in safety critical jobs. You can then decide what needs to be done to manage the risk. There are many jobs in construction which are safety critical.

Examples of Safety Critical Jobs include:

• Vehicle drivers;
• Tower crane drivers;
• Workers who regularly cross high speed roads;
• Workers who regularly climb ladders or work at height;
• Jobs involving work in confined spaces;
• Divers;
• Rescue workers such as drivers of safety boats or those trained to recover workers who have fallen into nets or suspended in a fall arrest harness;

STEP 2: Decide on the Fitness/ Health Standards that should apply and take account of your duties under the Disability Discrimination Act

Fitness standards when finalised will be available on the constructing better health website

You will need to take advice from a specialist occupational physician on the standards which should apply.

Driving

Standards for driving are produced by the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority and BS 7121-1:1989 sets out minimum attributes for crane drivers, which includes the following advice on health:

The crane driver should be:

• Fit, with particular regard to eyesight, hearing and reflexes;
• Physically able to operate the crane safely, able to judge distances, heights and clearances;
• Familiar with and able to use any means provided for escape in case of emergency.

Confidentiality and record keeping:

Details of an employee's medical history are confidential between the employee and the occupational physician /nurse . Feedback will be given to the employer detailing fitness/unfitness to carry out specific tasks. This is the only information you require as the employer to ensure the appropriate match of employee to job.

Further advice on fitness for work can be obtained from the Employment Medical Advisory Service 02890408004

There are many tasks for which a disabled person will be fit. Remember all employers have duties under the Disability Discrimination Act to make reasonable adjustment. Fitness for work should always be judged individually.

STEP 3: Carry out Health Checks prior to appointment and at the recommended intervals

Safety critical workers should be given pre-entry health checks to make sure that they are fit enough to carry out the work which they have been selected to do, and to make sure that they do not put others at risk because of an existing health complaint.

This also enables employers to receive advice on any adjustments which may be required. Advice on entry health checks for the most common safety critical jobs is given above.

Remember any requirement for medical screening and/or examination should normally be agreed with the employer/ person in control of the work and the employee in advance under a contract of employment.

There may be certain medical conditions which could affect workers' ability to do their job safely. Employees should be told about these and about what to do should they develop these conditions.

Drug and Alcohol Testing is a complex area and consideration needs to be given to the benefits of such a system. If introduced then unions and employees need to be fully informed of the company policy and procedures and employees need to give informed consent before samples are taken.

Further information on drug misuse at work click here 

If you have concerns about a particular worker, you should seek expert advice from an occupational health practitioner, doctor or from the Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS). 02890408004.

STEP 4: Know how to manage the situation if a worker who carries out safety critical work becomes ill. See 'Managing the ill employee'