The benefits of Target 100

Helping you to win and retain customers

Understanding and meeting the needs of customers is crucial to the success of every business. Effective Health and Safety management can help win and retain customers. Target 100 can quickly and effectively demonstrate to customers that correct procedures have been put into place and form an integral part of every day working practice. Increasing pressure from the supply chain relative to the quality of Health and Safety is having a greater impact on organisations in both in the public and private sectors.

Solving problems with Health and Safety

Getting to grips with ever changing Health and Safety regulations, assessing and mitigating risks faced by the business, and managing employee training programmes can be a daunting prospect. Responses from employers to Government as part of its 'Revitalising Health and Safety Strategy' in June 2000 identified three consistent messages preventing employers taking further action on Health and Safety:

• Cost, particularly on training and Health and Safety Executive publications (mentioned in 85% of responses);

• Time and competing pressures (75% of responses);

• Lack of knowledge and awareness (two-thirds of responses)

source: Revitalising Health and Safety Strategy Statement June 2000

The introduction of Target 100 is a cost effective way of addressing the key issues detailed above. It provides a simple structure for Health and Safety management, including plain English summaries of Regulations and Best Practice, and a range of tools to reduce the time taken to put safer procedures and required documentation in place.

For more information on Target 100 features, click here

To obtain information on the cost of buying Target 100, click here

Reducing the cost of accidents

In 2003/4, 39 million working days were lost as a result of ill-health and workplace injury. Accidents in the workplace will impact on production, morale and profitability. Not all of these costs are covered by insurance.

HSE (Health and Safety Executive) studies found that the ratio of insurance premium paid against uninsured losses ranged from 1:8 to 1:36. That meant for every £1 they paid in insurance premiums, the companies had to meet a further £8 to £36 themselves for losses arising from accidents. (source: HSE)

Target 100 will help companies to implement and measure safer operating procedures and if accidents do occur provides you with the tools to report accidents and incidents as well as analysing and eliminating the causes. Ultimately, we are seeking to help you to reduce and/or prevent people from being off-work as a result of workplace injury or ill-health and to improve the efficiency of your business.

For more information regarding features of Target 100, click here

Helping directors meet their responsibilities

Many UK businesses are breaking the law by not complying with current Health and Safety legislation. As a result directors are personally exposed to fines and penalties through criminal prosecution, which could even result in a custodial sentence.

Think about the following:

• HSE investigations into serious incidents routinely examine the personal responsibilities of directors

• The Health and Safety Commission publicly 'name and shame' culpable businesses and individuals

• HSE served over 11,000 enforcement notices in the year 2003/4*

• HSE prosecuted 17 individual managers and/or directors. 11 were convicted*

• The largest fine was £700,000

• There was a 57% increase in the average fine over the last twelve months*

*source Health and Safety Offences and Penalties 2003/4 (www.hse.gov.uk)

The responsibility for the effective management of Health and Safety lies with the company’s directors, who need to be aware of existing and new regulation to ensure that business practice achieves compliance.

Target 100 will help directors establish an effective framework for the management of Health and Safety, enabling them to plan, organise, implement, monitor and review all of the preventative and protective measures that are put in place.

For a link to the Directors' responsibilities for Health and Safety produced by the Health & Safety Commission click here

For information relating to the Legal position, click here

Target 100 and insurance

The insurance market is cyclical and is driven by various market forces including claims' costs, changes in market capacity and shareholder pressure.

What remains a constant is the desire of insurers to acquire and retain 'well managed' or 'quality' risks. Adopting a positive and disciplined approach to risk management will be a key factor in an insurer's acceptance and pricing of your business and will certainly leave you less exposed to the market cycle.

We have sought to work closely with the insurance market to obtain active support, recognition and endorsement of Target 100.

Being able to demonstrate improvements in Health and Safety performance, not just measured by accidents or claims is important in an industry where much emphasis can be placed upon your historical performance, especially claims, to determine the premiums that you pay today.

If claims are made against you, the standard of documentation, including an effective Health and Safety Policy, suitable and sufficient risk assessments, training records and an appropriate accident and incident investigation system will help to determine whether you have taken all reasonable steps to protect the well-being of your employee or a third party.

Target 100 incorporates these key procedural and documentation areas and has been used as a successful tool in the prevention and reduction in claims, as well as an effective defence should claims occur.

Target 100 is recognised by a number of the UK's leading insurers.