Ringway Jacobs were declared winners of the IHT award, Health & Safety at Work, for the development of “The Bubbles”, an innovative approach to presenting health, safety and environmental information to the workforce.
The Judges said: “An original way of managing and communicating information in a user friendly way to the workforce, this excellent presentation of material, which heightens awareness of key safety issues, has the potential to be implemented widely both within and beyond the business.”
Information previously provided to workforces included risk assessments, COSHH assessments, policies and procedures for all of the different tasks and activities. This was presented in an A5 binder, containing over 150 pages printed in a small font. There was a concern with the amount of information an operatives would have to interpret to ensure they understood the hazards and control mechanisms. In order to give the ‘right information, to the right people at the right time’, it was decided that focus would be given to the worker rather than to the task. By concentrating on the worker, all of the significant hazards they are likely to encounter during work activities are considered. A hazard identification and risk assessment could then be carried out, looking at the individuals and their activities. The risk assessment was developed further by interviewing the relevant groups and discussing the significant hazards and existing controls, through meetings and workshops.
A ‘mind map’ method was used to make the data gathering process easy during the hazard identification process. Some sheets used to collate data looked like a number of bubbles clustered together –and the name ‘Bubbles’ stuck. The result is a strategic information design that imparts relevant and clear safety information, suited specifically to working groups. The Institution of Occupational Safety & Health praised the approach, saying: “It looks excellent and is particularly good for presenting information for people whose first language was not English.” ‘The Bubbles’ went through a few format variations and was eventually launched in August 2008. Since the introduction of the revised safe system of work, the improvement in both safety and performance have been significant. Judges’ comments An original way of managing and communicating information in a user friendly way to the workforce, this excellent presentation of material, which heightens awareness of key safety issues, has the potential to be implemented widely both within and beyond the business.
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