What is ISCA?
ISCA
The Independent Safety Consultants Association (ISCA) consists of around 20 organisations employing a total of 300 to 400 safety consultants.
ISCA was founded by a number of major companies at the leading edge of health and safety consultancy in the UK. They identified a need for a representative organisation, to set and maintain standards for the industry. The association's continuing vision is to become the leading independent body on occupational health and safety matters in the UK, representing the industry by contact with UK and EU government departments, the Health and Safety Executive and all other relevant bodies. Its membership ranges from one-person consultants to some of the largest suppliers. Offering independent advice, ISCA aims to maintain high standards of professionalism in the industry. Member organisations are required to have been established as health and safety consultants for a minimum of three years and employ some full-time members of staff who are corporate members of IOSH or Registered Safety Practitioners. They also need to have professional indemnity insurance in place and be able to undertake client work throughout the UK. They are bound by ISCA's code of conduct.
Professional indemnity insurance
Employers can expect consultants to possess professional indemnity insurance. This basically provides indemnity against legal fees and compensation awards should a client sue a consultant for losses incurred as a result of consultants errors or omissions. The amount of insurance cover varies widely, ranging from 250,000 up to typically 1 million. Cover for higher amounts is sometimes requested by clients.
Use of subcontractors
Some consultants use subcontractors to carry out work in specialist areas, particularly to undertake noise or other technical surveys or to deliver certain training. Typically, work undertaken by subcontractors amounts to no more than five or ten per cent of the consultant's total business, although this can be higher for some of the bigger consultants.
To reassure clients and to maintain high standards of work done on their behalf, consultants normally operate approved lists of subcontractors which must meet a number of criteria. These include being known to the consultants who have experience of their work; they may have to be members of IOSH and be undertaking continuing professional development or be accredited specialists. Their work is usually subject to regular audits, with a number of subcontractors working to ISO 9001 or ISO 9002 quality management procedures.
Services offered
go to grid of ISCA services and
members
The majority of safety consultants provide a wide range of services, often in response to growing demand from clients for complete packages. These can range from safety audits and risk assessment to safety training and briefings on the latest legal developments.
Services can generally be provided on a one-off 'as required' basis or as part of a contract for retained services. The vast majority of consultants provide both types, with services tailored to meet the particular needs of clients. In some cases, the work of the smaller consultants consists of providing one-off services in a particular area ranging, for example, from safety audits to developing safety systems.
The main services that an employer may want a safety consultant to deliver are detailed below.
Safety audits
Risk assessments
Safety policies
Safety management systems
COSHH assessments
Technical surveys
Accident investigation
Planning supervisor services
Food safety
Training
Safety audits
As more extensive auditing systems have been adopted to check the effectiveness of safety policies, practices and procedures, consultants have tended to play a larger role. A number of off-the-shelf packages are available, although an employer may prefer an audit which is adapted to its own specific needs. Computerised audit systems are beginning to be offered by some consultants.
Risk assessments
The 1992 'six pack' regulations placed a requirement on employers to carry out risk assessments and this is one of the main growth areas for consultants. Qualitative and quantitative risk assessments and the specifying of safety control measures are now much in demand from clients. Even where organisations carry out annual general risk assessments themselves, consultants can be brought in to assess more complex or specialised hazards. Consultants are often used by clients to satisfy the competency requirements demanded by the 'six pack' regulations.
Safety policies
Frequent changes in the legislative environment have meant that the preparation of safety documentation is now more complex. It can involve writing or revising safety policies or other documentation, such as codes of practice, employee handbooks, communications materials for the workforce and regulations governing contractors.
Safety management systems
Consultancy on safety management systems includes designing systems, developing procedures, monitoring safety checklists and helping with implementation, often backed up with a programme of training for an employer's staff. The HSE's HS(G) 65 guide to safety management systems and the BS 8800 Standard are sometimes used as a basis for developing safety management systems.
COSHH assessments
Assessments under the COSHH regulations include examining the use and disposal of hazardous substances. Full COSHH assessments set out the required steps in detail, together with the necessary records and required action by management and employees. Sometimes consultants only undertake preliminary assessments themselves and contract out any further work.
Technical surveys
Most consultants can carry out surveys of noise levels, vibration and ventilation testing, though some contract out this work to specialists. Lighting and temperature surveys are also sometimes provided, while a few consultants undertake surveys in more complex areas such as air and dust sampling.
Accident investigation
Should an accident take place, an employer will want to know why it happened and ensure measures are taken to avoid a recurrence. Some consultants offer a rapid response to such events including emergency callouts. Following an incident, they can deal with enforcing authorities - the HSE, local authorities and the fire service. Many consultants can also act as expert witnesses in court cases.
Planning supervisor services
The Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 1994 created the requirement for parties undertaking construction works (including demolition and dismantling) to become duty holders. The Planning Supervisor is a health and safety orientated professional who is appointed by the client to ensure co-operation and co-ordination of the design process, incorporating the hazards and associated risks identified by the client and designers into a Health and Safety Plan, further developed by the appointed principal contractor.
Food safety
The legislation covering food safety is extensive with demands for improved standards. Specialist consultancies provide audits and assessments on food hygiene and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP).
Training
Consultants offer a range of training courses covering many topics, the range is from operator skills, through to bespoke tailored courses to achieve a very specific client objective as a part of overall strategy.
Form of Contracts
Contracts may be drawn up in the form of formal documents, but they tend generally to be short on or two page agreements setting out the work to be done, the time span, target dates and fees. Contracts are generally reviewed after one year, though often they may last for up to three years. Some do not impose any minimum, while others may leave it open to negotiation. The number of days provided under a contract can be as many as 200 a year in some instances. Small firms can often benefit from special provisions made by some consultants that offer a number of visits a year for a fixed fee.
Service levels
Service level agreements are increasingly used by employers as a way of assessing consultants' performance. Key commitments given usually relate to the scope of the service, price, timescale for delivery of agreed objectives, competence and quality. Many employers link these commitments to staged reviews of major milestones.
Reporting to clients
Reporting arrangements adopted by consultants vary in both content and frequency. Although reporting is invariably according to client requirements, some consultants deliver standard reports on a quarterly basis. Others may confine reports to the end of a project. Although written reports are the most common, occasionally they are provided on disk. Verbal presentations are usually made to a client's board of directors.
Charging structure
It is difficult to generalise on the fee consultants' charge as this is dependant on the work required to be carried out and the calibre of the consultant or competent person needed to undertake the work. Frequently used method of charging for safety consultancy is based on a daily fee. This can range from a few hundred pounds to over 1,000 a day, plus VAT. Some services may be more costly than others, e.g. a simple safety hazard check and report would be less expensive than a risk assessment, policy advice and preparation or noise surveys. In some cases the set fee can be agreed for a particular project.
