Health and Safety on a Film Set - HOALIE

High standards of health and safety in production can only be achieved and maintained by everyone involved in the industry playing their part. This means recognising and accepting the different obligations and responsibilities that health and safety legislation places upon individuals or organisations.

Under health and safety legislation, the ultimate responsibility for health and safety rests with the employers involved and the organisations in control of premises and facilities. On a day-to-day basis, the producer has overall responsibility for ensuring that appropriate standards of health and safety are achieved and maintained throughout the production process.

Standard rules that production companies should follow:

● only undertake work for which it has been adequately funded
● produce a written health and safety policy statement, including an organisation section detailing who is responsible for what, and an arrangements section, including the procedures for risk assessment and
monitoring of performance
● clearly identify who has control of the premises, location and facilities
● use only competent staff, freelances and contractors
● ensure that contractors and freelances are formally appointed and that company standards are clearly communicated to them
● identify any additional training needs of staff and freelances and ensure these are met before production commences
● ensure that contractors are provided with adequate information about the planned production activity so that they in turn can establish safe systems of work based on risk assessment
● ensure that specialist advice is taken and implemented where necessary
● ensure appropriate exchange of information regarding risk assessments between production and all affected parties
● ensure adequate co-ordination and communication between the various parties involved in the production
● ensure that work begins only when adequate preparations have been made, including full assessment of all risks, selection of competent contractors and other production crew, clear assignment of responsibilities and rehearsals where necessary
● ensure that all work throughout the life of a production is undertaken safely, in line with any company standards and/or the standards established by risk assessments
● ensure that staff and freelance employees are adequately informed and supervised throughout the production
● report all accidents and reportable incidents, in line with company/production policy and legal requirements
● communicate any changes that are likely to affect health and safety standards in the production clearly and with the maximum notice possible
● monitor health and safety performance throughout the production
● ensure that any concerns with the health and safety performance of employees, freelance staff and contractors are addressed and communicated as appropriate
● consult and involve employees in health and safety matters
● ensure that working hours are managed effectively throughout all production activities.

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