What motivates employers to establish preventive management arrangements within supply chains?

This paper examines existing evidence as to the factors that prompt organisations to utilise supply chains to influence how health and safety is managed within them, with a view to shedding light on how far it serves to confirm or challenge the view that in general employers are unlikely to voluntarily pursue preventive management initiatives in the absence of external regulatory pressures. The analysis reveals a range of initiatives undertaken to utilise supply chains to support improvements in health and safety management, both at the level of individual organisations and via trade and industry bodies. It also, however, indicates that while supply chains can be used to improve how health and safety is managed within them, only in relatively narrowly defined circumstances will market-based business motivations alone serve to encourage the utilisation of this potential. It is further concluded that if policy-makers wish to see supply chains used more widely to improve standards of health and safety standards, then they need to do more than merely encourage voluntary action in this regard.

Research highlights► There are many supply-chain pressures that militate against good OHS conditions in the workplaces of lower tier suppliers. ► However in some circumstances supply chain relationships can be used to improve how health and safety is managed within them. ► Research reveals a range of initiatives undertaken to utilise supply chains to support improvements in health and safety management, both at the level of individual organisations and via trade and industry bodies. ► But only in relatively narrowly defined circumstances will market-based business motivations alone serve to encourage the utilisation of this potential. ► If policy-makers wish to see supply chains used more widely to improve standards of health and safety standards, then they need to do more than merely encourage voluntary action in this regard.