Health Management Plan (HMP)
Protecting Workers Through Structured Health Surveillance, Monitoring, and Early Intervention
A Health Management Plan is a comprehensive, site-specific document that establishes the framework for managing the health of workers who are exposed to hazardous substances, physical agents, or biological hazards. It is the bridge between occupational hygiene monitoring — which quantifies the hazard — and occupational health surveillance — which monitors the health effects on individual workers. An HMP integrates exposure data, risk assessment findings, health surveillance protocols, fitness-for-duty requirements, emergency response procedures, and return-to-work programmes into a single, coordinated management system.
Components of a Health Management Plan
Hazard & Exposure Profile
Summary of workplace hazards and exposure conditions drawn from the OHMP and latest monitoring results. Identifies each substance, exposure levels relative to WELs, routes of exposure, and associated health effects. Determines which surveillance protocols are required.
Baseline Health Assessment
Pre-exposure health status for every exposed worker — spirometry, audiometry, blood chemistry, medical history. Establishes the reference point for detecting occupational health changes. Conducted before work commences.
Ongoing Health Surveillance
Periodic spirometry, audiometry, biological monitoring, respiratory questionnaires, and dermatological examination at intervals determined by hazard and exposure level. Defines referral criteria for occupational physician review.
Fitness for Duty
Medical assessment of whether workers can safely perform their role given the health risks. Covers RPE tolerance, confined space fitness, work-at-height clearance, and heavy plant operation. Assessed at baseline, periodically, and after health events.
Exposure-Triggered Health Reviews
Mechanism for triggering additional health reviews when monitoring indicates elevated exposure — WEL exceedance, spill, ventilation failure, or unplanned release. Defines thresholds, timeframes, and scope of review.
Emergency Medical Response
Substance-specific first-aid treatments, decontamination procedures, hospital transfer criteria, and communication protocols for acute chemical exposure incidents.
The HMP and the WEL Transition
Tighter exposure limits mean some workers previously considered adequately protected may now be in the action zone for health surveillance. The HMP must reassess trigger levels against new WEL values, identify additional substances warranting monitoring, update fitness-for-duty requirements to reflect changes in RPE requirements, and review emergency response protocols for substances whose acute exposure limits have changed.
Record Keeping and Confidentiality
Health surveillance records are confidential medical records retained for at least 30 years (40 years for asbestos). The HMP specifies access controls, data sharing principles, and the worker's right to access their records. Workers must be confident that health data will not be used against them — that early detection triggers investigation and control improvement, not termination.
Develop Your Health Management Plan
The tighter WEL limits, new NTGC substances, and heightened regulatory scrutiny mean that health surveillance programmes designed under the old WES framework are no longer adequate. A current, comprehensive HMP demonstrates your business takes worker health seriously.