WO2006011813A1

WO2006011813A1 - A method of and means for generating and producing a legal compliance report

Info

Publication number: WO2006011813A1
Application number: PCT/NZ2005/000186
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael Ian Louisson
Original assignee: Compliance Software Limited
Priority date: 2004-07-26
Filing date: 2005-07-25
Publication date: 2006-02-02
Also published as: NZ534202A

Abstract

A method of generating a report to facilitate the management by businesses of legal and other compliance requirements. The method consists presenting the user with a list of compliance requirements from a software package, integrating the compliance requirements into a questionnaire, processing the questionnaire to provide an overview and reference to relevant compliance requirements, generating a precis of the requirements dependent on the questionnaire and generating a transcript of the requirements which are specific to the business.

Description

TITLE

A method of and means for generating and producing a legal compliance report.

BACKGROUND In the following disclosure, the term 'safety' is intended to include protection from physical accidents in the work place, as well as health hazards in the work place, such as the inhalation of toxic dusts, and also safety of the environment, mainly from pollution and other adverse effects. The invention is described in terms of managing safety, health and environmental compliance requirements, but equally applies to all legal requirements such as privacy laws and organizational rules and protocols not necessarily required by law.

In the following description, the term 'codes of practice' is intended to refer to local and central government rules, statutes, regulations, guidelines and requirements issued by a responsible authority and also best practice which describes the best procedures and information available to manage a particular situation or activity

Many people running businesses and in particular small businesses have a limited knowledge of the codes of practice that apply to their business. For instance, research has identified that many farmers do not understand the requirements of the legislation relating to health and safety and many do not have a clear understanding of the purpose of it. The research also revealed that some farmers simply did not grasp the reasons for the process of obtaining a consent from a local or other authority before they entered on a particular project and some did not understand the occupational safety and health requirements.

A further problem with understanding the codes of practice is that often such requirements are not well structured and can be written in a language and style that renders them largely unintelligible to those people to whom those requirements are directed. It is also necessary for businesses to study and manage all safety laws. However analysing the large number of requirements of codes of practice involved is beyond the ability of a majority of small businesses and it is not practical to expect small business to adequately analyse and apply those requirements.

In addition businesses have to comply with the requirements of an excessive number of codes relating to a wide variety of matters such as environmental and safety provisions and which vary between pure environmental provisions to pure safety provisions and various mixes of the two provisions.

Because of the lack of understanding of the requirements, it has been found many employers in small businesses have experienced difficulty in ascertaining what their obligations and responsibilities are. It is generally understood that the main purpose of the codes of practice relating to occupational health and safety is to protect the environment and the people who live and work in it. A lack of understanding of the codes can increase the chances of harm occurring to the environment and to the people working in it. Similarly a lack of understanding of relevant privacy law can adversely affect the welfare of all persons and organisations concerned.

Small businesses need to follow the codes of practice and directions issued as a result of those codes for the good of the community as well as for their own protection and to do this it is necessary for a business to have a good compliance management system in place. This compliance process can be regarded as a chain of events with four critical links which are communication of the requirements, understanding of the requirements, implementation of the requirements and once implemented, a regular review, improvement and maintenance of those requirements.

Research has further shown that many small businesses are overcome by the number of applicable requirements of the codes of practice and are unable to manage them. On many occasions it is not practical for small business to be expected to assess and implement the requirements of those codes. In addition, s nail businesses generally do not have the resources to operate independent management systems for each requirement and also for managing environmental protection and safety protection under independent systems. These requirements are normally better managed under a common management system for all compliance requirements.

Research has also shown that only a small percentage of health, safety and environmental provisions are relevant to any given business and it is apparent there is an opportunity for producing a system which will, as a result of answers provided by a business to a series of specific questions, enable the production of a rapid and clear report of only the requirements relevant to that business.

Practice notes, guidelines and information leaflets are a common form of transferring information to small businesses but these rarely meet the exact needs of small businesses.

While there are management programs which are designed to assist small businesses manage their safety obligations, none has been found to provide a summary of all the codes of practice applicable to that particular business, nor do they provide a layered information system.

It is known that various employer associations or large organisations develop safety solutions data bases which are often further enhanced within individual companies. Data bases rely on an active industry association, computer facilities and available management time. Small businesses often do not have access to these facilities or resources.

Research has also shown that in the area of small business compliance the majority of businesses do not wish to become fully skilled safety specialists. A vast majority of businesses consider they do not have the necessary high level of understanding of safety laws and it is considered the removal of proven impediments to compliance will result in an increased understanding and therefore improve the ability of small businesses to meet their obligations. The same systemic problems are experienced by many large organisations where often the many different business units act independently on compliance matters, and are then in effect a collection of small businesses.

It is therefore apparent that the need exists for a system which is specifically designed to produce a report which will suit the requirements of those businesses that do not have the necessary level of understanding so they will be able to meet the required standards.

It is also apparent that the report must integrate a number of codes of practice, be easily understood and accurate, but customized to the exact needs and activities of the business or organisation. The information should be simple enough for every employee to understand and complete enough to provide sufficient information for a person to check that all the requirements have been met.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a method of and means by which a high level summary, a clear precis and a transcript of relevant provisions of the codes of practice can be generated and presented to a user.

It is a further object of the invention to enable details of codes of practice that relate to specific areas of interest to be entered into a software package which can be interrogated in a manner that a report will be generated at different levels of content dependent on the results of answers to specific questions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one form, the invention is a method of integrating a plurality of compliance requirements into a single summary of relevant data in three layers, said method consisting of: compiling and presenting a questionnaire of the circumstances of the user and based on the answers to the questionnaire, generating a summary which includes: a first layer of high level statements each of which provides a simplified overview and a reference to each relevant compliance requirement, a second layer comprising a plain interpretation of each relevant requirement of the codes of practice as herein defined and which retains the important details of those requirements, a third layer which is a transcript of the relevant compliance requirements of the codes of practice.

Preferably the second layer displays information which may be rephrased or otherwise act as a self-assessment compliance check.

According to another form, the invention may comprise a method of selecting requirements relevant to the user from a software package containing summaries and transcripts of the codes of practice as herein defined pertaining to the area of operations of a potential user, said method comprising the steps of: presenting a set of specific questions to the user, inputting the answers to the set of questions into a data base, interrogating tne data base dependent on the said answers, selecting from the software package, requirements applicable to the answers provided, and providing a report having more than one level of information based on the requirements of the codes of practice that are relevant to the provided answers.

Preferably the production of the report follows an analysis of the answers to the specific questions and covers various stages, wherein the first stage comprises the user identifying what activities the business undertakes by completing a questionnaire, the second støge is software processing of the completed questionnaire and selecting all relevant high level, precis or self-assessment, and transcript statements, and the third stage comprises the arranging of the high level statements into activity based groups. Preferably a report is produced in which the three layers of information are separated into sections, wherein a first section provides a simplified overview and a reference to each relevant compliance requirement, a second section which provides a plain interpretation of all relevant parts of the codes of practice and which retains the important details of those requirements, a third section which is a transcript of the relevant compliance requirements of the code of practice..

According to another form, the invention comprises a method of producing compliance requirements for a list of items selected by the user from a software package containing summaries and transcripts of the codes of practice as herein defined, pertaining to those items, said method comprising the steps of : selecting the relevant items from a range provided in the software package, inputting into a data base circumstances of the user relevant to each item, interrogating the data base dependent on the user input, selecting from the software compliance information applicable to the items entered by the user and providing a series of reports representing layers of information which are separated into sections.

Preferably the layers of information are separated into a first section which comprises the high level statements, a second section which comprises a clear precis, and a third section which comprises the full transcript of the appropriate parts from the relevant codes of practice.

In another form the invention comprises a method of integrating a plurality of compliance requirements into a single summary of relevant data in layers, consisting in: reducing each relevant part of the codes of practice as herein defined into discrete modules, identifying the circumstances each module would apply to, interacting with the user to identify the circumstances that apply to the user; providing a report which includes each of the modules that is relevant to the circumstances of the user.

Preferably the report will integrate the various requirements of the codes of practice under common headings.

Preferably the report is divided into sections comprising: a first layer of high level statements each of which provides a simplified overview and a reference to each relevant compliance requirement, a second layer comprising a plain interpretation of the relevant requirements of the codes of practice as herein defined and which retains the important details of those requirements, and a third layer which is a transcript of the relevant compliance requirements of the codes of practice.

Preferably each module is referenced to the particular requirement from which it was generated.

BEST MODE OF PERFORMING THE INVENTION

The method of the present invention is based on a three layer information system. The first layer will contain a simple high level statement for each relevant requirement. Typically these statements are arranged under work activity headlines such as accident-reporting, contractor management and so forth. The high level statements will also provide adequate references to the source of that requirement. This first layer is intended to quickly convey key information relating to the relevant requirement in a simple easily understandable form.

The second layer is a precis of each requirement which will contain all the important details of the requirement in plain language. Preferably the precis of each requirement is listed under the relevant statute, regulation or set of rules and the statutes, regulations or sets of rules are arranged in alphabetical order throughout the layer. The second layer allows more detail to be obtained than is available in the high level statement.

The third layer is a word for word reproduction of the relevant part of the codes of practice. Inclusion of the full text in the third layer will allow a business to examine the requirements in cepth on occasions where this is necessary to ascertain how the requirements should be applied to the workplace.

A typical example of the three levels is shown below:

Level 1 : Workplace 40. Lighting for emergency exit routes. Buildings shall be provided with Overview adequate lighting (1-lux minimum at floor level) along all escape routes in an emergency, (does not apply to dwellings, outbuildings or ancillary buildings.) Escape routes are to be indicated by Signs. (Building Code Clause F6)

Level 2: Building Code F6 - Lighting for Emergency

D Buildings (not dwellings, outbuildings or ancillary buildings) must have adequate Prέcis or lighting (minimum of 1 lux at floor level) for all escape routes in an emergency. self- assessment D Lighting is to be maintained for 30 minutes or 1.5 times the evacuation time, which compliance ever is the greater (does not apply to infrequently inhabited places) check D Escape signs shall be provided to notify people before they may encounter the hazard. D Escape signs are to remain visible in the event of power failure for 30 minutes, or 1.5 times the evacuation time, whichever the greater. D Signs shall be provided to identify accessible routes and facilities for people with disabilities

Level 3: Building Code Clause F6— LIGHTING FOR EMERGENCY

F6.2 Buildings shall be provided with adequate lighting within all escape routes in an Full Text emergency. F6.2 shall not apply to Detached Dwellings, household units within Multi-unit Transcript

Dwellings, Outbuildings or Ancillary buildings.

F6.3.1 An illuminance of 1-lux minimum shall be maintained at floor level throughout buildings ftr a period equal to 1.5 times the evacuation time or 30 minutes, whichever is the greater. F6.3.1 shall not apply to spaces infrequently inhabited such as plant rooms, storage areas and service tunnels.

F6.3.2 Signs to indicate escape routes shall be provided as required by Clause F8 "Signs". This three layer information system allows the small business to select the layer of information best suited to the particular situation. It is expected however that most small businesses will rely on the overview statement because the statements are quick to read and simple to understand. If the small business requires further information, such as because the high level statement is not fully understood, then the user would refer to the second level. If still further information were required the user would refer to the transcript layer of the report.

By combining relevant provisions of the applicable codes of practice, the requirements will become more apparent and understandable. The system will allow similar requirements of different codes of practice to be listed under one heading. In addition because the information relevant to the code of practice is given in a condensed form, it will enable the reader to more easily gain an overview of how different codes interrelate.

Applying the information down to specific tasks such as 'disposing of waste material' or 'pumping fuel' will allow the worker to focus on the requirements of the task performed. Accordingly it is possible to provide a collection of requirements that are tailored to the tasks of an individual small business. This will result in a customized compliance tool for the specified task concerned for the particular business.

The system will enable a customized compliance handbook to be created for each user. The 'user requirement' for the handbook is established by a review of literature and as a result includes the following features; a one-stop shop approach, low cost, portability, comprehensiveness, simplicity, custom made, accuracy, statutory protection and providing face to face communication, or at least contact, with a compliance practitioner.

As will be apparent from the above disclosure, the three layer system simplifies each requirement to make it readily understandable, with the first layer providing a series of overview statements which simplifies each requirement of the codes of practice into an overview statement, the second layer is a clear interpretation that retains all the important detail but is still easily understandable while the third layer is a transcript of the particular provisions to provide absolute detail and accuracy.

The production of the report covers various stages. The first stage comprises the user identifying what activities the business undertakes by completing a questionnaire.

The second stage is software processing of the completed questionnaire and selecting the applicable high level statement, precis and self-assessment, and transcript statements. The third stage comprises the arranging of the overview statements into activity based groups. From this a report in which the three layers of information which are separated into sections can be produced, with one section comprising the overview statements, the second layer comprising the precis, and self-assessment compliance check, and the third section comprising the full transcript of the appropriate parts of the codes of practice.

Having described preferred methods of putting the invention into effect, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, that modifications and amendments to various features and items can be effected and yet still come within the general concept of the invention. It is to be understood that all such modifications and amendments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of integrating a plurality of compliance requirements into a single summary of relevant data in three layers, said method consisting of: compiling and presenting a questionnaire of the circumstances of the user and based on the answers to the questionnaire, generating a summary which includes: a first layer jf high level statements each of which provides a simplified overview and a reference to each relevant compliance requirement, a second layer comprising a plain interpretation of each relevant requirement of the codes of practice as herein defined and which retains the important details of those requirements, a third layer which is a transcript of the relevant compliance requirements of the codes of practice.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second layer displays information which may be rephrased or otherwise act as a self-assessment compliance check.

3. A method of selecting requirements relevant to the user from a software package containing summaries and transcripts of the codes of practice as herein defined pertaining to the area of operations of a potential user, said method comprising the steps of: presenting a set of specific questions to the user, inputting the answers to the set of questions into a data base. interrogating the data base dependent on the said answers, selecting from the software package, requirements applicable to the answers provided, and providing a report having more than one level of information based on the requirements of the codes of practice that are relevant to the provided answers.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the production of the report follows an analysis of the answers to the specific questions and covers various stages: the first stage comprising the user identifying what activities the business undertakes by completing a questionnaire, the second stage comprising software processing of the completed questionnaire and selecting all relevant high level, precis or self-assessment, and transcript statements, and the third stage comprising the arranging of the high level statements into activity based groups.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the report is produced in which the three layers of information are separated into sections comprising a first section which provides a simplified overview and a reference to each relevant compliance requirement, a second section which provides a plain interpretation of all relevant parts of the codes of practice and which retains the important details of those requirements, a third section which is a transcript of the relevant compliance requirements of the codes of practice..

6. A method of producing compliance requirements for a list of items selected by the user from a software package containing summaries and transcripts of the codes of practice as herein defined, pertaining to those items, said method comprising the steps of: selecting the relevant items from a range provided in the software package, inputting into a data base circumstances of the user relevant to each item, interrogating the data base dependent on the user input, selecting from the software compliance information applicable to the items entered by the user and providing a series of reports representing layers of information which are separated into sections.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the layers of information are separated into a first section which comprises the high level statements, a second section which comprises a clear precis, and a third section which comprises the full transcript of the appropriate parts from the relevant codes of practice.

8. A method of integrating a plurality of compliance requirements into a single summary of relevant data in layers, consisting in the steps of: reducing each relevant part of the codes of practice as herein defined into discrete modules, identifying the circumstances each module would apply to, interacting with the user to identify the circumstances that apply to the user; providing a report which includes each of the modules that is relevant to the circumstances of the user.

9 The method of claim 8 wherein the report will integrate the various requirements of the codes of practics under common headings.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the report is divided into sections comprising: a first layer of high level statements each of which provides a simplified overview and a reference to each relevant compliance requirement, a second layer comprising a plain interpretation of the relevant requirements of the codes of practice as herein defined and which retains the important details of those requirements, and a third layer which is a transcript of the relevant compliance requirements of the codes of practice.

11. The method cf claim 8 wherein each module is referenced to the particular requirement from which it was generated.