Each year there are over 3 million reports of injuries, illnesses and even deaths as a result of an unsafe working environment. Even though most people may start off thinking that they are working in a safe environment and many may have already been working without issue the fact is that without the right health and safety training disaster can strike at any time. The sad truth is that out of the 3 million reported, 100 people can be saved because their deaths were preventable. So, heath and safety should be the no. 1 thing that both businesses and individuals invest in. Unfortunately, not many business especially those based in loosely regulated parts of the world take safety very seriously. That said human life is precious and so every step your business can take towards improving workplace safety will contribute a great deal towards your business’s productivity, considering the fact that each injured worker takes two weeks on average to recover.
Employer’s duty
Over the past couple of years regulation has been increasingly focused on employers investing a great deal in employee safety. In countries like Australia safety is considered the no. 1 priority of a business and perhaps second to none. That said there are still many businesses that do not realize the many benefits of health and safety training despite finding good training being a lot easier today than it was many years back. But even for employers who do not take health and safety too seriously productivity should definitely be of their prime concern which is where these safety training courses come in play. These courses are cheap and many businesses are legally obliged to get their employees the required training. There are also many other good reasons why you should invest in good health and safety training apart from being obliged by the law, reasons include:
- Lower insurance premiums because insurers know that your work environment is comparatively safe.
- 80% less down time since almost nobody is getting injured at your workplace.
- Improved employee satisfaction which equates to employee loyalty.
- Almost no early retirements to deal with either owing to medical issues or lack of satisfaction.
Employees need to be kept safe
The biggest reason why employers need to invest heavily in health and safety training is to ensure that their employees never get injured or ill because of what they do. This will mean that your business will not require as much backup staff and you’ll not end up paying for days during which your employees are not working. Employers will also not have to deal with the growing pains of an often estranged workers’ union who can at times make ridiculous demands. Then there is also the fact that if your employees have not received adequate training your business will always be open to financially draining compensation claims. Many times employees will get exactly what they demand if they sue the employer and something which have ruined many businesses in the past which is why there is a growing importance towards keeping workers safe.
Many of your employees may have been aware of workplace dangers when they originally applied for the job and may not even complain about them but effective training will help to reinforce a safe and healthy culture. Refreshing people’s memory of all the right protocols will ensure that things continue to flow without a hitch. An annual refresher will reduce instance of a lax attitude often displayed by people who have been doing one type of work for a long time. Consider the fact that one of the biggest contributing factors towards fatal workplace accidents is complacency this is why any effort you make towards keeping the environment safe does a great deal of good.
Who will need training?
Alertforce recommends that people in the manufacturing industry be put through health and safety training. Also people in the transportation, packing and construction industry will benefit from this training. Regardless of what type of work environment you have everyone which includes managers, employees and supervisors can benefit from safety training. That said there are some jobs which obviously require a lot more specific training as compared to others. People in the manufacturing industry are at a greater risk of injury as compared to accountants or doctors and so they will require more attention.
Citations:
- Health and safety tips for the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry
Mark is one of the leading experts on health and safety training. He has been offering a number of safety and career development courses via his website and also via his offline office based in Sydney. His training programs are often broken into smaller parts which are designed to a much broader view of safety as well as specific types of safety training.