It’s opinion in numerous companies that, by offering each employee some instruction in safety in the working environment, they have everything they need to cope with a disaster. In reality however, staff should have more than a basic education in health & safety regulatory affairs. Equipping employees, providing the right supervisior and facillitating frequent drills are all essential factors. An employee in a supervisory capacity has an even bigger role to play than simply general supervision. Whomever you employ as the supervisor is required to see the importance of health & safety training and be able to get other staff feeling enthusiastic. In addition to encouraging compliance with health & safety legislation, the supervisor as well should check that employees perform all their tasks to the best of their abilty. This is a challenging task. To achieve this the supervisor is required to have a broad knowledge of the industry and production in addition to a very high level of knowledge of safety legislation, the identification of risks, and first aid. It just is not enough to supply your staff with health & safety education. Your staff must have practical experience of risk assessment and the identification of hazardous areas. They have to know how to eliminate problems and also how to act when the worst happens. Workers are only properly protected when their training and procedures have become automatic.
Training is in fact not enough without safety gear. Without the correct equipment or alternatively if staff discover that equipment is damaged only after something has occurred, then all the education your staff have already completed is a waste of time and effort.
You need to examine every last item on a regular basis to ensure that you are in posession of all of the required equipment and that it’s all being properly looked after. If your gear is in less than perfect working order, have it mended or call out a service professional as quickly as possible.
Health & safety education is important for the safety of your staff, however they need quality equipment, the opportunity to practise, and an experienced supervisor who can get everyone excited about being healthy at work. Only then will adopting the various safety regulations become ingrained in your business culture not an inconvenience everyone has to attempt to remember all the time.
