Training - Needs Must
By Wendy Claxton BSc (Hons), Dip2.OSH, CMIOSH
Question: What do the following incidents have in common?
(1) Scaffolder plummets six metres to the ground.
(2) Teenager dies on first day at work on a demolition site.
(3) Maintenance Engineer’s fingers crushed in the pulley-belt of an electric motor.
Answer: They were all successful prosecutions taken by the Health and Safety Executive (UK). Each case involved a basic lack of safety training.
Although the above cases were all fairly recent we can also look further back to more examples. In the case of the Piper Alpha fire in 1988 it was deemed that serious inadequacies in safety training lead to the deaths of 167 people, making it the world’s worst offshore oil disaster. The workers on the platform were not adequately trained in emergency procedures, and management personnel were not trained to compensate for this, or provide good leadership in a crisis situation.
Introduction
Despite being a fundamental requirement under health and safety law, training is often seen by employers as “desirable” rather than necessary. Not only does every individual within an organisation need to be trained, but this training has to be at the correct level. This distinction is very important for ensuring that individuals have the correct knowledge, skills and attitudes to do their job competently.
As a result of the present financial climate, organisations are under increasing pressure to cut costs and make savings. Sadly the training budget is often one of the first areas to be affected. Training can be seen by some employers as a costly outgoing with no tangible benefit to corporate finances. However, as a Health and Safety Practitioner I firmly believe that effective training reduces the number of accidents and incidents, improves staff morale and often boosts productivity. In addition there is the reputation of the organisation to consider as well as the opportunity to make employees feel valued. Staff loyalty is another benefit, which often results in a reduced staff turnover.
Penalties for Cutting Corners
The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 came into force in January 2009 in the UK. This piece of legislation does not impose new duties on employers but rather aims to provide a real deterrent to anyone not taking their health and safety responsibilities seriously enough. The new Act increases the maximum fine that a Magistrate’s Court can impose for health and safety breaches from £5000 to £20,000. In addition imprisonment is now an option for a wider range of offences.
What Constitutes Training?
According to the Oxford Dictionary the term ‘training’ refers to the process of bringing someone to the desired state or standard of efficiency by instruction and practice.
There are various ways that individuals can be brought to the “desired standard of efficiency”, for example:
- On-the-job training.
- Formal training qualifications e.g. NEBOSH Certificate, IOSH Working Safely, PASMA course etc.
- In-house training e.g. induction training provided by management on joining the company.
- Toolbox talks.
“On-the-job” training is where an individual works closely with a more experienced member of staff and learns the procedures and practices for their role. Already one can see that this may be a flawed approach to training. It would work well if the experienced member of staff always worked safely and to the exact procedures laid down by the organisation. However, short-cuts are often taken and areas are sometimes by-passed which could mean that everyone receiving training by this route learns some bad habits along the way.
On the positive side though, with clear learning objectives and sustained monitoring by management this method could be extremely beneficial and cost-effective for certain job roles.
Formal training qualifications involving an individual attending a training course and working towards an assessment are a good way of ensuring that those concerned reach a specific standard; the qualification provides evidence of their competency. They are not, however, the best way for all individuals to learn, particularly if there are issues around literacy levels or language barriers. Whilst many training companies are aware of these issues and indeed some offer courses in different languages or assistance for individuals who may struggle with the reading or writing side, these courses are not as widely available and may not be accessible for all.
In addition to face-to-face training courses there are distance learning courses which are particularly useful if individuals are trying to fit the training around a busy home and work life. This method of learning allows individuals to study at times that suit them and at a pace that they are comfortable with. Distance learning courses are also often cheaper and mean that individuals are not away from work for prolonged periods of time. The downside is that sometimes employers don’t provide employees with adequate time to complete their distance learning courses, which could affect the overall success and therefore the benefit to the organisation. Furthermore, some individuals are not motivated enough or disciplined enough to succeed on a distance learning course.
There are also specific packages available for on-line learning, or e-learning. These may either be produced specifically for an organisation and tailored to meet their needs, or may take the form ofgeneric packages e.g. for use of display screen equipment.
In-house training is often a more cost-effective way of training staff. Induction training is one example that works well and involves going through fairly basic procedures relating to how health and safety is managed within the organisation. Induction training can often be given by a manager or someone with some authority (and some health and safety training themselves) and should cover areas such as emergency evacuation and first aid provision along with some basic general information about accident reporting, manual handling, slips, trips and falls etc.
Information about specific risks within the workplace should also be provided on the first day of work. Essential things to cover may include the importance of adhering to site rules e.g. pedestrian and vehicle segregation routes, signage, the need for personal protective equipment, etc.
In order to ensure that the correct issues are covered a record should be kept of induction training. This may involve the use of a checklist for managers and ensuring that new employees sign to say that they have undertaken the training and had the opportunity to ask questions.
Other in-house training may include “toolbox talks” whereby a short ten-minute session is provided to small teams of people about one specific area e.g. use of ladders. These short sessions can serve as useful reminders to existing staff about health and safety procedures. It may be that an organisation arranges toolbox talks once a week about relevant items. The Health and Safety Executive have produced some toolbox talks which can be downloaded from their website.
Who Needs to be Trained?
Health and safety training should start on the first day of work for a new employee and should continue throughout their working life. This does not mean that employees should find themselves continually attending formal training courses, but rather that ongoing “toolbox talks”,regular briefing sessions or annual refresher training should be part of the corporate training plan.
The requirement for training should really be linked to risk. Effective training would ensure that workers are qualified to identify and manage the risks they face in the workplace. Where the risks are greater then clearly the need for training is paramount. The risks to scaffolders are obvious since a fall from height could result in serious injury or even death. For this reason it is imperative that scaffolders are adequately trained and competent to undertake their work. Without this training the employer is not only placing their employee at risk (and others in the vicinity) but also putting themselves at risk of prosecution and risking loss of reputation for their business.
When is Training Required?
Induction training has already been covered but training is also required when changes are made to either the organisation, staff roles and responsibilities or where new equipment or working practices are introduced.
Some training is mandatory and requirements are prescribed along with the need for regular refresher training e.g. first aid at work qualification.
What Records are Required?
Often legislation does not require records of training to be kept. However, without the records it may be difficult to prove that training has been completed.
In Summary
Organisations must identify what training is required in order to provide their staff with the skills to manage the risks within their workplace. Without providing adequate training, employers are not taking their health and safety responsibilities seriously enough. This lack of training may, in turn, lead to injuries, illness or worse and could lead to prosecution and loss of reputation, not to mention fines or even imprisonment.
Whilst it is recognised that there is a cost to training there is a greater cost if employees are not suitably trained. In addition there are many ways to provide cost-effective training.
References:
Safety and Health Practitioner
The Concise Oxford Dictionary
RRC Course Notes: NEBOSH National Diploma – Unit A
Fire and Blast Information Group
Please e-mail us with news and views about health and safety which you think would be of interest and would like to share with other newsletter subscribers.
Click here to be removed from our mailing list.