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This month we are highlighting an important aspect of health and safety but one that is often overlooked or is given lip service only.

Under Health and Safety legislation, employers have a duty to provide adequate Training for their employees.

It is easy enough to book people onto training courses. What is more difficult is to ensure the training delivers its intended benefits; the most important of which is "to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of employees".

With the launch of our new Training Website, it seemed timely to address the issue of Effective Health and Safety Training.

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Objectives of Training

Health and safety training is intended to reduce occupational ill health and accidents.

Of course, there are other aims, which may be considered secondary but are nonetheless substantial, such as:

• Avoid the stress everyone experiences when accidents happen.
• Improve employee efficiency
• Safeguard the welfare of competent, experienced staff
• Avoid the financial costs from loss of production, compensation claims, lost contracts and possibly even criminal prosecutions.

There is also a clear legal duty to "provide whatever information, instruction and training is needed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees".

Training can help improve safety by:

• Educating workers to the hazards and risks they may face in the workplace, along with the arrangements for mitigating them.
• Explaining how accidents can happen and how to reduce them
• Explaining types of injuries and ill health, along with their causes and how to prevent them.
• Training how to use specific work equipment and personal protective equipment.

Training Courses are Not Enough

There is, however, a fundamental problem. We cannot assume that having attended a training course, people are "competent" to carry out their duties safely. We may be complying with the letter of the law but still not reduce the incidence of occupational ill health and accidents.

A competent person is one who has thoroughly understood and knows how to apply what they have learned to their own circumstances. Training that does not positively impact a person’s behaviour, has failed to achieve its primary objective.

To be truly effective, training cannot be considered in isolation from other health and safety responsibilities, such as mentoring, supervision and monitoring.

HSE's Five Step Approach

The HSE addresses this point in their approach to training. In summary, they recommend:

Step 1 – Assess the needs

Step 2 – Prioritise

Step 3 – Choose methods and resources

Step 4 – Deliver the training

Step 5 – Check that it has worked

The last step is key in that it checks if the training has resulted in Competency and yet it is the step that is easiest to forget about.

Training in Context

For this reason, EDP prefers to deliver training within the context of a comprehensive Safety Management System (SMS). Such a system, properly implemented, helps to highlight what competencies are needed for safe working and who needs them.

Most importantly, it incorporates the checks that ensure training results in genuine improvements in competency rather than merely "ticking the boxes".

Many organisations already have SMS systems in place and can benefit from Training Programmes such as provided by EDP, including Scheduled Public Courses.

Where a Safety Management System is not in place, it is wise to give more attention to the Training Needs Analysis stage (Competency Needs Analysis), to be sure time, effort and money is being invested for maximum benefit.

To discuss any of these issues, give us a call on 01744 766000 or complete our Training Enquiry Form.

Additional Information

You can learn more about the services we offer by visiting our websites:

• Training
• Safety Management Systems
• Construction
• Environment

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The last issue of our newsletter was published on the eve of a decision by the government to salvage the Corporate Manslaughter Bill from yet another delay.

The Bill actually received Royal Assent on 26th July 2007, and is scheduled to come into force on 6th April 2008.

Although not prosecuted under this legislation, a case was recently concluded that illustrates the importance of this new Bill.

The incident resulted in the death of a 28 year old man who became entangled in a conveyor belt at a Concrete Company. He was attempting to clear the conveyor whilst it was still in operation. There were no effective guards and no emergency stop button in reach.

In the words of the HSE Inspector:

"HSE inspectors regularly come across examples of poor health and safety standards at workplaces but the inspectors involved in this case were appalled by the total lack of basic health and safety measures at this company's site, which directly led to the fatal incident."

The penalty for the company and its officers were a total of £164,000 in fines and court costs, along with custodial sentences for the Managing Director and Area Manager.

The objective of the "Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act – 2007" is to ensure that companies that are guilty of gross health and safety negligence can no longer avoid prosecution.

You can read more details about the case on the BBC website at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/6274826.stm

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We are approaching the second Standard Release Date this year for Health & Safety Legislation Changes – i.e. October 2007.

Next month, therefore, we expect:

• Implementation of "Indicative Occupational Exposure Limit Values" (IOELVs) for a further 33 substances. The aim is to prevent or limit the exposure of workers to dangerous substances in the workplace and to protect workers where exposure cannot be avoided.
  
  
• Amendment to the Working Time Regulations, the principal change being to increase annual leave entitlement from 4 weeks to 5.6 weeks.

View more anticipated legal changes. Then decide if they affect you and what changes you need to make by way of preparation.

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