Maintaining health and safety is a legal responsibility for employers and staff. It also brings financial benefits through improved productivity and reduced absenteeism.
In addition, it helps employees to become more involved in their own workplace safety and compliance with regulations. It also teaches them how to identify hazards and how to control them.
Introduction
Health and safety awareness training is a fundamental step in ensuring that your workforce has the basic knowledge to protect themselves and others from harm. It can reduce the risk of injury, illness and death in the workplace, as well as bring financial benefits through increased productivity and fewer absences from work.
This course is designed to be short and engaging so that your staff will find it easy to complete, meaning they can take the course in most class periods or at home without having to sit for a long session. It is also MLITSD compliant, so you can be sure that your staff are being provided with the essential information they need.
Construction Health and Safety Awareness (GE707) is a core publication that provides a clear and concise understanding of the legal requirements, working practices and hazards associated with construction work.
Hazards
All employees should have a basic understanding of health and safety issues in their workplace. This level 1 Esky course gives learners a basic knowledge of how to work safely and raises awareness of the kinds of hazards that can occur in different working environments, what these hazards mean and what control measures are available.
Employees who receive health and safety training are better able to focus on their work without worrying about their personal safety. This increased focus can lead to higher quality outputs and improved productivity.
Providing health and safety training also demonstrates that the company cares about its employees which boosts morale. This is a great way to keep the workforce happy and reduce employee turnover. Moreover, it is a legal requirement for all businesses to provide their workers with adequate safety precautions.
Precautions
Employees should understand the hazards and risks in their workplace. They should also be instructed on how to recognise, assess and control those hazards.
They should also be able to report hazards and concerns to their employer without fear of retaliation. This can be done through a formal reporting system or through daily toolbox talks and meetings.
The Health and Safety at Work Act requires employers to provide whatever information, instruction or training is necessary to ensure the health and safety of their staff. Our online health and safety awareness eLearning course is the perfect way to get all your employees up to speed on the company’s general, accident and first aid policies. It is suitable for all employees and can be completed in a matter of minutes.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
PPE can prevent injuries and illnesses resulting from the work environment. However, it does not eliminate the hazard; it only reduces the risk. PPE should be considered only after other controls such as elimination, substitution, engineering, work practices and administrative control have been tried.
PPE includes gloves, gowns, shoe covers, face masks and respirators. Workers should be trained in the appropriate use of these items. This should include when to use them, how to properly don and doff them and what they are capable of protecting from.
In addition, workers should be taught to inspect and maintain their PPE on a regular basis. They should also be instructed in proper laundering, storage and disposal of their PPE. The involvement of all stakeholders in a PPE program is critical to success. This should include management, safety and medical personnel, supervisors, the health and safety committee and individual workers.
Risk Assessment
A risk assessment is a process that helps identify hazards and determine how much danger they pose to your employees. It is a requirement under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
In a risk assessment, you need to evaluate how likely it is that the hazard will occur and what the severity of the consequences would be. Gather all the relevant information about the hazard including safety data sheets, manufacturers’ literature, research studies, industry codes of practice, workplace inspection reports, incident reports and near misses.
Then, prioritize risks to focus on eliminating or controlling them. Document everything with a free template from Lucidchart (formerly iAuditor).health and safety awareness course