Tuesday 12 April 2011

HEALTH AND SAFETY TRAINING

HEALTH AND SAFETY TRAINING

Employers must have an overall safety program including relative site specific safety information where applicable. The safety training program should cover topics such as, but not limited to:

• Accident Prevention and Safety Promotion
• Safety Compliance
• Accident and Emergency Response
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Safety Practices
• Equipment and Machinery
• Chemical and Hazardous Materials Safety
• Workplace Hazards
• Employee Involvement
• Legislation

Employers must document all training. Creating a training matrix will help keep track of who has been trained, when they were trained, the training topic, and when it is time for refresher training. Employees must also sign an official sign-in sheet provided by the employer that can serve as proof that employees received proper training. The sign in sheet must have a broad description of what is being covered in the training. Tests or quizzes on the presented material can help gauge employee understanding of the material and highlight topics that need to be reviewed.

The non-English speaking population is consistently growing in many industries and it is important that employers provide training for those workers, as legislation requires that all employees be properly trained. The training program can also help a trainer keep the required mandated safety training courses organized and up-to-date.

Safety training classes help establish a safety culture in which employees themselves help promote proper safety procedures while on the job. It is important that new employees be properly trained and embrace the importance of workplace safety as it is easy for seasoned workers to negatively influence the new hires. That negative influence however, can be purged with the establishment of new, hands-on, innovative effective safety training which will ultimately lead to an effective safety culture. A 1998 NIOSH study concluded that the role of training in developing and maintaining effective hazard control activities is a proven and successful method of intervention.

Proper training will also show due diligence with the Ministry of Labour, and can be the difference between jail time or no jail time.

Do not hesitate to contact one of our Human Resources Professionals at HOTLINE TO HR, to assist in the following:
• safety policy templates
• health and safety forms
• task analysis
• job description templates
• training information
• legislation information
• training matrix
• sign off sheets

1 comment:

  1. There are a lot of safety training online programs nowadays so employers shouldn't have a hard time searching and providing the right safety training programs for their workers. Even though not all places requires them, employers should still consider them as it can be one of their tools to success.

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