Why Training Your Staff In OH&S Is Absolutely Necessary
Guest Post
Occupational health and safety training is important to an employed person for legal and financial reasons. Every organization – profit or non-profit – is required to ensure the safety of the employees working for it. Legal reasons are those that protect the employee’s physical and psychological well-being, while financial obligations would involve any monetary compensation that requires preventative measures for protecting the employee’s health while at work. OH&S is highly influential in reducing work related costs due to injury, illness, medical emergency, disability and accidents. Other related areas that involve OH&S include safety engineering, occupational mental health, public health, occupational hygiene and ergonomics.
Workplace dangers arise from mainly two sources: from within the environment and from within individuals who are using that environment. Hazards that occur within the environment include such things as fire, medical emergency, internal threat, employee injuries due to manhandling of equipment and harmful materials. Dangers outside the environment are related to natural calamities, threats and violence. Some of these dangers are also based on the level of preparation and the way in which employees conduct themselves in such situations. The less prepared they are for the environment in which they work, plus the more prevalent the dangers in that specific environment, the greater the potential of an accident, threat or emergency. The need for rescue or an evacuation is also considered in the training phase of OH&S, along with planning for contingencies that may affect the work.
Recognition of the fact that employees need to be safe in an emergency or threat is the first step in resolving an existing situation. In short, an employer of any sector – big or small – needs to understand that workplace dangers are predictable and obvious in places non-immune to communal riots, political clashes, workers union, and other problems arising from the work environment. Developing a plan to resolve these issues involve comprehensive training to the workers, as well as the others involved, through OH&S.
Occupational health and safety discusses and teaches considerations that every employee working for an organization should learn and keep in mind to ensure a safe, enjoyable and productive experience on the job. These considerations include, but not limited to, electrical injuries due to electric shock and burns, falls from vibrating structures such as faulty construction or elevator malfunctioning, asphyxiation caused due to release of poisonous gas and machine-handling related injuries. OH&S teaches the techniques regarding safety measures not only to the employee but co-workers, employers, customers, family members and many other personnel associated with the employee in the workplace.
If you are interested in getting your employees OH&S qualified, visit http://www.shorelinelearning.com.au/ for more information on training courses.