Health & Safety Training : Induction Training and other types of H&S training

What is training in the context of H&S) ?

"Training is the planned, formal process of acquiring and practicing knowledge and skills in a relatively safe environment.”

Training is a key component of competence.

Refer : INDG345, www.hse.gov.uk

What are the benefits of health and safety training at the workplace?

There will be a reduction in accident/ Incident (severity rate and frequency rate);
There will be a reduction in injury and ill-health related absence;
There will be a reduction in compensation claims & insurance premiums;
There will be an improvement in the H&S culture of the organization;
There will be an Improved staff morale and retention.
There will be Legal Compliance for Organization (Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974/ILO)
There will contribute towards making your employees competent in H&S ;
Training can help your business avoid the distress that accidents and ill health cause;
Training can help you avoid the financial costs of accidents and occupational ill health, such as damaged products, lost production and demotivated staff.

Who needs health and safety training ?

Everyone needs health and safety training at workplace.

Workforce (all types of workers )
Supervisor
Manager
Senior management
Contractor

What are the benefits of health and safety training for employees?

Skill development for workers
competency development for workers
Enhancement in their knowledge
improve Quality of work & life
improve Employee retention rate (reduce staff turnover rate)
their Moral will be high
Workers will have more awareness of hazard and risk & safety rules and reduction in stress
Workers will have better solution for problems
Result in Less sick leave for workers
Result in less incident for workers
More Productivity and chances to get more incentive by avoiding safety violations, more efficient

What is induction training?

Induction training is provided for new employees to help them to settle into the new workplace environment and activities. i.e. Workplace orientation

Induction training should always be provided to employees, trainees, contractors (including agency workers) and volunteers, including those on work experience.

Why need an Induction Training?

Induction training is a legal requirement under H&S legislation. (It is covered generally under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations but also specifically under other Regulations such as Manual Handling, COSHH and Asbestos.)

Induction training is a legal requirement under health and safety legislation. It is covered generally under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations but also specifically under other Regulations such as Manual Handling, COSHH and Asbestos.

The level of training an individual receives will vary, depending on their seniority in the business and level of competence, and should take place at various intervals, e.g. on induction and refresher.

Employers must provide training during working hours and not at the expense of employees. Special arrangements may be needed for part-timers or shift workers.

When deciding on its training needs an organisation would need to consider the following:

The results of risk assessments

Compliance with legal requirements

The findings of a health and safety audit

Particular training required by the organisation’s insurance company

There are various reasons to provide the induction training:

The new worker has Lack of experience of working in a new industry or workplace;
The new worker has Lack of familiarity with the job and the work environment;
It Helps to identify Hazards and risks;
It helps to Familiarity with Site and other Rules and precautions;
It provides Knowledge of Emergency procedures;
It provides Knowledge of Limitations and restrictions;
New workers are Reluctance to raise concerns (or not knowing how to);
New workers have Eagerness to impress workmates and managers( to “FIT-IN” approach ).

What are the topics to be considered for new employees during induction training?

What topics are to be included in the induction training pack?

Organization Health and safety policy.
Fire Safety training
Emergency plan/procedures/arrangements.- - - Evacuation Routes/arrangements
Safe Assembly Point
First Aid Arrangement , - - - - - - - - First aid facilities & First Aid personnel(Aiders).
Welfare facilities ( Location and arrangements). (e.g. Drinking water, Washing & Sanitation arrangement etc.)
Safe movement at workplace.
Accident and incident-reporting procedures.- - - - - -Fault Reporting Procedures - - - - -- -Near-Miss Reporting Procedures - - -- - - - - Accident Reporting procedures
Consultation arrangements.
Communication arrangement (e.g general and in the time of Emergency)
Site Rules
Safety rules at site
Safe working system ,
SSW
Permits systems. (PTW)
Restricted Area
Prohibited area like Toxic chemical storage etc.
Use of PPEs - - - - - - Special PPEs (e.g. Correct usage, importance, maintenance, storage etc.)-- - - - - - - PPE usage
Site layout
Clarification of Task/work
Risk assessment system.
Methods Statement,
Nature of work ,
Details of Workplace and Hazard present - - - - - - Specific hazards
Risk at the workplace ( Any particular hazard and risks that employees should be aware of, it may be specific to organization like Manual Handling, Hazardous Substances, Display Screen Equipment etc.)
Housekeeping and Tidiness
How to raise concern/complaints
Roles and Responsibilities of individuals
Disciplinary Procedures
Minimum legal compliance/requirement ,
Compensation scheme
Safe Access and egress (Entry & Exit)
Tool Box Talk Training, (TBT)
Accident prevention and Safety promotion training- - - - - H&S awareness Training- - - - Safe use of machinery training- - - - - H&S leadership training (For Supervisor , managers etc.)- - - - - SSW training- -- - - - Fault Reporting Training
Behaviour Based Safety Training
To help in investigation training
New Technology changes training
Safety practices training

It is recommended that the trainee sign a record to the effect that the training has been received. This record may be required as evidence in the event of any legal claim, particularly if an accident should occur.

How induction training program for new workers can help to reduce the number of accidents in the workplace.

New workers are to be provided with induction training before being sent to a workplace, primarily to indicate the importance accorded to safety and to make them conversant with health and safety requirements of workplace.
It gives an insight of hazard and risk profile present in the workplace and hence helps them to understand the importance of control measures needed to prevent the accident.
During induction training, new workers understand the need to report uncontrolled hazard / near –miss incidents and thus prevent the accidents in future.
Induction training helps workers to become more conscious of using mandatory PPE at workplace thus preventing injuries/accidents.
They are made aware of the emergencies that may arise in the course of work and also procedures to tackle and mitigate the consequences.
New workers are informed during induction training about the site specific rules (do’s & dont’s) and procedure to discipline violations that are aimed at reducing accidents.

Impact of untrained supervisors and management on health and safety?

Many accidents / incidents are the result of the health and safety failings of managers and supervisors for various reasons, as follows:

No awareness about H&S Policy
No awareness of Safety Management system (i.e. HSG65, ISO45001)
No awareness about Risk assessment, - - - - - Risk management and its importance
Not familiar with H&S legislation
Lack of understanding of their Roles,
Lack of responsibilities, and duties of managers, supervisors and workers in the field of OHS.
Lack of health and safety awareness, enforcement and promotion;
Lack of supervision and communication;
Lack of knowledge of the health and safety performance / culture in the business.
No awareness about Occupational H&S activities such as inspections,
No awareness of investigations procedures
No awareness of emergency response, and fire Safety and their roles towards these activities
No awareness about H&S Leadership in developing, communicating, and implementing an OHS program
No understanding consequence of non-compliance
No able to exercise due diligence
Lack of understanding of common hazard like chemical, biological, ergonomic, physical, psychological, safety and other hazards and their consequences.
Lack of understanding about safe work practices

What safety training to be provided to supervisors and managers ?

Those responsible for the direct actions of others should have a much greater understanding of H&S law and how it is applied in their workplace.

They should get trained/ familirization / understanding:

Awareness & familiarisation about H&S Policy and Safety Management system (i.e. HSG65, ISO45001)
Awareness about Risk assessment, Risk management and its importance
Familiarization with H&S legislation
Understanding of their Roles, responsibilities, and duties of managers, supervisors and workers in the field of OHS.
H&S awareness, enforcement and promotion;
Effective supervision and about H&S communication;
Knowledge of the H&S performance / culture in the business.
Awareness about Occupational H&S activities such as inspections, investigations, emergency response, and fire Safety and their roles towards these activities.
H&S Leadership in developing, communicating, and implementing an OHS program and implementation and monitoring
Understanding the consequence of non-compliance of legal requirements and safety rules.
Exercise due diligence.
Understanding of common hazard like chemical, biological, ergonomic, physical, psychological, safety and other hazards and their consequences. ( e.g identify the hazards from the scenario)
Understanding about safe work practices, shift handover etc.

Additional training

Additional training may also be needed following a single or series of accidents or near-misses, the issuing of an enforcement notice, or an increase in the employment of more vulnerable employees (e.g. young or disabled persons).

Attempts should always be made to measure the effectiveness of training. The use of evaluation forms is a common method.

However, one could also use data from compliance with a particular procedure or improvements in safety performance (such as a reduction in accidents) as a good indicator.

Other forms of health and safety training:

Job-specific training: To ensure that persons follow a safe system of work while carrying out a particular task.

When Do You Need to give Training?

Induction time- - - For new employees on joining.

Job change - - - New hazards following a change in job.

Process change - - - - New hazards associated with new ways of working.

New technology - - - - New hazards associated with plant & machinery.

New legislation - - - - - Implications of the new legislation /regulation/Law.

Passage of time--- - - - At regular intervals the Refresher Training to be provided.

Specialist training: - -- - - - For very specialist roles, and requires an examination on the skills that have been taught. Examples include first aid, forklift truck, crane operation and scaffold inspection.

What is the Refresher Training?

Refresher training is an aspect of retraining taken by a person already qualified or previously assessed as competent in a field with the intention of updating skills and/or knowledge to a changed standard, or providing the opportunity to ensure that no important skills or knowledge have been lost due to lack of use.

When refresher / additional H&S training is required :

Increase in accidents or incidents.
Result of an accident investigation.
Increase in Dangerous occurrences.
New processes or New technology introduced
Job changed /Methods changed/ Procedure (SOP) Changed.
Changes in existing working procedures/ Process.
Changes in work patterns – night shift.
Promotion or reorganization(e.g. Retired or transferred etc.).
New legislation.
Enforcement action.
Results of inspections/audits.
Results of risk assessments.
Insurance company requirements.
Passage of time.

Why organizations may need to carry out refresher training on H&S issues?

Refresher training must be provided for the following reasons:

After reviewing the induction training content (new topics added into induction training)
Requirement of refresher training after outcome of any accident investigation.
Changes in legislation (or new legislation came into effect)
Changes in the findings of a risk assessment (or new risk developed)
To encourage the positive H&S culture ( to improve safety performance)
To reduce the effect of peer pressure
To provide updated information in their workplace changes , changes in site plan, change in technology
Changes in Fire plan , Emergency plan , reporting procedures etc.

Training Needs Analysis :

(Decide what training your organisation/worker needs)

Factors to be considered include the:

Type and function of the organisation.
Hazard and risk profile. (Look at your risk assessments to see where information and/or training have been identified as factors in controlling risks. )
Accident history of the organisation.(Review your experience of injuries, near misses or cases of ill health).
There may be statutory training requirements.
Level of training previously provided, together with the detail of which employees have been trained and when. (Compare these against people’s current skills and knowledge and identify the gaps.)
Identify the skills and knowledge needed for worker to do their job in a safe and healthy way.

Post-Training Activities (Evaluation of effectiveness)

It is mandatory to maintain the training records, like who attended which sessions and when.

To Carry out evaluation of effectiveness, look for indicators such as:

Reduction in incidents ,
Reduction in Accidents rate ( including near misses, dangerous occurrences etc.)
Reduction in accident frequency rate ,
Reduction in severity rate.
Increased awareness and risk perception.
a reduction in injury and ill-health related absence;
Able to identify the Hazard & Risk and report them.
Improved compliance with rules.
a reduction in compensation claims & insurance premiums;
an improvement in the health and safety culture of the organization;
Improved staff morale and retention (Staff Turnover Rate).

Why Employer should keep training records ?

The reasons for keeping a record of the training provided to the worker include:

Proof of employees’ competence.
Provide evidence in investigations;
Legal requirement
Provide evidence in legal actions
Identify when refresher training needed;
Review effectiveness of training;
Assess progress against Training targets;

Further information

Health and safety training: what you need to know:
www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg345.pdf
Health and Safety Training Policy and Management Guide, v.3.0
www.workplacelaw.net/bookshop/policiesAndProcedures/id/240
Introduction to health and safety course
www.workplacelaw.net/training/course/id/38
https://www.seton.co.uk/legislationwatch/article/health-safety-induction-training/