Safe home every day
You train someone to do a job and they earn you money. You train someone to do the job safely and what’s it worth, asks Richard Weston, strategy manager at Mantra Learning.
We all know that investing in training is worthwhile. Your staff will be more productive, they will make fewer mistakes, they will learn how to think for themselves and become less reliant on you to tell them what needs doing. Safety training is less tangible. It seems like the right thing to do but how do you quantify the benefit?
Well, the first thing to consider is what is the cost of getting it wrong? We have all read in these pages the heavy fines that have been imposed on employers who have been found negligent in connection with a workplace accident. On top of this there’s the impact on future insurance premiums to take into account. And that’s aside from any compensation payments and hefty legal costs.
When investigating an accident the HSE always check to see what training has been given to the staff concerned. Has this training been in line with the Approved Code of Practice (ACOP)? This particular type of HSE document has special legal status. If you are prosecuted for breach of health and safety law, and it is proved that you did not follow the relevant provisions of the Code, a court will find you at fault, unless you can show that you have complied with the law in some other way.
One of the key ACOPs that all warehouse operators should be aware of is L117 ‘Rider-operated lift trucks – operator training and safe use’. A key piece of guidance it gives is that: ‘to comply with your duties under regulation 9 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) and general duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, you as an employer must ensure that all operators you employ, both new and existing, are adequately trained and, when necessary, provide additional or refresher training.’ It goes on to explain that whilst the ACOP text relates to stacking rider-operated lift trucks, the employer’s duty under PUWER to provide training also extends to operators of all other types of lift truck. Operators of types of truck not covered by the ACOP text, for example pedestrian-operated trucks, ‘stand-on’ pallet trucks that do not lift materials for stacking, and straddle carriers, will also need training. And that training should be specific to the type of truck being operated. So if the staff in your warehouse need to use a powered pallet truck (PPT) for instance, they need a certificate to operate it irrespective of whether they also hold a counterbalance lift truck licence.
Okay, let’s say we have been fortunate and no-one got hurt and we didn’t get investigated by the HSE. Did we get away Scot free? Well that depends on what damage was done. Did the truck hit the racking? Did it collapse? What was the value of the stock that came crashing to the floor? What is the cost of re-building? What is the cost of the inevitable business interruption? What is the value of management time sorting everything out? The list goes on…
Assuming then that all our MHE operators are properly trained and have all the right ‘licences’. Is that everything? Hardly. Warehouses and loading bays are inherently dangerous environments and everybody working in them must be made aware of the potential dangers and know how to avoid them. Basic health and safety training should form part of every new staff induction. Knowledge of emergency procedures, first aiders, fire alams, fire exits, assembly points etc. need to be covered on day one. Also new staff should be made aware of all the company’s health and safety policies, accident reporting procedures and know what personal protective equipment should be used. But these are just the essentials. A safe worker is someone who doesn’t just know how to follow the rules but understands why health and safety is important and knows how to act with proper consideration for the safety of themselves and their colleagues. That is why at Mantra Learning all our pre-employment and Traineeships programmes start with a full module on health and safety in the workplace. Our employers know that when they take on a new staff member or apprentice from Mantra they have a solid grounding in safe working practices.
Another cost that is easily overlooked is the cost of staff absence through workplace acquired illness or injury. Strains and injuries caused through incorrect manual handling can result in long periods off work. Exposure to dangerous substances can lead to potentially serious health problems. Proper training can minimise these risks and lead to improved staff attendance rates with obvious productivity and other financial benefits.
In conclusion it is safe to say that planned and appropriate safety training doesn’t just make good sense it also makes good business sense.
