While the quote “If you think safety training is expensive – try having an accident!”, may seem dated, it’s painfully true in certain cases.

Companies risk losing much more than a few million pounds. if they have a record of poor safety.

The knock-on effects which can be devastating to the business include:

• Loss of major contracts due to inability to meet deadlines from repeated injury or ill-health of staff.
• Potential bankruptcy from losses of up to 10% of net profits via compensation payments, fines, etc.
• Company directors risk losing more than their bonuses; in certain circumstances they can be jailed for causing the accident through negligence.
• Poor safety records can lead to higher insurance premiums or insurance cover being refused.
• Staff can lose more than a finger and end up paying with their lives.

As an employer, you are mandated by the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 to keep employees safe. A safe working environment is easily created by increasing employee awareness and knowledge of best HSE practices.

This generally involves:

• Providing comprehensive training, both general and role-specific.
• Ensuring the work space is free from hazardous materials.
• Ensuring that employees are able to access health and safety tools.
• Identifying and nullifying hazards.

Seems straight forward, right?

But in our findings, the initial training isn’t the problem for many firms. It’s the ongoing practice. It seems as though employees spend more time at work and take safety for granted. To develop a stronger safety culture, companies need to curb all barriers to health and safety practices.

On their part, managers and supervisors must:

• Stop looking at health and safety as a burden to business.
• Ensure the reporting of all near-misses, accidents and hazardous situations.
• Ditch the fatalism approach; where they hide behind the ‘accidents are bound to happen’ theory.
• Understand the real cost of poor safety, before it happens.

Employers must make sure that workers are re-trained at intervals and their opinions sought on health and safety. As new staff join, they must be instructed on the way this firm is run. Coming with preconceived notions of safety will lead to conflict in modes of operation.

Employers can increase worker participation in developing the culture by:

• Opening clear communication channels to allow suggestions to be offered.
• Discussing pressing safety issues in good time.
• Considering what everyone has to say.
• Encouraging staff to look for and share new views and information.

Other methods of involving workers in the safety process include:

• Working groups & trials: creating small groups to tackle specific problems. Staff are more likely to use solutions that they were instrumental in developing.
• Regular risk assessments with feedback taken and given.
• Offering courses and qualifications for staff to develop their skill-set.

Accurate documentation of all training records is also vital to track the success of the HSE programme.

For all businesses, there is nothing more important than employee, and employer, safety. The initial cost of training is offset over time by avoiding the knock-on effects of poor safety practices.

At Monarch Shelving Limited, we urge businesses not to delay in implementing an ongoing safety programme. It can save your business in the long run. Don’t ever assume accidents cannot happen in your company.