Why safety training is so necessary

Safety and health programs help employers comply with government regulations while protecting employees from job-related injuries and illnesses.

Increasingly, employers are realizing that a good safety and health program provides other benefits. It can save money, improve productivity and efficiency, and bolster the organization’s reputation with its employees and the communities where it does business.

Safety saves employers money by reducing:
• workers’ compensation claims and premiums;
• time lost from work as a result of accidents and injuries;
• supervisory and management time reporting, investigating and responding to accidents;
• hazardous spill and other emergency cleanup and response costs;
• fines for failing to comply with OSHA and other safety regulations; and
• legal costs resulting from spills, fires and other accidents.

More and more employers are also discovering that a good safety and health program can make workplaces, and workers, more productive and efficient. 

When safety rules are followed, there is less need to:
• repair, redo and reorder as a result of accident – related damage to equipment, materials and products; or
• reallocate and retrain workers to fill in for those who experience job-related injuries or illnesses.

It’s more difficult to quantify how these programs boost employer reputation among employees and the community. But organizations that emphasize safety and health report that employee morale improves when workers see evidence that their employer cares about their well-being.

A reduction in accidents, spills and other emergencies also promotes the organization’s image as a good citizen. That can make it easier to hire better-quality people and gain cooperation from local government for permits, expansions and even cutbacks.

A safety program that accomplishes all this has costs. You have to build in time to inspect equipment, conduct hazard assessments and safety and health audits, and most important, provide all employees with safety training.

Safety training leads to safe workplaces
Training is the key to a safety program’s success. Many Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards require training, with a growing emphasis on performance-oriented training requirements. 

In other words, OSHA looks at the results of training: how workers actually use the safety precautions and procedures they learn on the job.

OSHA’s emphasis on safety training and meaningful employee participation in workplace health and safety programs is evident in the agency’s inspection process. OSHA inspectors don’t just check an employer’s safety training documentation. Inspectors observe and question employees to determine if they understand and follow safe practices.

Safety training should, however, be more than just an effort to satisfy OSHA. Weaving safety into every job function is the only practical way to reduce accidents and occupational injuries and illnesses. You can’t have a safe workplace unless all employees know safety rules and precautions, and understand the connection between those rules and precautions with their own jobs, safety and health. If employees are to achieve that level of safety mastery, safety training must be an ongoing effort.

TrainingOnline is a full-service learning content provider that specializes in Web-based training courses for the environmental, health, safety and human resources markets. Read more about safety training at www.trainingonline.com.

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