Reasons for Promoting Workplace Safety

Reasons for promoting workplace safety are numerous. Poor workplace safety can have serious business costs, human costs and legal costs. In addition, the need to protect people from injury and disease while they are at work has a strong moral reasoning. Every year, accidents at work cost the Irish industry millions of euros. The effects of the injuries sustained vary from needing an extended period of time off work, never being able to work again, to sometimes unfortunately, injuries being fatal.

 

Four Main Reasons for Promoting Workplace Safety

There are many reasons why accident prevention in the workplace is worthwhile. For the purpose of this text we will discuss four:

1. The cost of human suffering. The physical and mental pain, and hardship in general resulting from death and disability is impossible to quantify. The disruption to lives of workers and their families it causes is far reaching with lasting consequences.
2. Moral reasons. Societal development raised public awareness about quality of life at work and its importance. Workers safety, once seen as unimportant or marginally important business activity is now expected by the society in general. The business is viewed by the public through its treatment of its employees. This might directly influence employee attraction and retention rates and business profitability or lack of one.
3. Legal reasons. The statute law details steps to be taken and objectives to be met in terms of workplace health and safety. Compliance is not optional – it is mandatory. Non compliance might result in serious legal prosecutions, or other enforcement actions. In addition, the civil law enables injured workers and others to gain compensation either as a result of breach of statutory duties or because a reasonable standard of care was not provided under the particular circumstances.
4. Financial reasons. To ensure the continuing financial health of a business and to avoid the costs associated with accidents, implementation of accident prevention is a must.

 

Health and Safety Legislation

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is the statutory body in Ireland responsible for the enforcement of occupational health and safety law. The HSA reports directly to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. Health and Safety legislation in Ireland is designed to secure and improve the Safety, Health and Welfare of people at work. Specifically, this is done by advocating a risk assessment approach to managing workplace safety. For additional information about risk assessments, please see eLearn Safety blog entry from 12th January 2024 titled Workplace Risk Assessment.

The main health and safety regulations in Ireland are the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and Safety, Health and welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007. The Act 2005 applies to employers, employees and the self-employed. Indeed, this is done in the interest of securing a preventive approach to occupational health and safety. In addition, the GA Regulations 2007 outline the specific workplace safety matters.

 

Achieving Workplace Safety

There are many obstacles to the achievement of safe working conditions. Specifically, most common obstacles are the pressure of production or performance targets, financial constraints and the complexity of the organisations. Unfortunately, these obstacles are sometimes blatant disregard of basic health and safety regulations and poor health and safety management practices.

In difficult economic times, organisations need to reduce their costs. This often impacts on the management of health and safety. For example, training of workers in safe systems of work or plant equipment maintenance could be neglected. One way to keep staff informed about workplace safety is eLearn Safety fully online Workplace Safety – Level 1 course. This course is ideal for every employee in any workplace that’s subject to Health and Safety Legislation. In other words, safety in the workplace is everyone’s responsibility. In particular, it provides all employees who participate on this course with information on how to identify hazards and carry out simple risk assessments.

 

Online Health and Safety Training

Proactive Health and Safety training is critical to ensure a safe workplace. An effective training program can reduce the number of worker injuries and deaths. It can also reduce instances of property damage, legal liability, illnesses, and missed time from work.

Health and Safety training helps establish a culture in which employees themselves help promote proper safety procedures while on the job. It is important that new employees be properly trained and embrace the importance of workplace safety. The role of training in developing and maintaining effective hazard control activities is a proven and successful method of intervention.

This is why we have established Myelearsafety school. We pride ourselves in how we guide, support and mentor our students. They receive support throughout their learning experience and into their working lives. Our staff have extensive training experience and also have many years industry experience. We understand the challenges that exist within Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety. Our priority is to ensure that all learners are fully prepared to differentiate themselves in the workplace after completing our Health and Safety courses.

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Health and Safety courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

Online Health and Safety Training and its Benefits

Online Health and Safety training offers a strong return on investment for employers and a quick way to get employees up to date with workplace safety. Online courses are also tailored to specific areas of workplace safety. They can ensure employees are getting the exact information they need to do their job safely. In this article, we take a closer look at the benefits of online training for workplace safety.

 

The Importance of Online Training for Workplace Safety

Studies show online education is growing by 5-10% each year as more and more employers move their training methods online. According to the Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO) there was a sharp increase in the use of education portals/websites during COVID-19 with over one fifth (21%) Communicating with instructors or students using educational websites/portals, an increase of seven percentage points in 2019. These numbers remain high even after the COVID-19 pandemic. With the rise of digital technology in all areas of our lives this trend is far from declining.

Online Health and Safety training is a convenient way for staff to learn about their safety in the workplace. It removes many constraints which often hinder classroom training. This type of training is also very specific. It usually focuses on the precise lessons needed to stay safe in the workplace. From food handling and fire safety to workplace stress and working at heights, such online courses are always relevant to the workplace and ensure employers are abiding by certain laws and regulations.

Let’s take a look at some of the main benefits of online training.

 

7 Key Benefits of Online Training for Workplace Safety

1. Online Training Draws from High Quality Resources

Online training usually draws inspiration from the best interactive experiences online and incorporate these learnings into an online course. As a result, online training can sometimes include video conferencing or webinars and other opportunities which enable staff to engage remotely. Simply put, this consistent high quality and extent of resources is rarely guaranteed in the classroom.

2. Learning Practical Skills for Real World Experience

Employees develop soft skills through online training and practical lessons which they can put into practice at work. These lessons often come from real experience which can feel more relevant than the theory which you might hear about in a classroom. Online courses also use simulations, scenarios and multiple choice questions to ensure these lessons are always relevant to real world scenarios. This also highlights the objective of online training – to give employee the exact education they need to know to do their job safely.

3. Employees Often Retain More through Online Training

Research shows how many employees are likely to forget what they learn in the classroom. It makes sense when you think back to school days and just how little algebra or poetry you might remember! Memory retention is boosted by relevant experiences which can be applied straight away. With this in mind, online training is often split into areas of knowledge and structured to increase relevancy. This increased relevancy means employees will more likely learn and recall the contents of an online course than they might in a classroom.

4. Online Courses Can Be Scheduled for Any Time/Place

Standard classroom training is always set at a specific time but co-ordinating this time is near impossible in such a fast-moving world. There is also a time loss for going to and from a classroom. Many employees are likely to feel restricted in a classroom environment. Online training can take place at any time and enables employees to undergo the training at their own pace. It’s a win-win situation for both employers and employees. In addition, it also removes the requirement for having a classroom to facilitate the training.

5. Immediate Access to Support and Resources

Online training provides immediate access to a large number of resources which allows them to find answers at the time of learning. Classroom training takes place in a specific location where employees are most often unable to access training resources in real time. This means employees don’t need to wait until the next class to ask questions and can address any immediate challenges or concerns before moving on with the training. Online training can use forums or social media groups to provide extra support and provide employees with a place whether they can share tips or ask questions.

6. Online Training is Designed for Different Learning Preferences

Every audience consists of different people with varying abilities and backgrounds. However, more recent generations have become accustomed to smart technology and the online world. These employees are also likely to have acquired skills through Google, YouTube and apps in the past and appreciate this method of learning. This is why the rate of attention and engagement with online training is often said to be higher than a classroom. Online training is designed to cater to all learning preferences.

7. High Levels of Engagement and Responsibility

Some online training courses are gamified which means they feature levels, rewards and certain mechanics which encourage progress. These courses seek to encourage the learner to progress and keep going until they complete each lesson. They can also monitor performance along the way and feel more invested or responsible for participating in the course. It is this high engagement which should be attractive to employers and the fact they can outsource this time consuming process to a trusted online training platform.

 

Working with a training company

Working with an online training platform can help employers lighten the load and allow the experts to take care of the training. However, it’s important to choose a platform which abides by laws and regulations and incorporates these requirements into the online training. For instance, MyElearnSafety offer courses online health and safety training for Food Safety which adhere to the principles of the internationally recognised Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). It also offers Fire Safety Awareness, Manual Handling Awareness, Paediatric First Aid just to name a few.

Check out MyElearnSafety today and we can get everyone up to speed on their workplace safety!

Ergonomics in the Workplace

Ergonomics is the study of working interactions between humans and machines/workstations and the factors that affect those interactions. Stemming from the Greek words ‘ergo’ & ‘nomus’ (workflow) it is in simple terms ‘fitting’ the job to the person as opposed to fitting the person to the job.

 

Origins of the Ergonomics

Ergonomic practitioners draw upon a number of different disciplines. Some of these are ‘biomechanics’ (the study of human movement and the associated laws) and ‘anthropometry’ (the study of human measurements). These disciplines assist ergonomic practitioners in identifying ergonomic risk factors.

 

Importance of Ergonomics in the Workplace

Failure to apply the principles of ergonomics within the workplace i.e., a busy office environment or warehouse can result in chronic or acute musculoskeletal injuries. If left unchecked can result in functional limitations. Employees working in such environments are also susceptible to RSI ‘repetitive strain injuries’ and WRULD ‘work related upper limb disorders’.

When designing workstations ergonomic considerations are of significant importance. An ergonomic risk assessment can help to identify issues with existing workstations. However prior to conducting a risk assessment a task analysis should be conducted. A task analysis is conducted in order to get an appreciation of an employee’s daily routine. A task analysis will highlight current or potential issues for the employee, time spent at the work station, breaks, and shift work. All these should all be taken into consideration. In addition, biomechanics and anthropometrics will also play a part at this point.

 

Ergonomic Tools

Ergonomic practitioners can utilize a number of tools in order to assist them in rating the risks accordingly:

• Rapid employee body assessment (REBA) tool.
• Rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) tool.
• Assessment of repetitive tasks (ART) tool.

In addition, eLearn  Safety offers a full online VDU/DSE course. This course is fully online and can be taken 24/7. On completion of this VDU training course, participants will be provided with the information necessary to ensure current legislation is complied, risk assessments are carried out and all employees are competent to adjust their work stations to provide a safe place to work in.

Furthermore, a task analysis will help to identify if an employer is compliant with current legislation under the SHWW Act 2005. An office employees’ display screen is in essence a visual display unit. Therefore an employer must adhere to the guidance document within the general application regulations pertaining to VDU’s and display screen equipment.

 

Ergonomics in the Workplace Recommendations

Where office workers should be afforded the option to conduct his/her work both in the seated and standing position, employers must ensure chairs and VDU’s have the ability to be adjusted to suit all employees and consider frequent breaks and job rotation where practicable. Employers should also promote good working practices. For example, encouraging staff to make recommendations based on their working environments. If working in a warehouse or on a manufacturing line, workers should use appropriate equipment. A proper equipment will aid them in their jobs. Some of the examples are foot stools, foot rests, anti-glare eye protection, etc.

Employers should always be cognizant of the fact that ‘one shoe does not fit all’ when it comes to ergonomic assessments. For example a tall employee may feel cramped in a small area whereas a short employee may be uncomfortable if constantly reaching for items or if their feet are not supported when sitting.

Thus, structuring the working environment in order to suit the user is a step away from Taylors’ method of ‘scientific management’. Such a method, regardless of body shape and size or indeed the work being undertaken, was standardized across the board and the worker had to adapt him/herself to the factory conditions or face the prospect of dismissal and future injuries as a result.

 

Ergonomics Assessments

Ergonomic assessments are not difficult to undertake, and when carried out effectively can help to reduce the risk of ergonomic injuries and pain. In turn, this will help to motivate employees, allowing them to be more productive and happier in the working environment. Employers should always be aware of their responsibilities to their employees under the SHAWW Act and take the necessary steps to create risk free working environments where possible. Employees must also be aware of their rights and support any safety initiatives the employer wishes to implement, as the saying goes, ‘the rising tide floats every boat’.

 

Online Health and Safety Training

Proactive Health and Safety training is critical to ensure a safe workplace. An effective training program can reduce the number of worker injuries and deaths. It can also reduce instances of property damage, legal liability, illnesses, and missed time from work.

Health and Safety training helps establish a culture in which employees themselves help promote proper safety procedures while on the job. It is important that new employees be properly trained and embrace the importance of workplace safety. The role of training in developing and maintaining effective hazard control activities is a proven and successful method of intervention.

This is why we have established Myelearsafety school. We pride ourselves in how we guide, support and mentor our students. They receive support throughout their learning experience and into their working lives. Our staff have extensive training experience and also have many years industry experience. We understand the challenges that exist within Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety. Our priority is to ensure that all learners are fully prepared to differentiate themselves in the workplace after completing our Health and Safety courses.

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Health and Safety courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

Equipment in the Workplace

Equipment in the workplace can be a cause for a serious accident. Unfortunately some of these accidents can be fatal. According to the Health and Safety Authority of Ireland (HSA) work equipment can be described as ‘any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation for use at work‘. This description is very broad and it demonstrates that the scope of work equipment is very extensive.

eLearn Safety offers a list of relevant courses that look into equipment in the workplace and its use. A solid starting course is Workplace Safety – Level 1. This course is ideal for every employee in any workplace that’s subject to Health and Safety Legislation. Safety in the workplace is everyone’s responsibility. It provides all employees who participate on this course with information on how to identify hazards and carry out simple risk assessments.

 

Equipment in the Workplace and the Law

The Safety Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations, 2007 sets out the requirements with regard to equipment in the workplace. It is impossible to list all the equipment that might be used in a workplace setting, but it generally includes the following:

• Plant – large fixed or mobile equipment such diggers, forklift trucks, tractors, cranes, etc.
• Machinery – seemingly harmless equipment such as printer machines, cookers, but also meat slicers, band saws, circular saws, etc.
• Tools – simple tools such as screwdrivers, knives, pliers, etc.

 

Employer and Employee Duties in Regard to Equipment in the Workplace

Both employers and employees have a number of duties under the 2005 Act in terms of equipment in the workplace. For a more comprehensive list of employer and employee duties please see HSA page titled Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. In broad terms we can describe duties as follows:

• Employers – have the responsibility to provide and maintain suitable and safe equipment in the workplace. An employer is also responsible for providing training and information on risks and precautions associated with use of the equipment in the workplace.
• Employees – have the responsibility to select the suitable machine/tool for the work to be undertaken, make sure they are trained in its use and operate the machine/tool according to the safe working procedures.

 

Main Dangers arising from the Equipment in the Workplace

Some of the dangers of the equipment in the workplace are:

• Traps and Entrapment – Moving equipment, such as presses and hydraulic jacks can trap body parts.
• Contact – Abrasions, bruising or friction burns can occur when people accidentally come into contact with moving parts.
• Impact – Moving parts may hit operators or the public if unguarded or badly sited.
• Ejection – Some unguarded equipment, e.g. drills and saws, may throw off bits of metal or wood.
• Entanglement – Moving machinery such as rollers, cogs and conveyors that can entangle hair, jewellery and clothes, even pulling whole bodies into machinery.

 

Controls

There are a number of controls that can be used to minimise dangers associated with the use of the equipment in the workplace. For additional information about Hierarchy of Controls, please see eLearn Safety blog entry from 24th February 2023 titled Workplace Hazards.

Guarding is often used as a method of controlling the risks associated with moving parts and machinery. Some guards act as a permanent barrier to prevent people from gaining access to a dangerous area. Other moveable types will prevent the machine from operating unless the guard is in place. It is important that guards and other safety features, such as emergency stop buttons and alarms are working correctly. If they are not, the machinery should not be used.

When selecting equipment in the workplace, it is important to choose the safest possible option for a work activity. All equipment must be CE marked and suitable for the task to be used for.

Some general rules for using any workplace equipment apply:

• Select the right equipment for the right job.
• Make sure the equipment is maintained and in good condition.
• Report broke, damaged or worn equipment to a supervisor.
• Only use equipment you have been trained to use.
• Use all equipment correctly.
• All equipment should be stored correctly after use.

All equipment in the workplace must be well maintained to ensure it is in safe working order. The maintenance should be carried out according to the manufacturer’s instructions by a competent person.

Equipment is only as safe as the person using it!

 

Online Health and Safety Training

Proactive Health and Safety training is critical to ensure a safe workplace. An effective training program can reduce the number of worker injuries and deaths. It can also reduce instances of property damage, legal liability, illnesses, and missed time from work.

Health and Safety training helps establish a culture in which employees themselves help promote proper safety procedures while on the job. It is important that new employees be properly trained and embrace the importance of workplace safety. The role of training in developing and maintaining effective hazard control activities is a proven and successful method of intervention.

This is why we have established Myelearsafety school. We pride ourselves in how we guide, support and mentor our students. They receive support throughout their learning experience and into their working lives. Our staff have extensive training experience and also have many years industry experience. We understand the challenges that exist within Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety. Our priority is to ensure that all learners are fully prepared to differentiate themselves in the workplace after completing our Health and Safety courses.

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Health and Safety courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie