COVER STORY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
Fostering a safety-conscious culture
such as forklifts (see box,
p22) or robots,” says
O’Connor. “There can
be chemicals, or height
hazards, all of which
can seriously injure someone
without a moment’s notice.”
In 2018/19, 26 people
www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
20
While technology can bring a raft of benefi ts to safety on the shopfl oor,
ultimately, it’s down to the workforce to ensure an environment is as safe
as can be. The British Safety Council warns that many employees often
view health & safety as “tiresome and meaninglessly bureaucratic in nature.”
It suggests four ways that leaders can redress this and keep sta on-side with
workplace health & safety:
1Be authoritative, but not antagonistic
Many workers, especially more experienced ones, can fi nd rules and regulations
patronising – how often have you heard someone mutter the phrase “it’s just
health & safety gone mad”? However, as a leader it’s your job to convince them that
following the rules is vital to their wellbeing. Try up-skilling them to become an HS&E
expert, or run a refresher course on NEBOSH training.
2Show sta you’re not just ticking boxes
It’s important to practice what you preach. People can tell when a management
team is going through the motions to avoid fi nes or stay within the regulations. You
have to make health & safety part of everyday life, not just ‘the done thing’. Making
training interactive – such as using VRAI’s HEAT system mentioned here – will get
sta engaged with learning and ensure that safety is taken seriously.
3Encourage sta suggestions
Your shopfl oor sta are the ones facing the hazards on a daily basis, so it’s
important to encourage them to speak up about any risks they notice. Also make
sure they report any breaches they see, such as people straying too close to
machinery or not wearing the correct PPE. Emphasise a collaborative and solutionsbased
approach, where sta feel confi dent coming to senior management.
4Keep the conversation going
A one-day refresher course every 18 months is never going to be enough to
ensure your sta are up-to-speed with on-site safety practices. Processes are
constantly changing, new machinery is being installed and, as research develops,
even the best practice you were taught may be out of date. Ensuring a culture of
health & safety – and emphasising that getting it right benefi ts everyone – will
mean it remains front and centre of everyone’s mind.
moving around in a factory,
were killed while working in
manufacturing, according to
the HSE, while 61,000 people
(around 2.2% of the total
manufacturing workforce)
suff ered a non-fatal injury on
the shopfl oor – a quarter of
which resulted in over seven
days’ absence from work.
Many of these could, and
arguably should, have been
mitigated against with the
correct training. This doesn’t
just mean relying on the tried
and tested. Last year, the
Fortune 500 group of companies
spent $100 billion on training, of
which $11 billion was specifi cally
around health & safety. And yet,
half of those companies suff ered
a work-related death or serious
injury amongst their workforce
in that time.
The answer, says O’Connor,
is to focus on quality: “Despite
the amount of money being
spent, outcomes still aren’t as
we want. It boils down to better
training, not more training.”
According to the ERM
Global Safety Survey 2018,
almost half (48%) of all health &
safety training was delivered via
PowerPoint in a lecture theatre
(https://bit.ly/2VOUFhr). This
method of learning, however,
is extremely ineff ective – just
5% of the information delivered
via a lecture is retained (https://
bit.ly/31o7uRc). By comparison,
three-quarters of information
learnt via practical methods –
so-called ‘learning by doing’ –
is retained.
The trouble is, learning
by doing in a hazardous
environment is, well, hazardous.
Take, for instance, a newly
qualifi ed maintenance operator
working at the top of a wind
turbine in the North Sea. The
task they have been assigned
may be relatively simple, but
the environment will be totally
alien to anything they would
have ever experienced.
/stock.adobe.com
Ridvan /stock.adobe.com
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
/2VOUFhr)
/stock.adobe.com
/stock.adobe.com