What to Cover in an Online Safety Induction
Whether it’s a new contractor, an employee returning to work after a long absence or staff changing roles, it is important to make sure that every worker is fully aware of the potential health and safety risks present in the workplace. Safety induction training can address these risks. Educating your staff members on workplace safety is key in setting the standards for a professional and productive culture in your business. The information and training you provide your staff with will help reduce the chances of incidents, injuries and illness from work related activity.
The best way to manage work health and safety in your business is by developing a system for identifying, arranging and recording safety training for staff. The fastest site inductions and safety induction courses are the ones developed and delivered online. Running your safety training courses on an online induction system is the most practical, convenient, cost-effective way to manage health and safety training for your staff. Using an online safety induction system will not only allow you to effectively educate your employees about safe working procedures but will also help you lower your costs, increase productivity and improve your reputation as a safe business.
Key elements to include in a safety induction
To make the workplace safer, the organisation has to identify and acknowledge which health and safety hazards are present. Informing staff about workplace hazards and educating them on safety rules and procedures should have a high priority in any company. An online safety induction is a great tool that employers can use to ensure a productive, healthy and safe work environment.
Ideally, work health and safety induction must be delivered to all employees before they start performing duties in the job. Here is a handy list for you to use when determining what your online safety induction training should cover:
- Inform the staff about hazards and risks in your workplace. Go through the organisation’s health and safety polices and procedures. Emphasise the importance of sticking to safe work practices. Make sure the trainees understand the responsibility they have in driving down incidents and accidents. Draw their attention to their responsibility for ensuring their own safety and the safety of others as well as protecting the environment.
- Have your staff complete the occupation health and welfare questionnaire. This should be related to the job duties they perform and capture health risks within their role.
- Go through the site rules such as smoking, breaks and the code of conduct. This way the staff will know from the start what is expected of them.
- Your workers need to know who to report health and safety issues to. This could be their immediate line manager or a trade union representative.
- If an employee’s job involves high-risk activity such as the operation of machinery or handling hazardous chemicals and dangerous goods, you need to make sure they are properly trained, understand any associated risks, and that they have access to appropriate protective equipment.
- Describe the evacuation and emergency procedures for the work-site, including emergency exits, evacuation instructions, assembly points and the use of fire alarms and fire fighting equipment.
- Explain the accident procedures and how to report hazards, dangerous occurrences and near misses. First aid and other emergency contacts should also be included in your induction.
The above is just an example of what you will need to plan for when training your staff on workplace safety. You can use this information as a guide for creating an online safety induction course for your organisation. Just remember, work health and safety training must be ongoing in order to minimise incidents and ill health and keep all staff up to date with the organisation’s processes. Online induction platforms will provide you with the fastest site inductions and safety induction training strategies that are simple, practical, and easy to implement.
