Managers need to be prepared to take on health and safety roles within your organisation. They will be the ones that run the day to day business in the office. It is essential that they are fully prepared for the role and help you as the business owner to efficiently reduce risks to the well-being and health of everyone within the organisation that fall under their jurisdiction. As an employer it is up to you to ensure that your managers and supervisors are properly trained for this responsibility.
What’s more you need to keep on top of their training to ensure they are meeting the current standards and complying with the law. There are many suitable training courses that are worth considering. The IOSH Managing Safely course is one of these.
Skills Your Managers Need
The first place to start with training is to make certain that your manager is completely aware of their legal duties. Failure to manage health and safety can lead to prosecution resulting in fines and even custodial sentences. Your managers need to know the risks involved to them if they fail to follow the regulations in place.
You face legal problems if you do not do everything you can to ensure that the policies and procedures are upheld and appropriately maintained within your organisation. One of the most important skills that have to be mastered is the ability to spot hazards in the workplace. The risks that pose threats to the employees and possibly the public are caused by the hazards.
A good manager must have the ability to be able to identify all the hazards that are present and have the skills to reduce the risks. Failing to do so results in accidents, injuries, poor health and even fatalities. Not only is hazard management a legal responsibility it is also a moral duty.
Risk Assessment Know How
Spotting the hazards is one thing, controlling the risks caused by the hazards is another. Performing risk assessments is essential in any organisation. You must ensure that your managers and supervisors know how to conduct risk assessments. They need to do this for each and every job and activity that takes place where hazards can be found. From there the risk assessment must include the steps that are being taken to reduce the risks and control or fully eliminate the hazards. That’s not all, this isn’t just a one time job, the assessments need to be reviewed at regular intervals and improvements made.
Teaching your managers the necessary skills isn’t a long winded task. There are IOSH courses and NEBOSH courses that can be completed in a short time frame that will set the candidates up for successful health and safety management.
Two of the best courses to choose are the IOSH Managing Safely course and/or the NEBOSH General Certificate.