The 7 Mistakes
87% of Companies make when doing Safety Inductions.
Safety Induction Mistake #1
Delivering a safety induction only when a person first joins the organisation
Inductions should be run regularly, e.g. once or twice per year. This will help ensure that employees know and understand what their safety responsibilities are. It also goes towards demonstrating that the organisation is serious about safety.
Safety Induction Mistake #2
Not including a formal assessment of the induction
You need to test an employees’ understanding of the information given and you want the employee to make a clear commitment to follow the safety policies and procedures of the organization.
Safety Induction Mistake #3
Tick and Flick Assessments (Yes/NO answers)
Tick and flick assessments do not necessarily demonstrate a person’s understanding. You want people to explain the purpose and value of safety policies and procedures.
Safety Induction Mistake #4
Too much reliance on online or computerised inductions (unsupervised inductions)
Safety is important enough for you to look an employee in the eye and review safety policies and procedures with them. This will increase that person’s understanding of how important safety is to themselves and the organization. Ideally, senior management should carry out this process.
Safety Induction Mistake #5
Safety induction is presented as an add on
Most companies are BIG, if not VERY BIG, on quality and efficiency and of course, for the right reasons. But I have heard too many people say: OK, we told you about the exciting part about our company, now let’s get the boring part out of the way: Safety.
But here it is: Safety is an extremely rewarding area to be involved in. Not boring at all. Just like quality and efficiency.
SAFETY – QUALITY – EFFICIENCY
You CANNOT do one without the other. Safety is good for business.
Safety Induction Mistake #6
Employees (including management) not walking the talk
A company owner complained to me that his employees were not wearing Personal Protective Equipment as communicated to them during the safety induction. I did a plant inspection with him and all went well until we were about to enter the workshop which had the following safety sign on the door:
He walked straight through without his safety glasses. I stopped because I was not wearing mine. He then signaled me to come through because “we are only here for a few minutes”.
I refused to enter AND also gave him the reason why his employees were not wearing safety glasses either: HIM
He never hired me again…
Safety Induction Mistake #7
Not sufficiently explaining what "personal responsibility for safety" means
Yes, by law, every individual has a personal responsibility for their own safety AND the safety of others. (See WHS Act 2011 Division 4, section 28, Duties of Workers) A true sense of “personal responsibility for safety” can be one of an individual’s most important asset in terms of workplace safety.
Have you been guilty of making any of the above Safety Induction Mistakes OR would you like to ensure they don’t happen in your organisation?