subject: Health And Safety Management Obtaining An Ohsas 18001 [print this page] Keeping your business efficient and running smoothly means your staff has to be at work. You require them to meet up every day and be fit and healthy enough to do their tasks. But there are always dangers lurking, in any office, work place or location. Identifying hazards in any work environment is vital. For some people their work environment changes on a daily basis. However there are common hazards that everyone should learn to identify and deal with in order to keep themselves and others around them safe.
As an employer it is your duty to allocate health and safety responsibility to respective employees. Most businesses have a health and safety marshal on each floor or even in each department. This will provide your company with people that know exactly what to do in situation that would normally be quite stressful and distressing to some people. Having an allocated person does not mean that you should not provide the rest of your staff with training as well.
To identify who should go on the health and safety training necessary, you should consider your employees skills and capabilities. Will this person be able to step up to the mark when there is an issue? Some people rise to the occasion and a bit of training and trust is just what they need to shine. As long as you make sure that they have the time and ability to complete the training and maintain the skills, any employee could be a great part of your new investment in health and safety management.
On your route to obtaining an OHSAS 18001, you might also want to consider training programs for any new employees joining your company soon. By instilling processes for maintaining the standard in advance you are well prepared. There are also legal requirements to all staff being aware of fire exits and what to do in the event of an emergency. The best way of getting your new staff up to date might be to send them on a quick training course, even if this is just in-house.
An investment in a health and safety management certificate can save you money in the long run as you will minimise the risk of legal action being taken against you as an employer due to lack of health and safety awareness. Your business needs to be a safe and secure place of work for all involved and it is your responsibility to ensure that this is upheld.
