Eliminating Safety Hazards with Occupational Health and Safety Training

A safe workplace is a productive workplace. When employees feel confident in their ability to work without fear and risk of injury, they are more likely to be engaged and productive. However, accidents can happen, and sometimes those accidents are due to safety hazards that could have been avoided with proper training. That's where occupational health and safety (OHS) training comes in.

What Is Occupational Health and Safety Training?

OHS training is designed to educate employees on how to identify, avoid, and conduct risk assessments in the workplace. It covers topics such as safe work practices, hazardous material handling, ergonomics, fire safety, and more. The goal of these courses is to make sure that workers are aware of potential hazards and know how to take the necessary steps to protect themselves and their co-workers.

Is Occupational Health and Safety Training Required by Law?

In some cases, OHS training is required by law. For example, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has created regulations that require certain industries to provide health and safety training to their employees. These regulations are in place to protect workers from potentially deadly hazards. In other cases, businesses may choose to provide health and safety training even if it is not legally required. By doing so, these businesses show their commitment to creating a safe workplace health and safety system for their employees.

The Benefits of Occupational Health and Safety Training

If you've been toying with the idea of getting your team into occupational health and safety training programs, you may be wondering if it's really worth the investment. After all, you can always just look up information online as needed, right? While that's true, there are actually many benefits to having a team that's been trained in occupational health and safety. Here are just a few of them.

Reduce Accidents and Injuries

One of the most important reasons to provide health and safety training is to help reduce accidents and injuries in the workplace. Employees who are properly trained on how to safely perform their job duties are less likely to be involved in an accident. In addition, employees who have safety awareness of potential hazards are more likely to take steps to avoid them. Providing health and safety programs can help reduce the number of injured workers’ compensation claims, as well as the costs associated with those claims.

Improve Morale

Employees who feel safe and secure in their work environment are more likely to be productive and have a positive attitude. When employees know that their employer cares about their well-being, they are more likely to be loyal to the company. In addition, employees who feel safe at work are less likely to call in sick or take unscheduled time off. Health and safety management systems can help improve morale by creating a safety culture in the workplace.

Reduce Liability

Employers who provide health and safety programs and aid training can help reduce their liability in the event of an accident or work-related injury. If an employee is injured on the job, the employer can point to the risk management training that was provided as evidence that they took steps to prevent such an incident from occurring. In some cases, employers may even be able to avoid being sued if an employee is injured on the job. Providing health and safety training can help protect employers from liability claims.

Identifying Potential Hazards with OHS Workplace Safety Training

By ensuring that all of your employees are up-to-date on the latest safety procedures, you can help to eliminate many potential hazards before they have a chance to cause harm. Let’s take a look at four of the most common workplace hazards and how occupational health and safety training can help to prevent them.

Slips and falls

Slips, trips, and falls are responsible for around 25% of all workplace injuries, and they can happen anywhere, at any time. However, there are some simple steps that your employees can take to avoid these accidents, such as keeping floors clean and dry, removing obstacles from walkways, and wearing appropriate footwear. By ensuring that your employees are aware of these risks and how to avoid them, you can help create a safer working environment for everyone.

Confined spaces

Confined spaces come with a host of safety risks, from dangerous gases to low oxygen levels. By providing your employees with the proper confined spaces training on how to work safely in confined spaces, you can help protect them from these potential hazards. This includes understanding the types of hazards present in confined spaces and how to identify warning signs that could indicate danger.

Electrical hazards

Electrical hazards are another leading cause of workplace injuries, with electrocutions accounting for around 50+ deaths across Ontario from 2008-2017. To help prevent these accidents, it’s important to ensure that all electrical cords are in good condition and that employees are aware of the dangers of using damaged cords or plugs. In addition, regular maintenance on all electrical equipment is crucial to keeping everyone safe.

Ergonomic hazards

Ergonomic hazards occur when an employee is required to perform a task that is outside of their physical capability or comfort zone. This could include lifting heavy objects, standing for long periods of time, or working in an awkward position. To help prevent these types of injuries, it’s important to provide employees with the necessary ergonomics training and equipment to perform their tasks safely. For example, if an employee is required to lift heavy objects regularly, investing in a lifting harness could make a big difference in their safety.

LOTO Training

LOTO stands for "Lockout/Tagout." This type of training is important for preventing injuries when working with machinery. LOTO training teaches employees how to properly Lockout/Tagout machinery so that it cannot be turned on while they are working on it. This type of training is important for preventing serious injuries such as electrocution, amputation, or crushing.

PPE Training

PPE stands for "personal protective equipment." This type of training teaches employees how to properly use personal protective equipment such as gloves, goggles, earplugs, and respirators. This type of training is important for preventing injuries such as skin irritations, eye injuries, hearing loss, or respiratory problems.

Get Certified Workplace Safety Training With SPI Health and Safety Today!

Workplace safety training can indeed help reduce liability, identify potential hazards, and prevent injuries. However, it is important for employers to ensure that their employees receive the necessary training so that they are properly equipped with the knowledge and practical skills needed to stay safe at work.

At SPI Health and Safety, we provide comprehensive workplace safety training to keep employees safe and in compliance with OSHA regulations. With a combined practical and theoretical approach, we offer different types of safety training to ensure the total competency of your teams. Contact us today to learn more about our list of courses and how we can help you make your workplace safer for everyone!