Why it pays to train for safety

Businesses are subject to strict guidelines and legal obligations to ensure that health and safety regulations are met. Health and safety measures not only allow firms to protect the wellbeing of their workforce – particulaarly in environments that present a higher risk – but also offer an economic advantage. Employers who take steps to understand, anticipate and minimise the health and safety risks posed within their businesses are likely to remain more productive than those who don't. The Health and Safety Executive recently revealed a total of 26.4 million working days were lost in the UK in 2010/11 due to work-related illness and workplace injury. This number has fallen from the figures reported over the past decade, but the burden of so many days of illness and injury-related leave is heavy – research shows that sufferers take an average of 15 days off work, heavily impacting their output. Given the challenges of the current economy, maintaining productivity is arguably more important than ever. While larger businesses may find it easier to absorb the impact of absences caused by illness or injury, 99% of businesses in Semta's sectors are SMEs. And having fewer employees could mean it is more difficult to cope with absences caused by workplace accidents or illness. What should engineering and manufacturing businesses do? Anticipating risk is vital: all businesses have to meet certain statutory health and safety requirements, but employers should consider whether additional measures could be put in place for greater protection or to be better prepared in case of an accident or emergency. Those measures could include taking specialist advice or using training programmes to meet the health and safety challenges that our sector faces. There are many cost-effective options available from Semta – covering topics such as preventing accidents, fire safety, and managing stress. Several programmes can lead to nationally-recognised qualifications, while others, such as the Safety for Senior Executives programme, are accredited by NEBOSH or IOSH. Improving health and safety performance in the workplace must be a priority and a goal that we must all strive to achieve.