If you’ve got a small business, you might be wondering about all the possible safety training courses and certifications out there. Are they really necessary? Will they even benefit a small business, and what’s the difference between a 24 hour hazwoper course and a 40 hour course? What about hazmat certification or a DOT training course? Read on for some frequently asked questions, and their answers.
Is Safety Training Necessary and Useful?
A healthy and safe working environment isn’t just about complying with regulations or even just about keeping employees safe. It’s also about saving a company time and money, and even protecting it against lawsuits. Good health and safety programs and training make workers safer and more productive. They also increase morale as workers feel cared about and motivated to work carefully. In fact, every dollar invested in safety and health typically translates into four to six dollars saved.
Of course it’s an employer’s duty to do everything reasonable to protect employees from a job injury or illness, but it’s also cost-effective. Injuries cost money and mean lots of downtime, and injuries due to negligence or failure to do something simple like schedule that 24 hour hazwoper course can leave a business open to ruinous liability in the event of accident and injury.
How Can Employee Illness and Injury Rates be Reduced?
The rules and regulations established by safety oversight bodies such as OSHA are specifically designed to target workplace hazards and eliminate them. Courses and training help workers understand what is considered a confined space or give them skills for working with hazardous wastes. 24 hour hazwoper training prepares those who aren’t regularly working with hazardous materials, but who might come into contact with them on occasion. More extensive training helps those who will be working with hazmat all the time, giving them skills and confidence to do their jobs well.
How Can Hazards be Identified or Controlled?
The nature of work means that it’s impossible to completely eliminate every hazard of every type. A workplace environment can be made safer by giving employees the needed training to understand how to deal with hazards, but also by identifying hazards and eliminating them whenever possible. It’s important to regularly inspect and maintain all equipment, to make sure all employees have access to protective clothing and equipment and know how to use it, to set workplace safety procedures specific in place that are specific to the environment and then be rigid in enforcing them.
If Hazards Are Minimized, Can Anything Else Be Done?
It’s not just the hazards that can cause an issue. People are often the reason for injuries and accidents, so it’s important that all employees know precisely who is authorized to do any given job. They should have the tools to know when a job appears to be unsafe, and emergency drills should help everyone know just what to do if something goes wrong. New employees need special training, and important mandatory training for hazardous waste management certification or 24 hour hazwoper training should never be neglected. Employees should be actively encouraged to report any conditions that seem hazardous.
Some workplaces are inherently dangerous, but it is always possible to minimize dangers and mitigate problems. The best way to keep accidents and injuries to a minimum is to actively train, plan, and drill employees in how to avoid them and what to do if they happen.