A GUIDELINE FOR MANAGEMENT TO FOCUS ON TRAINING

Introduction
Generally in the Mining Industry in SA there are substantial loss of lives in the workplace in a year.

Illness affects many employees, which are made worse as they grow older.

Preventing accidents and ill health in Quarries in South Africa is a key priority for all management in the Quarry industry.

Providing health and safety information and training helps you to:

• Ensure your employees are not injured or made ill by the work they do;
• Develop a positive health and safety culture, where safe and healthy working becomes second nature to everyone;
• Find out how you could manage health and safety better;
• Meet your legal duty to protect the health and safety of your employees.

Effective Training

• Will contribute towards making your employees competent in health and safety;
• Can help your business avoid the distress that accidents and ill health cause;
• Can help you avoid the financial costs of accidents and occupational ill health.

Don’t forget that your insurance doesn’t cover all these costs.  Damaged products, lost production and demotivated staff can all result.

The law requires that you provide whatever information, instruction and training is needed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of your employees.

What is training?

Training means helping people to learn how to d something, telling people what they should or should not do, or simply giving them information.  Training isn’t just about formal “classroom” courses.

How can I do it?

Firstly, you should show your commitment so the people being trained recognise that the training is important.  Proving training needn’t be a great burden, but you do need to think ahead and prioristise. 

You may have appointed somebody to give you ‘competent assistance” and they should be able to help.  Try the following five-step approach.

STEP 1 :  Decide what training your organisation needs

• Identify the skills and knowledge needed for people to do their job in a safe and healthy way.  Compare these against people’s current skills and knowledge and identify the gaps.
• Review your experience of injuries, near misses or cases of ill health.
• Look at your risk assessments to see where information and/or training have been identified as factors in controlling risks.
• Consult employees or their representatives for their views.
• Consider awareness training needs for top management, managers and supervisors, including:
• How you manage health and safety;
• Who is responsible for what;
• The cost to the business if things go wrong;
• How to identify hazards and evaluate risks; and
• The hazards encountered and measures for controlling them.

STEP 2 : Decide your training priorities

• Does the law require you to carry out specific training (e.g. first-aid training)?
• Top priorities would include those where lack of information and/or training might result in serious harm, and those which benefit the largest numbers of staff.
• Consult employees or their representatives for their views.
• Training for new recruits and for people changing jobs or taking on new responsibilities should always be a priority.

STEP 3 :  Choose your training methods and resources
Don’t forget that though there are external trainers who can help you, much effective training can be done ‘in-house’.

• Choose your methods, for example
• Giving information or instruction
• Coaching or on-the-job training
• Training in the classroom
• Open and distance learning
• In groups or individual; and
• Computer-based or interactive learning.
• Consider who can help you, by providing information, materials, training courses etc.

STEP 4 :  Deliver the training

• Ensure the information is easy to understand and try to use a variety of training methods to deliver you message.
• Ensure the trainer has enough time to prepare themselves, their resources and the venue – preparation is particularly important for people who are not experienced trainers.

STEP 5:  Check that the training has worked

• Do you employees understand what you require of them?
• Do they now have the knowledge and skills needed to work safety and without risk to health?
• Are they actually working as they have been trained
• Has there been any improvement in your company’s health and safety performance?
• What feedback are you getting from line managers and the people who have been trained?
• Is further information and/or training needed?
• Was the most suitable training method used?
• What improvements can be made?
• Has there been a change in behaviour and practice?
• It is important to keep records of training, even in-house training.
• You should monitor training records so that refresher training can be given when needed.

In Conclusion

Aspasa will assist members in finding suitable service providers for member companies who want specific training.

Contact :  Mary-Ann Sutton – 011 498 7346 / msutton@bullion.co.za

DIRECTOR:      ________________________                        DATE:  30 SEPTEMBER 2009

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