Tackling Health and Safety Head On
Let’s start with a story that may not seem directly related to health and safety. The legendary hero of Irish mythology Cú Chulainn is famous for many great exploits. At the age of seventeen, Cú Chulainn single-handedly defended Ulster from the army of Queen Maeve in the famous story Táin Bó Cúailnge (tain bow quill ing yeah – in case you want to pronounce that!).
Queen Maeve of Connacht had mounted the invasion to steal the highly prized bull, Donn Cúailnge. Cú Chulainn allowed her army to take Ulster by surprise because he was with a woman when he should have been watching the border. The men of Ulster were disabled by a curse, so Cú Chulainn prevented Maeve’s army from advancing further by invoking the right of single combat at fords. This right allowed a warrior to fight a single Champion opponent every day. As long as he continued to win these battles the advancing army could not pass. He defeated champion after champion in a stand-off lasting months.
Cú Chulainn realises that he is on the backfoot so chooses to fight individual battles to keep Maeve’s army at bay. This story was brought to mind recently while reading a report from the Health and Safety Authority of Ireland about workplace accidents. There is no question that health and safety is a constant battle for companies due to the sheer number of potential hazards but those companies who only do the bare minimum to address this may find themselves on the backfoot from the beginning.
There was a case study on an unfortunate young manufacturing worker who lost the tops of his index and middle fingers while working on a packing machine. The machine had become jammed and so the young man set about freeing it. Protocol on the assembly line meant that the machine was turned off while the jam was being undone but, in this case, another worker had turned the machine back on not realising there was someone working on it. The impact on the young man’s career and on his personal life was enormous and has negatively affected him since. Not only was he unable to work but he also suffered greatly with nerve pain. His story is testament to the enduring implications of laxity in workplace training and protocols.
Needless to say the implications for the manufacturing company in question were not on this level but they were nevertheless severe. Salary and medical expenses came to €17,000, staff retraining and awareness €36,000 and a personal injury claim in the region of €200,000 should ensure this company have changed their policy for good.
Staff training on health and safety matters can be a difficult sell in the boardroom but the consequences can be very severe. Unlike Cú Chulainn companies now have to fight the entire army of possible accidents instead of just them on one hazard at a time. Instituting a system of ongoing safety training is the front-line in this battle and, thankfully, technology is making this possible today.
Company Culture
Perhaps more importantly is the onus on employers to foster a culture of safety awareness in their workplace. Everyone from the board to the shop floor should be made to buy in to the idea of a safe workplace. Many companies use the motivator of ‘X days since a workplace accident’ which is a great way to instill pride in workplace safety among staff.
Ensure your workplace is one where the battle is fought on all fronts. Ongoing safety training and a safety culture within your company are straightforward to implement and could mean that you avoid any horror stories such as the one above. If you would like any help in designing your safety training system or need ideas or checklists on items to cover then get in touch.
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