Has Health & Safety Gone Mad?

Health & safety gone mad is a phrase I hear all too often; used to describe what some perceive as restrictions on getting the job done.

It never ceases to amaze me that people take this view with appropriately implemented health & safety. If health & safety measures are lacking or removed the chances of someone suffering ill health, injury or even a fatality increase exponentially and cause an outcry.

There is the opposite end of the scale when it comes to implementing health & safety whereby reams of paperwork needs to be completed or extra staff brought in because a light bulb needs to be changed. This approach garners the opening statement of this blog and undermines person’s ability to think for themselves.  Not good for moral or motivation. The HSE website has some great responses to over the top health & safety practices which I would encourage any reader to look at.

The easy way to instil health & safety and motivate staff is to provide appropriate training. this needs to be more than superficial talk about the subject. It should challenge, engage, provide a topic for discussion and most of all be remembered when needed.

Appropriate health & safety training will get the job done. After all, if your company adds to the 629,000 reported injuries and 28 million lost working days, then your staff are not at work getting the job done.