One of the major concerns of today's businesses is ensuring they protect their workers through adhering to health and safety regulations.
Figures from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) show the UK still sees 1.6 million workplace injuries every year, with 70 per cent of these thought to be preventable if the correct procedures were put in place.
In addition, the importance of compliance is stressed by the new Health and Safety Act that came into force this year and gave the courts greater powers to punish firms that endanger their workers, which may encourage some companies to look the Introduction to Health & Safety DVD, which is available subtitled in 23 languages including Chinese, Polish and French.
One area covered by the product is workplace safety. Implementing a culture of safety is an important step if companies are to adequately protect their workers.
According to the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH): "An organisation's attitudes and values regarding safe working are important factors that influence the approach to work and ultimately to an organisation's health and safety performance."
The group explained that this means a firm needs to adopt health and safety as a key part of its culture if the full benefits of procedures, personal equipment and products such as Health & Safety Induction Booklets are to be realised.
Another key issue in keeping workers safe is adherence to the Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) pointed out that failure to correctly manage chemicals which are dangerous can result in a range of problems for workers, with RosPA revealing that around 2,000 accidents are reported each year.
The group revealed that materials covered by COSHH guidelines are wide ranging, including natural substances such as dust, cleaning agents, paints and other substances used directly in work, chemicals such as fumes generated through working and biological agents like bacteria and micro-organisms.
In addition, to correctly follow COSHH regulations firms must fulfil several criteria, such as carrying out a risk assessment, taking steps to control exposure and preparing plans to tackle any problems or accidents which arise.
Manual handling issues are also highlighted in the Introduction to Health & Safety DVD and should be covered in the Workplace Induction Questionnaire. Figures from the HSE show that 38 per cent of three-day injuries reported are the result of manual handling accidents, while RoSPA claims 1.2 million people are suffering from musculoskeletal disorders.
The HSE said: "Manual handling injuries can occur wherever people are at work - on farms and building sites, in factories, offices, warehouses, hospitals, banks, laboratories and while making deliveries."
In order to combat the risks, the organisation advised companies to carry out risk assessments for tasks which involve manual handling and stressed the importance of correctly training their employees how to pick up and move heavy objects without injuring themselves.
Another large area of concern for firms is accidents through slips, trips and falls. According to the RoSPA, these incidents are one of the highest causes of major incidents in the workplace, accounting for 42 per cent of all serious injuries to local authority employees.
Research from the IOSH found employers recognise this, with 61 per cent placing them as one of their main priorities for improving health and safety and 81 per cent of their workers believe their company is committed to achieving this.
The HSE is also supporting the move to reduce slips, trips and falls, having recently launched the Shattered Lives campaign to raise awareness. The group recommended providing employees with full training, identifying potential problem areas and ensuring correct working practices are carried out as ways for business to lower the risk of accidents.
As we have explored, business are faced with a wide range of health and safety issues, which they must deal with in order to protect their workers and comply with the law. However, tools such as the Introduction to Health & Safety DVD, the Health & Safety Induction Booklets and the Workplace Induction Questionnaire may be able to help them achieve this.
