Taking risks in the workplace? - Dynamic Risk Indicator

Manufacturing holds one of the lowest records for work-related illnesses and data also shows a decline in the number of injuries sustained year-on-year. But, with 19 fatalities and 64,000 injuries still occurring on average per annum It, begs the question why do workers continue to take risks and what can you do about it?

Manufacturing, it’s an industry with one of the highest rates of workplace injuries and fatalities, despite accounting for just 10% of the UK workforce.

A work environment filled with heavy machinery, chemicals and sharp tools is naturally more dangerous than a desk job, particularly when Health and Safety compliance is not observed. Businesses across all sectors can conduct all the necessary compliance checks known to man, provide PPE and be procedurally evangelical regarding Health and Safety, however, if employees fail to comply with regulations, accidents can and will happen.

The good news? Manufacturing holds one of the lowest records for work-related illnesses, and data also shows a decline in the number of injuries sustained year-on-year. But, with 19 fatalities and 64,000 injuries still occurring on average per annum It, begs the question why do workers continue to take risks and what can you do about it?

The psychology of risk-taking

Risk vs reward. As human beings we all have a natural inclination to take risks, admittedly some of us more than others. According to a survey conducted by Skipton Building Society the average Brit takes 10 risks a week, while almost three quarters of the 2,000 adults surveyed admitted to having taken a mini-risk without thought to the consequences.

But with respondents citing examples of mini risks to include going to bed past 11pm on a work night and ordering something other than their ‘usual’ when eating out, the consequences are not exactly comparable to ignoring Health and Safety protocol in a manufacturing environment. One might see you crying into your carbonara or nodding off in Monday’s meeting the other could see you lose a limb or worse still, your life.

Workplace Health and Safety is often associated with extra work and added stress. Juggling busy lifestyles and facing tight time pressures, many employees unfortunately but not surprisingly opt to conduct work tasks without following safety protocol. All too often the lure of a potential gain simply outweighs the chance of something going wrong, leading employees to take the risk and hope for the best, which brings us to…

“It won’t happen to me” Whether it’s the seasoned skier who hits the slope sans helmet, or the red-light runner late for work, when it comes to risk taking we like to believe the odds are in our favour. “I never fall.” “The light had only just changed.” We justify our decision to take the risk, telling ourselves “it won’t happen to me,” unless of course we are buying a lottery ticket in which case the opposite applies.

But risk taking is not always a deliberate action. In regards to workplace Health and Safety the employee may simply not be fully cognisant of the hazards they face. This brings into question the efficacy of the Health and Safety training they receive and whether the frequency with which it is delivered is sufficient.

Ineffective Health and Safety training. An effective risk assessment always includes provisions for proper training, however a recent DRI Survey found nearly half of respondents (48%) wanted more training but were yet to receive it.

In many cases the employee will not have received any official training and some may not have even read the company’s Health and Safety policy. Any knowledge they do possess is likely to have been communicated via Chinese whispers, which often results in misinformation and confusion.

Other employees may have reviewed their company’s Health and Safety policy along with a myriad of others as part of their induction process. But, at a time when stress levels are high and information overload common, these important policies are likely to be soon if not immediately forgotten, reducing Health and Safety training to nothing more than a box ticking exercise.

Ask yourself, how often is your Health and Safety training updated? For training to be effective it needs to be relevant, of high quality and most importantly updated and delivered regularly. What’s more, employers need to ensure it’s not just their training that is updated regularly, but that every employee’s training record is too. Sure, it sounds like a lot of work, but compliance doesn’t have to be complicated. The DRI training module provides a unique and efficient solution to managing employee training records, detailing the Health and Safety training courses required, in addition to the names of all employees who have completed the training and those yet to do so.

A substandard safety culture However, training alone is not enough to ensure staff compliance. It’s all very well having what appears on paper to be a very robust policy, but if in reality the implementation is weak then lives will continue to be put at risk. Research shows that in isolation Health and safety training has little impact in improving employee compliance. A study published in the Health and Safety Practitioner magazine found British Construction workers were immune to targets and training when companies failed to foster the correct safety culture to reinforce it.

So how exactly can companies improve employee compliance behaviour? The answer? Lead by example. Our survey found 58% of respondents cited leadership and management participation as the number one factor to positively influence their attitude towards Health and Safety. The fact is, businesses can drill all the Health and Safety information they want into new employees, but if the safety culture is non-existent chances are they will soon ignore protocol and the business will have effectively wasted time and money training them.

Taking control of compliance

Conducting assessments, delivering training, recording data and implementing a safety culture might sound complicated and time consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. At Dynamic Risk Indicator, we believe in making safety simple. We take the complexity out of compliance, to save you time and trouble.

With real-time reporting, a central location to store compliance data, reminders of outstanding actions and visibility of your organisations risk status, our software does the hard work for you, leaving you and your fellow leaders with more time to spend on the projects that will help your business grow.