Feature


Health & Safety Training Needs


A Blended Approach To Ensure


A Human Touch By Phil Jones, Managing Director, William Martin


In so many ways, health and safety technology is changing how facilities managers do their jobs for the better. Tech can improve the speed and efficiency of many processes that help facilities managers make the right decisions that keep the people that use their buildings safer.


However, those changes come with further complexity when it comes to effective health and safety training, which is a well- established and fundamental control measure in reducing risk, and a core duty that’s set out in law.


Taking a ‘blended’ approach to delivering health and safety training, rather than relying purely on tech solutions, can help facilities managers adapt to this new frontier of technology- enabled compliance.


E-Learning Isn’t Everything


Self-service e-learning tech is accessible, affordable and usually intuitive, so it can be tempting for organisations to rely on it as their primary source of training.


But overuse of e-learning simply doesn’t work for health and safety professionals. While there’s undoubtedly a case to be made for the super-fast accreditation timescales it brings, it makes ticking the training compliance box so quick and easy that it diminishes the guarantee that training has been effective. Ask a member of your team and you may find they remember very little about their e-learning course, even a day later. Complex interfaces that confuse the user, causing resistance from your team, can also be an issue.


I believe a mix of hands-on in-person training and tech-enabled learning provides the best training experience for staff at all levels. This approach bridges the gap between the physical and digital worlds and ensures higher levels of employee engagement. People, after all, are still the most important part of any organisation. Company culture is vital too – and culture is created when people come together.


The benefits that technology brings to make work safer and more efficient are countless. Automation and robotics, for example, can reduce occupational risk to people and sometimes eliminate hazardous tasks altogether. But tech, people and processes all need to be aligned to make sure that technology delivers on what it proposes. Creating a safety culture also relies on real-life experience, nuanced judgement, and empathy.


Phil Jones


Old-school health and safety professionals also need to have confidence that new technology will be a help, rather than a hindrance, in their working lives.


So, when onboarding new technology, it’s vital to consider


existing work practices, listen to your team, and invest time in good training. When new tech or software doesn’t match existing processes – or your people are not trained adequately – the ability of that solution to deliver improvements really suffers.


Be Aware Of New Tech-Related Risks


Effective environmental, health and safety (EHS) software is an example of tech that can reduce the scope for human error as it automates the type of administrative tasks that are frequently prone to careless mistakes. However, teams need to be trained in how to use it, and it is subject to the same technical issues, bugs and malfunctions of any other system. So, while technology reduces exposure to some risks, it can also introduce others that we mustn’t disregard either.


System downtime can delay critical actions or even prompt incorrect ones. Software needs to be inspected and audited regularly too, so the people using that technology need to be able to take on that responsibility with confidence.


An approach to training that blends on-site, hands-on learning with ensuring everyone is confident in the use of technology, can ensure your team can handle both traditional and tech- related issues.


In health and safety, a human element is still very much necessary, both in


training and the delivery of services themselves.


Achieving a good balance, that reflects the modern technology- enabled workplace while still retaining that vital human touch, is key to success.


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