HazSim Shares Crucial Tips For Safety Trainers At Workplace

Often in the workplace, be it emergency response, industrial, or any other field, the professionals are called upon to do everything with, obviously, safety in mind.

The hazardous material handling and response industry is no exception to this ideology. From responding to incidents, to the weekly trainings, safety must be the #1 thing in the safety trainers’ minds when suiting up and heading out. Here are a few essential tips for the safety trainers to go through their laborious day:

Otherwise healthy employee

Heat stress - The summer months can wreak havoc on a worker inside of a chemical suit. From heat exhaustion to heat stroke, many heat-related illnesses can sideline an otherwise healthy employee, when a well-planned break or cool down could have prevented it.

A well-rounded roster of manpower can relieve the stress of employee burnout

Worker Fatigue - In this industry of hazardous materials, a typical call could be a quick 1 hour trip to a local fuel spill, or on the opposite end of the spectrum, a well-involved multi-day capture and recovery of an oil spill in a local waterway.

A well-rounded roster of manpower can relieve the stress of employee burnout and promote a sense of teamwork that is unparalleled by any other industry.

particularly stressful hitch

Job-Related Injuries - When were the last time users were on scene and were able to mitigate the entire call by sitting in the cab of the truck? From crawling underneath tankers, to climbing scaffolding on the sides of a tank, a high-impact job has the potential for slips, trips, sprains or scrapes. Proper work practices can go a long way when performing what they consider routine duties.

Mental Burnout - Has the crew been working a particularly stressful hitch? The stress of emotional runs or even just an overbearing overtime schedule can cause employees to become detached and burnt out on normal daily tasks, which can lead to serious careless errors and potential serious injuries to coworkers.

Get creative in the off time! As a leader, make sure the crew gets the time to themselves to bond but also give them the chance to interact with each other in a non-workplace setting. The new found camaraderie may surprise the user.

Same routine tasks

Going to work and completing the same routine tasks day in and day out is a blessing in disguise

Complacency - Going to work and completing the same routine tasks day in and day out is a blessing in disguise that few may understand. If they can complete an entire day based on what they consider routine tasks, with no emergencies, or out of the ordinary circumstances, most of them would consider this a huge win.

However, on the flip side to this, workers often develop routines and rituals just as they are programmed to do. Checking equipment on this side first, left hand turn lift compartment etc…

Unfortunately, this can tend to breed a sense of denial that each day or each task will be the same with each performance, and leave them vulnerable to sudden changes or situations that they need to pay close attention to. Try to change it up once in a while. If policies allow, have the user tried to do their routine backwards? See everything from a new perspective before the boredom of the same old day comes to bite them.

True safety culture

Becoming An Advocate - Perhaps one of the most important elements of promoting a true safety culture where they work, is becoming a true advocate for others to follow. If they, themselves are able to walk by an unsafe act without correcting or batting an eyelash, they have not only failed the employer, but they have failed the fellow employees.

Empowerment for one to truly become their ‘Brother’s Keeper’ starts at the top, and filters through the organization. They should expect a lot from the leaders, officers, and employees, however at the same time expect the same from themselves.

Safe workplace pays

One of the most effective ways to provide a true safety culture is to train for one

Train like one performs - One of the most effective ways to provide a true safety culture is to train for one, just as the users expect people to perform for one.

They often let the guards down and allow a little slide here or there during training because hey, it’s not real world, do they REALLY want to get all of that equipment down right now? They’ve seen it before, right? This mentality leads to corners being cut not only in training, but it real world alike. Not to mention, if they don’t train like they play, will they truly know what to do when they are expected to perform?

True safety issue

One of the biggest examples that comes to mind, and is a true safety issue is accountability. When they pull up to a fire or other emergency, and do not follow proper accountability protocols – how will anyone know where to look for the users when the situation becomes dire? A great method to remedy this and have crews in the ‘accountability’ mindset is to issue tags for all training sessions.

Each time a student or employee enters the class room they must check in with their ‘incident commander’ just as they should on the fire-ground. Such a simple routine may not seem like it would be very effective, however the repetitive reinforcement of checking in will make true situations when it is needed flow better than much before.

A safe workplace takes a large effort from not only employees, but managers and officers alike. However the dividends that a safe workplace pays far outweigh the potential consequences that any one of them could possibly face if they let safety slip through their fingers.