The Government has launched a new scheme to highlight best practice in occupational health and safety, to assist your business with this enrol your employees onto a NEBOSH General Certificate course.
The Health and Safety Executive has written and published new guidelines which employers can follow when there may be a risk involving hazardous substances or chemicals. The scheme is called 'Health Surveillance' and it is a system of ongoing health checks which are required by law for employers. The health checks vary, including noise or vibration, solvents, fumes and other substances which are considered to be hazardous to health.
Health surveillance is important for a number of reasons with the prime reason being to protect employees health when they are at work. By providing health surveillance, as an employer, you can ensure you are detecting ill-health at an early stage. This is beneficial to the employee, as well as the employer, as it means that the employer can introduce better preventive measures to stop their health from deteriorating.
Surveillance can also provide valuable data which ensures that employers evaluate all health risks and hazards. Even if a risk assessment is carried out, it may not cover all of the risks within the organisation, however by providing a constant surveillance the employer can ensure that they are covering as many aspects of health and safety as possible. By providing adequate health surveillance, employees will feel more encouraged to raise their own concerns about how work affects their health. This is because they know their concerns will be taken seriously.
Risk assessments are vital within the workplace, particularly when working with hazardous substances or materials. The NEBOSH General Certificate teaches delegates how to carry out effective risk assessments, teaching delegates what they should be looking for when carrying out a risk assessment. The course also teaches delegates how they can control workplace hazards which includes physical and chemical hazards. It's important to note that health surveillance shouldn't be used as a substitute for a risk assessment, it should be used to identify what can be done to control risks and prevent harm to employees.
As well as being good for your organisation, the health surveillance scheme provides the perfect opportunity to reinforce training of employees. Even if you work within an, seemingly safe, office environment there are still risks around. The
NEBOSH General Certificate is one of the best ways to teach your employees about
health and safety risks, as it covers a wide variety of industries and subjects.