Understanding the Necessity of EMCARE’s Health and Safety Training

Health and Safety Training Is an Informative Course to Help You Mitigate Risk

Regardless of the industry you're working in, having a clear understanding of health and safety techniques equips you with the best possible skills to react and respond to any dangers that might present themselves. These courses aim to offer its students the necessary knowledge to control hazards, carry out risk assessments and maintain legal compliance with key pieces of labour legislation, amongst other things. If you'd like to ensure the safety of yourself and others in any scenario - including several different kinds of hazards - then read this article to understand how EMCARE's courses can prepare you for the worst.

Knowing the Different Types of Hazards

There are six different kinds of hazards that can cause physical harm to human wellbeing. Throughout your courses, you will learn how to identify different risks, assess the potential for death or injury, and manage the issue at hand in a structured and level-headed way. This course will teach you various ways of coping with the unexpected, thereby allowing you to conduct tactical responses that will save lives.

• Physical Hazards
  
  Physical hazards are caused by environmental agents and factors that threaten one's health. There are five kinds of physical hazards; physical hazards can be explosive, flammable, oxidising, gaseous under pressure or corrosives to metal. Physical hazards can also refer to other circumstances that cause harm, illness, injury or death - such as exposure to radiation, noise, poisonous gases, pressure, extreme heat, extreme cold or uninsulated electricity.
  
  
• Biological Hazards
  
  Biological hazards are substances that threaten living organisms, primarily that of a human, although they can also harm animals. Biohazards include bacteria, toxins, viruses, spores, fungi, mould, pathogenic microorganisms and parasites. Biohazards can cause many different kinds of external irritations, as well as infection, allergic reactions and even cancer. Biohazards are incredibly dangerous silent killers that necessitate the diligent use of personal-protective equipment and other preventative measures like safety guards.
  
• Chemical Hazards
  
  Chemical hazards are non-biological, toxic substances that can exist in the form of a gas, liquid or solid. Long-term exposure to chemical substances can have damaging health effects such as carcinogenicity, sensitisation, poisoning, rashes or other skin irritations. Chemical manufacturers are required by law to offer safety data sheets and warning labels to prevent unfortunate mishandling of chemical substances. However, these substances still pose a threat to humans and animals, so it is vital that those who engage with the substances are informed about the danger involved by health and safety officers.
  
  
• Psychosocial Hazards
  
  Psychosocial hazards refer to any work-related stressors that can cause psychological damage or social anxiety. Psychosocial hazards are caused by a variety of work-related factors, such as an intolerant company culture, bullying in the workplace, sexual harassment, an unkind supervisor or demanding deadlines. When employees feel unsafe in their workplace, the psychosocial strain that results can often lead to physical harm as well.
  
  
• Ergonomic Hazards
  
  Ergonomic hazards encompass any threats to a person's musculoskeletal functionality. Ergonomic hazards cause strain, spasm or discomfort for an employee or person who has been exposed to stress. Some causes of ergonomic hazards might include bad posture, forceful motion, long hours spent stationary, repetitive or awkward movements. Ergonomic hazards can result in injuries to the muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, tissues and nerves - for example, carpal tunnel syndrome is a common injury caused by ergonomic hazards.
  
  
• Safety Hazards
  
  A safety hazard is any sort of risk or unsafe condition that can cause physical harm to a person. For example, common safety hazards include exposed power lines, trip and slip hazards, wet floors, damaged or dysfunctional equipment, overloaded circuits, fires, falling objects, heights or unguarded machinery. Safety hazards might result in the loss of limbs, the breakage of bones or even death.
  
  

Understanding Risk Assessment and Management

An important aspect of this training is the calculated assessment of risk. Employers and site managers need to continuously examine potential threats that could negatively impact pedestrians, citizens and employees. People who have undergone health and safety training will be tasked with doing regular safety checks in order to ensure that risk is mitigated and that employees are protected from disasters, accidents, injuries or illness.

A risk assessment should include a list of the potential threats to employees within the workplace, creating an outline that stipulates the probability of injuries, accidents or fatalities in the work environment. Having been qualified in health and safety training, the person conducting the risk assessment will then be able to offer an explanation of the control measures which have been put in place to reduce the risk of danger or death. If there are any other issues to be resolved, then the health and safety officer should offer a detailed plan of the preventative measures that will be implemented soon.

During health and safety training, students at EMCARE will learn how to minimise general access to dangerous hazards by enforcing safeguards. Once the health and safety training has concluded, the qualified students will be able to provide instruction on the use of personal protective equipment. The accredited learners will also be able to offer advice to supervisors and employers regarding the optimal organisation of the workspace, so that they can lessen their exposure to chemical, safety, ergonomic, psychosocial, biological and physical hazards.

Important Health and Safety Legislation

The Department of Labour has issued a variety of acts to regulate the workplace and protect employees from harm. Below is a list of some of the laws which are in place to protect labourers. These acts are enforced by the Department of Labour, which deploys personnel and inspectors to visit different workplaces.

Upon arrival, state personnel will examine the environment and the workplace in order to decide whether the circumstance meets low, medium or high compliance with the laws listed. If the inspector decides that the site manager, employer or owner has neglected to protect their employees and others, then they may impose a fine against the owner or manager. Many site managers, employers and owners have even been charged with fines for negligence and non-compliance, having to deal with criminal charges for their ineffective management or lack of health and safety training.

Understanding key labour legislation is a vital part of health and safety training. It is important for employers, employees and safety officers to accommodate the law and do their best to stay informed on national legislation. This prevents confusion or expensive legal fees from piling up in the event of an accident. Below is a list of prominent acts which form a foundation for the theory underpinning health and safety training.

• The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA)
  
  This Act was developed by the government in order to avoid work-related injuries, deaths and fatalities. This act aims to regulate and control the workplace environment, be it an office block or a building site, so that all employees are rightfully protected from harm. This piece of legislation is an important foundation for the protection of labourers against harmful hazards of any kind.
  
  
• The Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act (ODMWA)
  
  Some workplaces are more dangerous than others. For example, the mining industry constantly faces high death rates and injury claims. In order to protect miners from dangerous workplace environments, the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act aims to offer compensation for non-communicable diseases such as occupational lung diseases. This means that all miners and ex-miners are entitled by law to receive financial or medical compensation for exposure to harmful mining dust and other related hazards.
  
  
• The Labour Relations Act (LRA)
  
  This act was created in order to regulate freedom of association as related to the organisational rights of trade unions. The act supports a labourer's rights to induct collective bargaining in partnership with a trade union. This act also outlines a labourer's right to strike, participate in forums and facilitate conflict resolution.
  

• The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)
  
  This act is meant to protect both employers and employees from exploitation. The Act outlines the number of working hours allowed in a week, the right to sick leave, vacation leave, and maternity leave amongst other basic entitlements. The Act also provides for the minimum conditions of employment as set up by the national state system.
  
  
• The Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA)
  
  This Act outlines the requirements of employers to care for their employees. It sets out the health and safety measures which mining employers must take in order to keep their staff safe under hazardous conditions. This act promotes a culture of safety and encourages the regulated enforcement of health and safety compliance measures.
  
  
• The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA)
  
  This Act is intended to protect those who have suffered from disabilities as a result of exposure to hazards, accidents, illness or injury in the workplace. Employers are obligated to register with the Compensation Fund and pay a small fee that will be paid out to affected parties in the case of an accident or fatality. This compensation is provided in order to prevent employees from suing their employers.

Health and Safety Training Case Study: Head Injuries

Participating in these courses is a valuable way of mitigating serious injury, death or illness in the workplace or otherwise. Accidents are bound to happen regardless of the precautions we put into place and the safeguards we erect. This is why it is vital to offer health and safety training, so that in the case of a disaster, officers and employees will know how to react efficiently and cautiously.

For example, despite an employer's best efforts to prevent spillage or exposed electrical wires, there is a high likelihood that people on a construction site may fail to comply with site rules. In the case that somebody slips, falls and undergoes head trauma, the employer will have to enlist a health and safety officer or trainee to help out. In this case, preventative measures cannot offer resolutions.

It is vital that in the moments following the accident, an accredited, qualified person attends quickly to the victim's needs. Head injuries might lead to concussion, dizziness and confusion. Lack of consciousness, nausea, headaches, vomiting, seizures, irritability and blurred vision are also common consequences of head impacts. Although the patient may seem fine, it is important to follow the strategic procedures to ensure that delayed trauma or bleeding and compression in the brain is not onset by ineffective medical responses in the moments after impact.

Students who participate in this course will learn how to deal with these kinds of issues cautiously. They will be thoroughly informed of the correct and incorrect, legal and illegal manners to attend to patients. In order to give medical or health and safety advice of any kind, people must be qualified in accredited courses offered by legitimate institutions such as EMCARE.

Different Health and Safety Courses Offered by EMCARE

• Health and Safety Induction Course
• General Health and Safety Course
• Health and Safety Representative Course
• Occupational Health and Safety Act Course
• Occupational Health and Safety Workshop
• Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act Course
• Health and Safety Supervisor Course
• Accident Incident Investigation Course
• Risk Assessment Course
• Safety Officer Course
• Lock Out and Permit to Work Course
• Legal Liability Course
• Emergency Evacuation Procedures Course
• Snake Handling and Safety Awareness Course
• Scaffolding Inspector Course

Health and Safety Training Is Your Best Bet Against Danger

Taking a health and safety training course could help you save a life one day. Regardless of the industry you work in, it is beneficial to have some knowledge of different hazards. When you enroll with EMCARE, you can save lives and mitigate risk effectively.