Health and Safety Inductions. Are You Just Ticking The Box?

Health and safety is a topic on every employer’s lips, especially since the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

It’s no secret that as employers and/or business owners that we have a legal responsibility to keep all people safe. The question that's worth asking is:

Are you just ticking the box or are you actually keeping people safe? What is your motivation when it comes to health and safety?

What does ticking the box look like?

If we take a good look at our business, many of us could easily fall into this category. We've become distracted by the box. Merely meeting our health and safety obligations so that it can be documented that precautions were taken - if something should happen to go wrong.

A piece of paper.

A signature.

A quick run through so the employee, contractor or site visitor can get to work.

What does keeping people safe really mean?

They understand.

They get it.

They retain the knowledge that will keep them safe.

They know how to implement the knowledge in a real and practical sense.

How can a Health and Safety Induction Video Help?

Believe it or not – it will take less time – freeing up the person facilitating the induction, and the person participating in the induction.

Real visuals help us retain the information. A multimedia communication enables us to absorb information with both our eyes and our ears. It has been proven that visual information is received by the brain 60000 times faster than text! It has also been said that 1 minute of video can equate to 1.8 million words. That does seem rather a lot – until you think about it. The viewer now has all of the clues. During seconds of video a viewer could probably tell you not only where to find a first aid box, but what it looks like, what’s inside it, how big it is, where it is located, what the environment around it looks like, if the box is plastic, metal or wooden. The list goes on. They now are armed with unspoken information that makes the knowledge real to them.

Consistency. You will ensure every person gets the same information every single time. And you’ll never miss anything out.

Is it worth the investment?

Absolutely. In all of our experience with producing health and safety or induction videos, every single client has been pleased with the ongoing results. We recently checked in with a client that we produced a contractor’s induction video for several years ago. They are still getting the results that they wanted. They are still saving time. The contractors are still very clear on their responsibilities, obligations and the internal processes of the business. Accident's are down. Safety lessons are understood.

And if all of that hasn’t convinced you – lets break down the numbers.

How long do you or your staff spend inducting people each week/month?

How long do your new staff/site visitor/contractors spend going through inductions each week/month?

How much time will you save with your induction video? – Not to mention the consistency and information retention that will increase the real safety of those working in the business.

Here’s an example of potential savings based on a 1 hour induction twice a week over a 2 year period.