Safety Rep Training

Introduction

Safety rep training is a requirement by the OHS Act of 93. Training your employees to take care of your safety program is vital. If trained properly, they can be very effective. Safety reps will be the company’s safety ambassadors. They are valuable to both the employer and employees.
Safety representatives will form a big part of your safety system. They need to take responsibility for their departments. The safety rep must ensure that the workplace is safe at all times. The safety rep must always ensure that the employer adheres to the OHS act of 93.

Legal Appointments

Any employer with more than 20 employees must designate in writing the responsibilities of the rep. The company must set the duration of the appointment. It will usually be one year at a time. This is what a legal appointment means. The employee must accept the duties the employer requests.

Housekeeping

An underestimated health & safety risk is good old housekeeping. Housekeeping is one of the major causes of injury in the workplace. We train all safety reps to make sure that the workplace is neat and tidy at all times. It will not only make the workplace safer, but also improve productivity. If there are tools all over the place, employees spend a lot of time not working.

Identifying Potential Dangers

Your safety team must be able to identify risks. They will be of no use unless they can spot potential hazards. For example, if a safety rep walks past a fire extinguisher, they must know to check the pressure. Reps should do this by default. It might not seem important at the time. Imagine if a ball of fire breaks out in the area and the extinguisher does not work. The fire can cause a lot of damages and even injury. Although a basic notion, it is vital to a great safety program.

P.P.E

P.P.E stands for “Personal Protective Equipment.” It can include safety goggles, boots, earplugs, etc. We teach our students the importance of enforcing P.P.E. Not issuing the right P.P.E can cost the company a lot of money in the long term. If an employee suffers health problems, the company might be liable. We also teach the students to make sure they issue properly and using checklists. This process will help save the company money. We train the safety reps to keep records of all items issued. It helps prevent unnecessary costs to the company.

Below is a list of modules you will learn in our Safety Rep Course:

Safety Representative Training Modules:

1.    Safety Introduction
2.    Why does Accidents Happen
3.    What is Workplace Safety?
4.    General Safety Rules & Guidelines
5.    Safety Equipment
6.    Health & Safety Act
7.     Health and Safety Committees
8.    Safety Meetings
9.    Health & Safety Audit
10.    Identifying Potential Dangers
11.    The Domino Theory
12.    Unsafe Acts & Conditions
13.    Housekeeping
14.    Pressure vessels
15.    Gasses
16.    Flammable liquids
17.    Hazardous chemicals
18.    MSDS Sheets
19.    Spills
20.    Confined Space Entry
21.    P.P.E
22.    Safety Signs
23.    Fire / Fire Extinguishers
24.    Machine Guarding
25.    Injuries & Accidents
26.    Basic Accident Investigation Form
27.    Safety Quiz
28.    Safety Checklists

Safety Lifestyle

One of the aims of the course is to change a person’s mindset. Safety is a way of living. The student must understand that safety should be practiced everywhere. The student must take the knowledge they learn in the course everywhere they go. As soon as you start to live a safety lifestyle, it becomes easier to spot problems.

Conclusion

Safety Rep training is not a nice to have. If you have more than 50 employees, it is a legal requirement. Shops and office need a rep for every 100. The numbers above are just a guideline; it will depend on your shifts, risks, etc. A department of labour inspector can request more reps. We suggest that you cover at least every department and shift. You can never have too many safety reps, the more eyes you have on the floor, the better. We can do on-site safety rep training if you have more than ten students. If you have less, you can visit our training centre.