One person who has noticed how time pressure affects training and courses is Tom Andersson, who has worked as a safety trainer since 2006 and often works directly with industry.
– It has become increasingly clear that companies are cutting back on the time allocated to safety training while more and more material has to fit into the courses. I am starting to sound more like a radio presenter just to fit everything in, he says with a smile.
But behind the smile there is real concern that industry’s focus on safety work is declining, something he had not seen before.
– Since 2014/2015, companies themselves have been the ones pushing for increased safety in workplaces, going further than the Swedish Work Environment Authority requires when it comes to supervisors’ responsibilities. That was when companies started requiring a basic training course in work environment responsibility before someone could take on a management role. I think it is very positive that companies themselves set the bar high for safety.
Different curricula for safety training
Within industry, different actors have taken responsibility for developing training curricula. One such organisation is LUR, LiftUtbildningsRådet, which is responsible for the content and development of the lift training curriculum, LLP.
LUR authorises lift training companies that commit to following LLP.
– They include requirements for basic knowledge among operators of mobile elevating work platforms in hydraulics, how hydraulic systems function, how to detect leaks and much more. Operators must also take refresher training every five years to update their knowledge. Hydraulics is, for example, an important part of the employer’s rescue plan requirement, which includes being able to operate a machine in an emergency and carry out an emergency lowering procedure to bring down people who are stuck high up in a basket.
More uniform safety devices would be desirable
The Machinery Directive is an important document for creating safe workplaces. One of its aims is to harmonise applicable requirements in order to achieve strong protection for health and safety in industry.
– At the same time, although it is an important tool for safety work, I do not think it really keeps up with developments. I would like to see more uniformly designed safety management so that it works the same way regardless of the equipment involved.
As things are now, different pieces of equipment have different safety devices, which makes it difficult if people move around the workplace or if a company works with rented machines, something that is becoming more and more common.
– If all types of equipment had safety devices placed in roughly the same places and functioning in similar ways, it would make it easier for employees to work safely. There are requirements for introductory training on different machines, but it is rarely carried out in a structured way. It would be easier if one training course were enough to teach safe work with a certain type of machine, instead of requiring a new introduction for every make and model.
Designing course plans together with the customer
The courses Tom Andersson is most often responsible for at companies concern employer responsibility for forklifts, cranes, mobile elevating work platforms, scaffolding and similar areas. The content covers everything from laws and regulations and supervisors’ responsibilities to risk assessments and preventive work.
– We also go through accident statistics and discuss new technologies for avoiding accidents. In the case of forklifts, for example, it matters whether there are pedestrians nearby or not, which places different demands on the operator.
In some areas, there are training curricula developed by industry organisations that Tom Andersson follows in his teaching.
– In areas where no such curricula exist for safety work, I first have to visit the workplace and assess their needs and internal rules before I develop the course plan.
Lack of requirements for training providers
One problem Tom Andersson sees is that there are currently no requirements regarding who may start a training company in areas such as work environment and safety.
– Anyone can start a company and go out into the market and promote their services. It is up to the employer to choose the right training provider. If you do not know what requirements to place on the trainer, it can be difficult to choose a company with sufficient competence to actually provide the right training, he explains.
In some areas, collective agreements govern which type of training is required, for example through TYA, Transportfackens Yrkes- och arbetsmiljönämnd.
– Companies themselves also have the opportunity to decide what training they offer employees. If they want to raise the safety level in the company, they can bring in more advanced training. They can also require certifications in different areas for employees and suppliers.
He believes that a good example of a useful certification is the hydraulics certification handled by ITH and SFMA.
– I would really like to see the Swedish Work Environment Authority include more requirements for safety training in its regulations in order to support companies’ safety work.
Common shortcomings in safety work
When asked what the most common errors are that he encounters when visiting companies, he says that he does not think there are that many mistakes where he works.
– That may be because they are larger companies and recurring customers who have an interest in creating safe workplaces. More often, the demand concerns advice in connection with things like rebuilding factory premises.
However, shortcomings in safety work can occur among smaller companies.
– It can be tempting to skip service because the machine appears to be working well, while service takes time and costs money.
There is also a lack of knowledge about what requirements may apply to different safety devices and what inspection requirements exist for things such as lifting cranes.
A strong focus on hoses and couplings
When it comes to hydraulic systems, it is particularly important to keep track of safety where pressure systems are involved.
– There must not be any leaks, which means that hoses and couplings have to be checked extra carefully. If there is a leak, there is a risk of pressure loss in the system, which can have serious consequences.
Another important point when working with hydraulic systems is that the system must be depressurised before, for example, changing tools.
– You need to know how to make the system pressureless. That is an important part of safety training for such systems. Modern machines have aids such as Oilquick that minimise the risk for the operator, but on older machines you definitely need to know how to release the pressure before carrying out various measures, Tom Andersson explains.
A problem with pressurised systems is that once diesel drive has been replaced with electric drive, it becomes more complicated to make the system pressureless.
– That shows how important it is to keep employees’ knowledge up to date when it comes to safety work, because technological development continuously creates new needs for safety-related knowledge.
It is also important to know which inspection rules apply to different machines.
– The inspection requirements for different machines are somewhat unclear. For example, lifting platforms require third-party inspection every year, whereas most forklifts do not require any inspection at all.
Who is responsible for what
It is clear that the ultimate responsibility for safety in the workplace lies with the employer, but how that responsibility is carried out can vary.
– If the employer lacks the competence to carry out a reliable examination and risk assessment, or to take the necessary measures, external expertise must be brought in. In that case they can contact, for example, their employer organisation, occupational health services or a work environment consultant, Tom Andersson explains.
But even though ultimate responsibility lies with the employer, employees also have responsibility for their own work and their own lives.
– They must follow the instructions in place and ensure that they have sufficient knowledge to work safely. They also have a responsibility to stop work if they see that risks are present.
Another important part of creating a safe workplace is to make sure that incidents and accidents are reported in accordance with the rules for systematic work environment management.
– But in the end, it is still the employer who decides how the safety work is carried out, which risk assessments are performed and everything else.
