The Importance of Training In Machine Safety

General safety training spans a wide range of topics, including identifying and avoiding workplace hazards, learning the company’s emergency procedures, electrical safety, fire safety, personal protective equipment (PPE) and more.

The importance of training in machine safety is its focus on employees learning how to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to prevent accidents and injuries while working around machinery.

Why Training Is Vital

Safety training is critical in any working environment, in order to educate employees about potential workplace hazards. It’s usually an integral part of the induction process, but also constitutes an ongoing effort by employers to ensure a safe working environment for all their staff. When machinery is involved, the potential risks and hazards are much greater.

Machinery can be responsible for many types of employee injury, such as:

• They may be struck by moving parts or materials ejected from the machine
• They may be cut, stabbed or abraded by machine parts such as sharp points or edges, blades and rough surfaces
• They may be crushed or sheared between moving parts, coming together or moving towards a fixed surface or object
• Body parts may also be trapped or drawn in between rollers, pulley drives or belts
• They may be burned, frozen or scalded by parts of the machine, its working materials, or by process emissions such as water, gas or steam
• They may suffer electrical shock and burns from contact with electricity
• They may suffer burns, respiratory injuries or poisoning by chemical emissions
• They may incur injuries due to faulty or unreliable machinery
• They may incur injuries if machines are not used properly due to inexperience and inadequate training

The latest statistics available from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) count 135 fatal injuries in work-related accidents in the 2022/23 period. These were accidents reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). An additional 565,000 people sustained non-fatal injuries, though not all of these were caused by machinery.

Implementing Effective Training

Machine safety training is mandated by the Health and Safety at Work legislation and by PUWER regulations, as outlined by the HSE. By providing this training, you can greatly reduce the risk of workplace accidents and protect people as much as possible from injury or even death. Your reputation as a company that cares about safety will be enhanced, and your employees will be more secure in their working environment.

In order to minimise the risks to employees and to comply with the Health and Safety legislation you must implement an effective safety training process. This should begin with identifying what specific risks and hazards are presented by machinery in your workplace. Once identified, you should devise a comprehensive safety training programme that deals with them all in detail. Thereafter, you should continue ongoing training, employing some or all of the following methods:

• Make sure that everyone in your employ gets regular machine safety training, from long-term employees to temporary workers and new hires
• Vary your training methods to include classroom instruction, hands-on demonstrations, online training and job shadowing
• Include visual aids to reinforce key machine safety concepts, such as infographics and posters
• Ensure that machine safety training is geared to each employee’s role and tasks
• Provide hands-on training for each piece of equipment to ensure that people know how to operate them safely
• Encourage employees to engage and participate during training sessions
• Reinforce learning and engagement with real-life examples and interactive training exercises
• Underline the importance of RIDDOR reporting of accidents and near-misses
• Emphasise the consequences of ignoring machine safety procedures
• Monitor the effectiveness of your machine safety training and make any necessary improvements
• Provide regular training refresher courses to be sure that employees keep their knowledge and skills active
• Offer coaching and feedback to any employees who might require additional support

Machine Safety Training Contributes To Improving Standards

The industrial landscape is constantly changing, in these evolutionary days of Industry 4.0. This means that applicable standards have to be constantly updated, and new equipment and procedures learned. Machine safety training can help identify potential issues with new equipment and pin down areas for improvement. In the process of acquiring new machinery and training personnel on its use, companies may discover the particular foibles of any given machine, or come to understand better how specific processes work.

This, in turn, can create a feedback loop, where on-the-job training gives rise to new or updated information. This is particularly true of functional safety, where assessment and certification by authorised agencies can lead to modifications in the prevailing standards. Contributing to improved standards can enhance a company’s reputation and help make working environments safer for the wider community.

Safer Workplace = Happy and Productive Workforce

Machine safety training saves lives. A safer workplace environment will also promote productivity, as it cuts down the risk of injuries, accidents and downtime resulting from equipment damage or failure. With employee participation and feedback, employers can assess how effective their training is and improve it. This will ultimately result in a more efficient workforce.

When you’re in full compliance with health and safety regulations, you’ll avoid official legal action and fines. Effective machine safety training will also save you money on insurance premiums, workers’ compensation claims and legal fees.

Machine safety training should also enhance employee morale. When your workforce is properly trained, they feel safer performing their allotted tasks and better protected in the workplace as a whole. Employees are likely to get greater job satisfaction and be better motivated in their work. They’ll have the skills to make smart decisions independently around machinery, and so create a safer and more confident working environment. This in turn promotes a positive safety culture. Employees will begin to look upon safety as a priority and an integral part of their work responsibilities.