3 Steps to Promote Employee SHEQ Compliance
Employee health and safety should be a priority in any workplace. Usually, problems arise when, whether or not an employee chooses to comply or not to SHEQ regulations, the employer remains accountable for the consequences.
Many employees believe that the employer should take the lead to enforce health and safety rules in the workplace, but it is also up to them to uphold SHEQ regulations. How can businesses motivate employees to comply with SHEQ? Here are a few practical steps.
1. Focus on SHEQ Training and Accreditation
It is a known fact that nearly 90% of accidents in the workplace are caused by unsafe employee behaviour. The reasons include not knowing how to safely perform the work, not being aware or having poor access to the safety regulations in place, or feigning ignorance.
Proper training and refresher courses can help employees understand the implications of safety regulations and standardise SHEQ behaviour across the board. Encourage compliance through accreditation and acknowledgement of training completed and implemented.
ISO 45001 is one of the International ISO standards identified with Occupational Health and Safety Management (OH&S). An ISO standard gives a structure to give better, protected working conditions, eliminate workplace risks and enhanced employee safety, Organisations can use ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems – requirements with guidelines for use to develop an organized way to deal with health and safety.
2. Add SHEQ Compliance Monitoring
Monitoring safety behaviour through compliance levels and pre-established KPI thresholds give an accurate indication of SHEQ compliance in action. This should be enforced to support the initial SHEQ regulations awareness and training.
Employees should be aware of SHEQ policies and procedures and the legal implications of ignoring these SHEQ regulations. It is important that these regulations are applied consistently and indiscriminately to everyone.
3. Take Disciplinary Action
When implementing a SHEQ system, ensure that you also have effective and sufficient disciplinary measures in place to encourage employees to comply with SHEQ regulations. Failure to comply or ignoring regulation could incur severe penalties and legal consequences, such as in intentionally damaging PPE.
To discourage employees from willfully ignoring SHEQ policies and procedures, consider creating a penalty system or include a health and safety clause to the contract of employment, stating that failure to adhere to health and safety regulations may lead to disciplinary action.
Ensuring SHEQ compliance in the workplace can be challenging. An integrated SHEQ solution can be an effective management tool to motivate employees and incentivise good behaviour. Focus on business growth and let the software do the groundwork.
