Are Your Contractor Induction Courses Making A Difference To Compliance?

By Author: markpakshie
Total Articles: 14
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As Australia's OHS laws become nationalised, we're beginning to see a larger responsibility placed on companies for the safety of their contracted labour. This is likely to manifest its self with larger court fines being placed directly on the hiring company when contractors are injured, as well as more stringent reporting requirements when it comes to proving compliance.

There are many steps you can take to ensuring contractor safety, no doubt you are already taking some of them. However, the best place to start is at the very beginning, the moment your contractors step on site - even before! Providing a strong first impression will set a standard for your contractors that then becomes easier to reinforce as you manage workplace safety.

Your contractor induction is the best place to establish this first impression. So how do you show commitment to safety? Content, consistency, organisation and up-to-date training methods.

Your content needs to be relevant and well communicated. It is essential that you always maintain the ability to update and add information. For this reason, video training is often best ...
... avoided. Because videos can be difficult and expensive to update, they often quickly become outdated. Not only can this have negative effects on your workplace safety, it doesn't bode well when you are audited for safety compliance.

Online training systems that give you the power to edit courses yourself can provide the best solution. They enable your contractors to take their induction before they arrive on site and enable you to test the inductee's knowledge throughout the course, establishing a pass/fail score. You are also showing your contractors that you place importance on their ability to understand the course content - rather than simply pushing them through a mandatory obligation.

Because contractor inductions are often regarded by management - even OHS management - as little more than an obligation, it is not uncommon for updates and upgrades to be pushed to the back of the queue. For growing companies that experience operational and logistical changes, the consequences of an out of date induction can be disastrous.

The proof is in the tracking

Perhaps the best feature to look for when considering a contractor induction system is its ability to track data and provide reports. This is what will help you demonstrate your commitment to compliance. There is a lot to be said for producing comprehensive reports with the click of a button. Don't even consider OHS management systems that don't offer this capability!

At the end of the day, there are two overarching goals you need to achieve when creating an effective contractor induction. One, one the ability to communicate your company's commitment to and expectations around safety; and two, the ability to track all your data and produce clear, comprehensive reports that prove your commitment. By achieving these two goals, you will set a standard for safety that will be understood by your contractors and prove your commitment to compliance.

Our online safety induction training program works equally well for both employee induction and contractor induction. Induction training can also take different forms at your place of business. For more information please do visit our website.