Results of Poll on Whether Officers & Directors Get Safety Training

Safety culture impacts the effectiveness of a company’s OHS program, and its health and safety initiatives. A company’s safety culture is largely driven from the top, that is, by senior management. So it would seem logical that all members of senior management get at least some safety training, such as on the company’s OHS program.

But when we asked in a recent poll if your officers, directors and other members of senior management are trained in health and safety, only 72% said yes.

Even more disturbingly, the law firm Fasken Martineau recently released the results of its 2016 Employer Occupational Health and Safety Survey. It asked, ‘Have the directors and officers of your organization received training on your OHS policy and program”’and only 55% said yes. (In contrast, 77% said all workers had been trained on the OHS policy and program.)

Why is it important for senior management to get OHS training’

Because officers and directors can’t effectively ensure that the company adequately protects workers if they have no understanding of the hazards in the workplace and the measures implemented to address those hazards. In addition, they can’t assess the effectiveness of the OHS program without a basic understanding of its components.

For more on the role of senior management in workplace health and safety, go to the Officers and Directors topic index for articles such as There Are No Figureheads When It Comes to Safety and The Importance of Safety Culture.