Five essential health and safety updates for 2018

Aside from their devastating human cost, occupational accidents and ill-health bear a significant financial expenditure to employers through staff absence and higher insurance premiums. Staying up-to-date when it comes to health and safety is therefore essential to running a safe and efficient workplace and there are some significant changes taking place.

Here are five essential health and safety updates for 2018:

ISO 45001 is coming

ISO 45001, (occupational health and safety management systems - requirements), is a new standard due to be published in March 2018 which has been designed to improve occupational health and safety management around the world.

Changes to sentencing guidelines are starting to bite

Following the introduction of the new sentencing guidelines for health and safety, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences, which came into force in February 2016, fine levels for companies prosecuted for offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and associated regulations have increased dramatically.

The rise of Industry 4.0 is bringing both challenges and opportunities

The world of work is changing rapidly not least through the rise of Industry 4.0. People are living and working for longer, many tasks are being automated, modern communication technologies are dissolving the work-home divide, new materials like nanotechnology including tiny air-born waste products that can damage health and new techniques are presenting new risks and more ‘flexible’ employee contracts are becoming commonplace.

Building a culture of engagement pays dividends

There has been much discussion about building a positive health and safety culture and adopting the principles of behavioural safety, but leading organisations are now moving towards an engagement culture.

Evidence suggests engaged employees who share a common goal can become important advocates for a business and improve every aspect of their performance including health and safety.

Lessons from elite sports can improve worker health and safety

There is a body of evidence to show that poor nutrition and overuse of caffeine and sugar can affect attention and coordination sufficiently to impact on safety as well as long term health.

Employers have started turning to the world of elite sport to learn how the principles of effective nutrition can be applied in the workplace for significant gain.