Health, Safety, and Well-being Training and System Certification: Q&A with BSI

Training and system certification are crucial for health and safety (H&S) and well-being, as they provide individuals with essential knowledge and skills to work safely. This, in turn, reduces accidents and errors and enhances workplace culture.

Certified systems, qualified staff, and trained personnel can identify and mitigate risks, supporting overall workplace safety and compliance with regulations. Training and qualifications build agility and creativity in the workforce, strengthening your team’s ability to respond to challenges and take advantage of opportunities.

An organization with a clear training and qualifications strategy also ensures its share of a competitive employment marketplace. Individuals benefit from clear communication and employee confidence; this leads to increased morale, resulting in fewer incidents, enhanced productivity, and reduced downtime. System certification is crucial for organizations looking to prioritize safety, reduce risks, comply with regulations, enhance their reputation, engage employees, and achieve long-term success in a competitive global marketplace.

What training and certification services does BSI offer?

BSI provides a comprehensive range of training, qualifications, assessment, and systems certification solutions related to H&S, as well as psychological H&S at work, based on international standards such as ISO 45001, ISO 45003, and best practice. We also offer on-demand training on common workplace hazards, health, and safety technical areas such as risk assessment and incident investigation. We also offer services in related areas such as business continuity, sustainability, and digital trust.

Within industry, people often refer to training and certification separately, but how do these two disciplines tie together?

Training and system certification work together to enhance safety and organizational performance. Training imparts knowledge and skills to individuals, making them capable of implementing safety protocols. Certification validates that an organization’s systems and personnel meet specific standards, ensuring consistent conformity and competence. Both contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and risk reduction. Training and qualifications ensure your employees understand and adhere to safety and health best practice, which is crucial for certification and legal compliance. It fosters employee engagement and supports documentation and reporting requirements essential for certification maintenance. Together, training and certification create a comprehensive H&S approach, promoting a safer and healthier work environment.

What challenges do companies face regarding certification and training, and how does BSI help them to overcome these?

Some of the challenges organizations face include ensuring compliance and alignment with the latest requirements; maintaining consistent H&S standards and training practices across different regions, languages, and cultures; maintaining accurate and comprehensive records and reports for certification; and ensuring that employees actively engage with H&S training and adhere to safety protocols.

Certification and training processes help organizations understand and navigate the compliance landscape. We provide training and qualifications which align with your unique needs, ensuring employees receive relevant and effective knowledge and skills. With our global presence, we help you achieve consistent practice across various locations, facilitating compliance on a global scale by, for instance, providing training in local languages.

Do you have any advice for people or companies that require certification and training?

Our advice is to:

• Review the scope of your certification. Separate certifications across multiple sites can be complex; adapting your scope so that multiple sites are covered by one certification can make the process more streamlined.
• Ensure that your internal audits and auditors are covering all areas, so that when you have your independent third-party certification audit, you are well prepared.
• Move toward an integrated management system approach if you have more than one certification, such as ISO 45001 and ISO 14001.
• Consider a companywide training needs analysis to identify areas for improvement or skill gaps to fill. If you have a high staff turnover, or there is industry-wide shortage of key staff, a training and qualifications program will ensure you get and retain your share of the talent pool.
• Consider the sector in which you work. The faster-moving external environment probably means you need to regularly update skills and knowledge.
• Encourage trained and qualified employees to focus on your company’s challenges and opportunities.

What should companies do after they’ve received training or certification?

Remember training and certification is only the start of the journey – you need to work on embedding it into the business and driving continual improvement by:

• Applying the knowledge gained from training and ensuring that the principles and best practices are integrated into daily operations.
• Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the training and system certification to make sure your processes are operating as intended.
• Assessing and identifying areas for improvement in training and system certification.
• Staying up to date with the latest knowledge and best practices through ongoing training.
• Ensuring that the organization remains compliant with current regulations.
• Maintaining certification to improve performance. A recent study by Harvard Business School showed that organizations that are certified to H&S standards have 20% less reportable accidents than non-certified organizations.

Are there any trends within the training and certification spheres that excite you? Please elaborate.

ISO 45001 is the fastest-growing international certification standard, demonstrating an increased focus on occupational H&S as organizations realize that prioritizing their people is vital to business success and resilience. The leading organizations are also focused on psychological H&S and mental well-being, which is driving take up of ISO 45003 on psychological health and safety.

The adoption of digital platforms and e-learning modules is on the rise. Online training allows for greater flexibility, accessibility, and scalability, making it easier to reach a distributed or remote workforce.

The accelerated adoption of hybrid auditing and assessment processes for certification is another significant trend. These virtual approaches allow organizations to continue certification activities while minimizing physical interactions and contributing to sustainability goals.

To get started on your H&S certification and training journey, contact BSI South Africa: bsi.za@bsigroup.com.

To learn more about training and certification for H&S, visit our website: www.bsigroup.com/en-ZA/occupational-health-and-safety-iso-45001.