How to Ensure Workers Read and Follow HSE Documents: A Collaborative Approach

One of the biggest challenges companies face is ensuring that workers actually read and follow health, safety, and environment (HSE) documents. A beautifully crafted HSE manual, filled with essential safety protocols and regulatory information, is useless if it sits on the shelf unread or fails to resonate with employees.

The key to overcoming this challenge is collaboration. Involving workers in the development of HSE documents fosters a culture of safety where workers feel invested in using the documentation.

Here are some ways to do this.

1) Involve Workers in the Development Process

Involve workers in the creation and review process. Health and safety committees, required in some provinces like Alberta, provide an ideal platform for this. These committees bring together workers and management to discuss safety protocols, review procedures, and identify gaps, giving workers an active voice in safety decisions. While this doesn’t mean that workers should be tasked with writing the documents themselves, their insights into daily tasks, potential risks, and practical safety measures are invaluable. Most importantly, when workers’ contributions to discussions about risks, existing safety measures, and best practices are utilized, the resulting documents are more practical, relatable, and likely to be followed. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility toward adhering to these standards. Additional benefits include the following.

Enhanced Understanding: Workers gain a deeper understanding of the safety protocols when they’re involved in the development process and they can act as safety ambassadors, helping to communicate the information to their peers.
Improved Relevance: When companies incorporate workers’ firsthand insights about on-the-job challenges the resulting HSE documentation is better aligned with workplace realities, making it more practical, relevant, and applicable to the workers.
Increased Buy-In: When workers are involved in the development of safety documents, and see their contributions utilized they become more engaged in the overall process making implementation easier with less resistance to change.

2) Make the Documents Simple and Accessible

Most workers, no matter how diligent they are, don’t have time to read dense, jargon-filled safety documents – nor should they need to. HSE documents should be clear, concise, and accessible to all workers. Here are some strategies to simplify your documents.

Use Plain Language: Avoid technical jargon and legalese. Write in clear, simple terms that are easily understood by all employees.
Organize the Content: Use headings, subheadings, bullet points, and numbered lists to organize information into manageable sections. This makes it easier for workers to scan and find what they need.
Include Visual Aids: Use diagrams, flowcharts, and images where possible to help readers absorb the information faster.

3) Provide Interactive Training Sessions

When implementing your safety documentation, aim to make your safety training sessions interactive so employees can actively engage with the material and understand how to apply it in real-world scenarios. Health and safety committees can help design these sessions to ensure they’re tailored to the workers. Here are some ways to make your training sessions interactive.

Gamify them: Use gamification techniques, such as quizzes or safety competitions, to directly engage workers and make the training more fun.
Use scenarios: Incorporate real-life scenarios so workers can practice applying the information from the HSE documents in a controlled environment. This practical experience makes the learning more memorable.
Include Peer-to-Peer Learning: Have workers collaborating in groups or lead discussions to deepen their understanding of the material, share practical insights, and work as a team.

4) Highlight the Relevance of HSE Documents

HSE documents must be relevant to workers. The documents should not be treated as mere check-the-box activities. Including workers throughout the development and implementation process prevents this from happening, however, it’s also essential for companies to communicate the value of these documents clearly.

Ways to Emphasize Importance

Connect Documents to Real Risks: Worker input is especially valuable here. When companies utilize workers’ insights into risks and listen to relevant stories that help highlight overlooked hazards, they can truly design HSE documents to protect workers from real dangers.
Highlight Legal and Financial Implications: Workers should also be aware of their regulatory obligations to comply with HSE documentation. This is especially true for those at the supervisory level and up who can be personally impacted by regulatory and financial repercussions due to non-compliance.

5) Keep HSE Documents Current

Health and safety regulations are always evolving, and so should your HSE documentation. Outdated documents send the message that safety is not a priority, increasing the risk of complacency. Workers are more likely to engage with HSE documents that are regularly updated and relevant to their current environment.

Best Practices for Keeping Documents Current

Involve Workers in Updates: Just as worker involvement is crucial in the development process, it’s equally important when updating HSE documents. Create a process for employees to provide feedback on safety procedures and report any gaps or issues they encounter.
Schedule Regular Reviews: Establish a schedule for reviewing and revising safety documents. In Alberta, HSE documents are required to be reviewed at least every three years. In some cases, review of safety documents is required after an incident.
Communicate Updates Clearly: When documents are updated, communicate the changes clearly to the workforce through meetings, training sessions, or digital platforms. Ensure that employees know what has changed and why.

Conclusion

Getting workers to read and follow HSE documents requires more than simply handing them a manual. Involving them in the process fosters a culture of safety where workers feel accountable for their own well-being and that of their colleagues.

In many provinces, including Alberta, health and safety committees or representatives play a critical role in this collaborative approach. These committees and representatives bring workers and management together to discuss and shape safety practices. By engaging workers through these channels, companies can gather valuable insights directly from those performing the tasks, ensuring that HSE documents reflect real-world needs and potential risks.

Collaboration and communication are essential for compliance. When workers understand the purpose behind HSE documents, feel invested in their creation, and see that their voices are represented through health and safety committees, they are far more likely to engage with and adhere to safety protocols.

By focusing on these strategies, companies create not only safer workplaces but also foster a workforce that is engaged, informed, and committed to a shared culture of safety.