In November 2021, RRC arranged and delivered a series of Classroom courses for a large container port company in the Bahamas. The port operations, which have been running since 1997, offer 24/7 state-of-the-art cargo handling services, so a continued focus on health and safety training and management is a central part of the company’s core values. It was as part of this continued commitment to ensuring the health and safety of their port and employees that led them to seek out additional training.
Their approach was to provide top-down training for their senior management team (SMT), as well as bottom-up training for their supervisors and line managers on the ground. This two-pronged approach ensured that those with H&S responsibilities at all levels of the organisation were given the tools and knowledge to understand their roles and responsibilities for safety, as well as empowering them to make safety related decisions. And for their ground operations employees, they aimed to enable line managers and supervisors to better carry out incident investigation and reporting, improving safety standards at the operational level.
...They aimed to enable line managers and supervisors to better carry out incident investigation and reporting...
To achieve these objectives, the CEO wanted a training provider that would be able to provide in-person training which could be tailored to their specific needs, as well as to provide a forum for discussing issues and finding solutions. RRC was the ideal provider for this, with existing experience both in arranging in-person training for companies around the world, and in adapting course materials to best suit the needs of individual companies.
After further discussion on their specific needs, a combination of NEBOSH HSE Certificate in Health & Safety Leadership Excellence for SMT, and NEBOSH HSE Introduction to Incident Investigation for managers and supervisors was agreed. To highlight the importance of H&S to the company’s objectives, the training would also be attended by the CEO and all department heads, as well as having each session introduced by a senior manager.
Beyond providing their employees with the opportunity to complete the well-respected NEBOSH courses, the Leadership course provided an unexpected benefit. The classroom exercise included a SWOT analysis of the company itself, where they were able to undertake an honest audit with an independent person facilitating the process. The inclusion of the SMT in the sessions meant almost all of them were able to get involved. Reflecting on the training, one SMT member concluded that this audit was much better than getting an independent audit such as ISO 45001.
Further feedback from those who attended concluded that the training had indeed met the company’s objectives. One employee commented that the course should “pave the way for a growing H&S culture”.