Posted By Charley Farley-Trelawney Sean pretty simple one here I am afraid, and is as follows: Usual letters of confirmation, dedicated personnel file set up, met at reception on first day, start with a tour, from where to park, buses, trains, layout of premises, all fire exits, procedures etc. Introduce new starter to all heads of departments, sit with them and enjoy tea or coffee or lunch depending on how long it is taking. Introduce them to their place of work, and discuss all basic points such as water availability, WC,s how to sign in out etc. Once all the basics are done I will issue a company safety handbook, and run through a pro forma (tick box style) with them checking I have covered anything and invite them to ask me any questions they may have. Once the induction PF is signed by myself and the new starter I will officially hand them over to the head of department where they will work, personnel will explain the procedure for contract of employment issue etc, I will assess the DSE survey and arrange to train them within 2 working days, any other H&S issues will be considered at that time. They will be invited back to speak with me for as long as they require within 30 days and again at 90 days. Thereafter it is down to the yearly appraisal by the head of department. That in its simple form is our basic induction procedure. Usually takes between 4 and 6 hours. CFT

Posted By Merv Newman Charley, sorry, but I am now unsure of your function. I thought you were the H&S guru of your organisation. Now you sound like human relations. I prefer that the direct boss of the new employee or temp or trainee or student gives the first safety induction. and where the toilets and emergency exits are. Then they go to the stores to get PPE. then they come to you and you give them, again, the company safety policy/philosophy/my door is always open bit. Then they go to the work area to get on-the-job training. Under the watchful eyes of the supervisor AND an experienced safety conscious colleague. When appropriate the supervisor formally signs them off as safe to work with only normal supervision. Then you do the surprise fire drill. Merv

Posted By Charley Farley-Trelawney Merv Jack of all comes to mind at times. I spend a good deal of time with them ensuring I fully understand the new employees needs, and explain at the time what H&S means within our company. At my age and on the board I feel it demonstrates how important employees are to us and when I am doing the tour I will include many other aspects of the induction. Works for me and also gives me a break from the normal HSEQ duties! That is my story and I'm sticking to it! Take care ol boy CFT

Posted By Sean Fraser Sean, I see no reason why your method wouldn't be acceptable, but there is a risk that there will be some who do not fill it in and hand it back - what provision would you have to deal with that? Also, you wouldn't want it to be seen as a punishment that if they didn't complete it, by having to sit in on a "boring" H&S lecture! I would suggest that you would still need to have some introductory input, to ensure they understand what is expected of them and what assistance you can provide while they complete it. Note however that this would only be acceptable in a low risk environment. The higher the hazard ratio, the more effort needs made at the front end to ensure that personnel exposed to risk are sufficiently aware of the hazards and the controls in place to reduce risk. Although much of this is done at the coal face, there still needs to be a visible presence from H&S to reassure them that there is support available should they need it.

Posted By Darren J Fraser This sounds an excellent idea in principle, just out of interest how will you deal with English as a second or third language, reason I ask is, this is something I have to take into account during all inductions and further training, it would be interesting to see how others tackle this sensitive issue.

Posted By Mark Eastbourne I used to work in HR. Am not saying that what follows is the right way, each employer is different but this is what we did. Employee would come in...hang on, just noticed we have splel check, excellent! Anyway, first 20 -30 minutes a member of HR sits with new starter to collect paperwork like P45, Induction handbook confirmation of reading it slip, contract of employment etc and he would be taken through what a typical day would involve. The team leader would then collect the new employee and show him around his work area and introduce him to the work colleagues, show him where the toilets are, clocking in machine and most importantly, coffee machine and general H&S hazards in the area and issue PPE. In the afternoon, I would carry out a 2 and a half hour general H&S Seminar with handouts and a get employee to sign a checklist entitled Acknowledgement of H&S Training Checklist. This would include the usual subjects in addition to informing them of the systematic approach to training system and where to find risk assessments. It was a culmination of 5 years worth of work but it was still an evolving system. Anyhow, good luck with whatever works for you. Mark