Every time we open the newspaper or turn on the TV it’s all doom and gloom, talk of recession, downturn in the economy, job losses, cutbacks and belt tightening.

As the resources dwindle and cash becomes scarce, very often the Training and Safety budgets are the first to be hit.

This is often a false economy. In fact closer attention to Health & Safety may be required. Cut backs can lead to leaner staffing levels which in turn can cause increased stress and increased work loads leading to short cuts being taken, deviations from the safe working methods, and an increase in accidents. An increase in accidents can lead to increased costs, lost time and further short staffing levels…and so a vicious cycle is created.

The pressure to decrease overtime costs can lead to unsafe practices when there is insufficient time available to do the job safely.

When it comes to contracting services there may be increased pressure to go with the lowest quote; but be careful you are not just buying yourself a problem - you need to be sure of competency levels and have evidence of that competency.

No matter how ‘Hard’ times get; the work still has to be done safely and employees still have a right to a safe place of work, so scrimping on the facility maintenance may only lead to greater expenditure in the future ….’a stitch in time saves nine’.

As the budgets are affected every euro will count and you need to make sure you are maximising the return on your investment. Periodic Health & Safety reviews will help identify areas requiring focus; risk rating will help you to prioritise actions. No matter how ‘Hard’ times get the law requires that we MANAGE health & safety, not simply react after adverse events.

Business Studies have shown that in the end it pays to put the resources into prevention measures rather than corrective actions.

Hard times force us to rethink and re-examine what we do and how we do it. Training and Safety budgets are soft targets so what is needed is to get smart and to make sure that these budgets are spent to best advantage.