2. The Importance and Purpose of a Health and Safety Management Programme

The importance and purpose of implementing safety and health management programme components in the workplace are explained in terms of the consequences to the health and safety of individuals and the impact on production.

Implementing safety, health and environmental representation activities are of great importance to both employers and employees. Implementing such programmes ensures that the plant is safe for persons working in it and also machinery is safe to work with. Faulty and unsafe plants and machinery will result in accidents that will reduce productivity.

Employees will be maimed or killed and this reduces man-hours and employee morale. These activities also reduce the probability of hazards to health and safety caused by careless workmates. These activities will also identify careless behaviour at the workplace and ensures corrective action is taken before accidents occur. This will result in smooth operations and ensures that a plant is safe and fully operational thus high productivity.