IOSH Managing Safely Refresher: When Do Your Managers Need One?

Plenty of businesses sent their managers on IOSH Managing Safely a few years ago, filed the certificates and moved on. Then a customer questionnaire, a tender or an accreditation renewal arrives with a new question: not "do your managers hold IOSH Managing Safely?" but "when was it last refreshed?" That is the gap the IOSH Managing Safely Refresher is designed to close.

Does an IOSH Managing Safely certificate expire?

Strictly, no. The certificate carries no expiry date and there is no law that says a manager must retake it. But the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to provide adequate training, and to repeat it periodically where appropriate. Knowledge fades, workplaces change and people move into bigger roles, so training that was adequate three or four years ago may not be now.

That is why IOSH recommends a refresher around three years after the full course, and why so many customers, frameworks and accreditation schemes have started to treat that three-year mark as the point a certificate goes stale.

What is the IOSH Managing Safely Refresher?

It is a one-day course for people who already hold IOSH Managing Safely. Rather than starting from scratch, it revisits each part of the full course quickly and practically:

• why safety management matters, morally, legally and financially
• assessing risks and choosing sensible controls
• a manager's legal responsibilities
• identifying common workplace hazards
• investigating incidents and finding the real cause
• measuring performance and keeping improvement going
• protecting the environment

The day finishes with a short multiple-choice assessment. Delegates who pass receive an IOSH Managing Safely Refresher certificate, which is the dated evidence customers and auditors are looking for.

Who should attend?

Managers, supervisors and team leaders who passed IOSH Managing Safely, ideally around three years ago. It suits anyone who has since been promoted, changed site or taken on more responsibility, because the refresher is applied to how they work now, not how they worked when they first trained.

If a manager passed a long time ago, or never actually completed the full course, the refresher is not the right step. In that case the full three-day IOSH Managing Safely course is the better choice, and a good provider will tell you so honestly.

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Why refresh rather than wait until someone asks?

It is much cheaper than the full course

One day instead of three means less time off the floor and a lower cost per delegate. Leave it too long and you may find the full course is the only option your customer will accept.

It strengthens your evidence

Insurers, auditors and enforcing authorities all look at whether managers are competent now. A recent, dated certificate answers that question far better than one from five years ago.

It actually changes behaviour

Most managers forget the detail of a course within a couple of years. A refresher puts risk assessment, incident investigation and good monitoring back at the front of their minds, which is where they make a difference.

Practical tips for booking

• Pull together a list of who holds Managing Safely and when they passed. Anyone at or beyond three years is due.
• Group managers together where you can. On-site training for a group is usually the most cost-effective option.
• Check the exact wording of any customer or scheme requirement, so you know which course they expect.
• Plan the next cycle now. Putting a date in the diary three years ahead avoids the same scramble next time.

IOSH Managing Safely Refresher in Leicestershire and the East Midlands

Integral Safety is an IOSH approved training provider based in Coalville. We deliver the one-day IOSH Managing Safely Refresher at your premises across Leicester, Leicestershire, Nottingham, Derby and the wider East Midlands, or online for teams spread across sites, using examples from your own workplace. Get in touch with the number of managers and roughly when, and we will come back with dates and a clear price.