Risk assessment and management training of trainers in Zambia

The course provided occupational safety and health professionals with detailed guidance and methodology on the use of risk assessment as a tool to identify, evaluate and control risks in the workplace in the mining region of Kitwe.

The objective of the course was to equip the participants with the knowledge and skills that would enable them to introduce a system for the conduct of risk assessments within their workplaces and the process of managing the risk assessments and to train others in risk assessment and management. Training of trainers in risk assessment and management is also a key activity in order to develop a network and pool of resource persons at local level.

The 5-day training course attracted a total of 18 participants, whose organizational affiliation was as follows: 5 government representatives (including 2 inspectors from the Ministry of Labour and 3 inspectors from the Ministry of Mines); 12 delegates from private enterprises (mining companies affiliated to Zambia Federation of Employers); and 1 representative from the Mine Workers’ Union of Zambia (MUZ).

During the course, participants were led through the process of simple risk assessment and were then enabled to develop those skills through the application of risk assessment to the most common health and safety issues including workplace layout and traffic routes, safe working at height, machinery safety, and chemical safety.

The participants were able to demonstrate acquisition of knowledge and skills by drawing up risk assessment and management plans for their respective workplaces and able to elaborate the implementation process for the risk assessment and management plans they had drawn-up.

Participants commented that the workshop was very useful and relevant to their work and that such training courses should be held regularly, particularly for personnel in industry. It was also recommended that national OSH institutions put in place a sustainable programme for the continuation of this course to disseminate the implementation of risk assessment and management in Zambia’s workplaces.