Regardless of what type of workplace it is, from the office to the warehouse, you need to make sure that it’s fulfilling its purpose. More than just being a place for your team to get their work done, it’s a space that should house, protect, and take care of your human resources. The most important aspect of this is, of course, making sure that you create and maintain a clean and a safe workplace for them to work in.
A safe and healthy staff contributes to a happier workplace, which will help your business to be more productive and efficient. To attain a happy and efficient business, here are some of the best safety measures to take for anyone that runs their own business (or is in control of the health and safety protocols).
Not only that but what to do if a workplace injury does occur.
Table of Contents
Why Safety Matters In The Workplace
Safety in the workplace is crucial for several reasons. First and foremost, ensuring a safe work environment protects employees from harm and prevents accidents.
When safety measures are in place, workers can focus on their tasks without worrying about potential dangers.
Additionally, prioritizing safety boosts employee morale and productivity. When workers feel secure, they are more motivated and engaged in their jobs.
Furthermore, maintaining a safe workplace reduces the risk of costly incidents and legal liabilities for employers.
What To Do Following A Workplace Injury
Act Fast
Dawdling after an accident is the worst thing you can do as a manager. An injured employee must be assessed and treated by the person responsible for First Aid.
Most workplace injuries are minor and include a cut that you can treat easily.
However, more hazardous environments, such as construction sites, may pose a greater risk of more severe injuries. The quicker you act, the sooner you will be able to provide the necessary treatment, whether on-site or at a hospital.
Report The Incident
Failing to report incidents is a sign of a bad manager. Often, these managers do not report issues because they know they have not done something correctly, yet this puts you and your business at risk of legal action.
Therefore, you must detail the report by gathering information from the employee, as well as from anyone else who was in the area at the time. A detailed report submitted to OSHA makes the incident official and prevents potential liability on your behalf.
Vague or non-committal reports are unsuitable as they never give the entire picture of what happened, which means the accident could happen again.
Identify What Happened and Adjust
You should learn what happened to cause the accident, even if you were not there. Besides employee reports, you can also review any CCTV footage that will provide a clear picture of what occurred and clarify any conflicting information.
In the case of machinery failures, you may be able to get a software report to highlight what happened.
After you have determined what happened, you must carry out a risk assessment to make sure it does not happen again. It is possible that machinery was being overworked or that someone did not tidy up after themselves, which created a trip hazard.
In this instance, establishing safety protocols is vital to maintaining a safe workplace.
Support Your Employee
As your employee was injured on your watch, you share the obligations. You cannot ignore their issues, so supporting your employees can mitigate further problems.
If your employee believes they were not at fault, they may want to receive compensation, yet this is not always straightforward. Once they have submitted their request, you can provide resources, including information on how to track their workers’ comp check, which should give them an idea of how the injury impacts them financially.
Regular check-ins and discussions can also help your employees feel more comfortable and prepare them to return to work when possible.
Employee Safety
You know that employee safety is paramount. If you understand the correct protocols to follow, you can prevent any accidents from worsening and ensure that the same thing does not happen again.
This results in a more confident workplace that maintains productivity while protecting your business from liability. Here are some tips to avoid injuries from happening in the first place:
Look for Danger To Keep A Safe Workplace
You shouldn’t ignore the potential issues in the workplace that could cause injury or illness if something goes wrong. Therefore, you should be actively looking out for them. You can do this with the help of services like a safety audit, which will review every aspect of the workplace.
You should also consider Lozier storage systems as a way to keep any dangerous or hazardous items for your business safe.
You should also be looking for exterior problems and fixes that need doing, using a top rated asphalt repair company to do the necessary work.
Look to see what potential risks lie there, and offer recommendations on what you can do to make them safe. Otherwise, you could be charged with being neglectful in the case of an accident.
Correct labeling
Regardless of your business, you likely have hazardous conditions around the office, warehouse, or other areas. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that your workspace is properly labeled to minimize risk and prevent incidents.
From hazard signs to labeling chemicals, ensure that every potential risk is visible.
For instance, if you work in a laboratory with hazardous chemicals, you will not only want to identify the chemicals but also add safety labels so that your team knows how to use them safely.
Working alongside a Chemical Labeling Company will help to maximize workplace safety, as having the correct labeling on substances will ensure that the individual knows how to safely use the chemical. Without proper labeling, the individual may not know the precautions to take while using the chemical.
Communicate Safety Procedures
If you do not communicate safety procedures to your team, how are they supposed to know every minute detail of the health and safety protocols?
It is essential to inform your team about all the safety procedures that are important to know to reduce risk and prevent incidents. Likewise, this communication of safety procedures should also include information on what to do should an incident happen.
This differs from workplace training, as the communication of procedures involves both verbal cues and updates on new safety protocols. For instance, let’s say you work in a laboratory and introduce a new chemical. You should inform your staff about the latest chemical and let them know how to use it safely.
Regular Training For A Safe Workplace
Alongside communicating safety procedures, it is also essential for you and your team to participate in regular training. You should obtain this knowledge from a professional health and safety training company, ensuring you are aware of all the most effective measures to keep the workplace as safe as possible.
You should train new members of staff before they join and start work.
Furthermore, regular training will help to top up employees’ knowledge so that they remember how to act before, during, and after an incident occurs. Regular practices will help them be more aware of how to act in the workplace to minimize risk.
However, regular training comes in a variety of shapes and sizes; sometimes, it involves updating the handbook and having employees review it; it could also be taking classes, watching videos, or even something more hands-on, such as driving.
Speaking of which, if you have a fleet, you need to ensure that your employees not only have their licenses (which is obvious) but also receive proper training in protocol, know how to operate the company cars properly, and so on.
Overall, ideally, no accidents occur when you need a car accident lawyer, so this is why proper training (and regular training at that) is essential. You need to be strict about this!
Ensure Good Visibility At All Times
The prevention of accidents should be one of the top efforts in turning your workplace into a safer place. There are a lot of ways you can more generally prevent accidents outside of addressing the more specific safety complaints that an audit might find.
Improving visibility in the workplace is always crucial. This means ensuring that there is adequate lighting throughout the entire workspace. Often, you need specific task lighting for work-intensive spaces.
To Maintain A Safe Working Environment: Ensure Cleanliness
Another easy tip to take on board as a boss when maximizing workplace safety is to keep the workplace clean and tidy. A spill on the floor or a loose wire could cause an incident for any team member.
You can make it policy and practice for team members to take care of their own spaces. But when it comes to ensuring the best standards for the workplace, relying on a commercial cleaning team is going to offer a lot more consistency.
Of course, it helps to prevent accidents and creates a more hygienic workplace, one that’s less likely to cause illness.
Be sure the space is functional, and if you need to relieve the space of clutter, consider shipping containers Hobart as a storage solution.
Comfort Matters In A Safe Workplace
Comfort might not sound like anything too essential. If anything, it sounds more like a “nice to have” than something mandatory. However, when you’re designing a healthy workspace, it should be at the top of your list.
The single most significant cause of workplace disability is back pain. Back pain is caused not only by accidents but also by musculoskeletal injuries. This can happen due to a lack of back and posture support, especially when sitting at a desk.
Using ergonomic furniture in your workplace can help reduce the risk of this happening under your supervision.
Have An Incident Report Book Available For A Safe Workplace
When an incident does occur, it must be reported. This can be done verbally to you or in an incident report book. It is a good idea to have the incident report book available so everyone can access it.
Even if employees prefer to report an incident to you, it may still occur when you are unavailable (e.g., off sick or in a meeting). Hence, they must report it somewhere so it doesn’t go unaccounted for.
This book should display the date, time, witnesses, and details of what happened. Any witness should take this first step unless the incident results in a person needing medical help.
If so, medical attention and assistance should be the first port of call.
Although understanding how to keep a workplace as safe and risk-free as possible may seem obvious, some measures are sometimes overlooked. For instance, businesses may overlook conducting regular equipment checks or failing to update staff on new safety procedures.
Make sure to tick off every one of these tips to ensure you achieve maximum workplace safety.
In Conclusion – How To Create and Maintain A Safe Workplace
Of course, it helps prevent accidents and creates a more hygienic workplace, one that is less likely to cause illness. So consider how you will keep on top of things, whether that be having something written into your employee’s contract or using professional commercial cleaning services.
The safety of your team should always be a top priority in managing your human resources. Follow the tips and continue researching how to reduce the risks of injury in your workplace.
What are you doing to maintain a clean and safe workplace? I’d love to hear more about it.
