Six Simple Tips For Improving Workplace Health and Safety

 

While there are many steps you can take to sustain a successful business, such as launching a successful marketing campaign or finding new ways to win over customers - it's crucial that workplace health and safety procedures remain a top priority. 

After all, without these systems in place, you are putting your business at risk in more ways than one. Firstly, if something goes wrong, you may be found legally culpable, which could lead to charges and fines - both of which could bring an end to your company. Beyond this, however, you are also putting the health and well-being of your team and customers at risk. 

With that in mind, here are six tips you can follow to improve health and safety within your small business. 

Understand what is expected of you

While employees should familiarize themselves with standard health and safety procedures, it is the responsibility of the employers to “provide a workplace free from serious recognized hazards and comply with standards, rules, and regulations,” such as those outlined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act. As a result, it's crucial that you understand the steps and procedures you should be following before opening your business to ensure that you are not putting yourself (or others) at risk. 

Train your employees well

Any good business school will teach you the importance of ensuring your team receives adequate training during the onboarding process. After all, this will impact their ability to do their job. However, while role-specific training is essential, you should also ensure they receive thorough health and safety training. 

Employee health and safety training should include the following: 

• Instructions on how to use each specific piece of equipment and machinery 
• Instructions on wearing and accessing the appropriate PPE (Masks, ear protection, high-vis clothing, etc.)
• Basic first-aid skills 
• Instructions on what to do in an emergency
• Details on how to file an incident report 
• Access to a detailed and specific health and safety manual

Ensure you have the appropriate business insurance

Investing in business insurance can help to protect your business in case something goes wrong by providing you with financial support in the aftermath of the incident. Furthemore, in many states, this is a basic safety requirement - meaning you cannot operate without having insurance in place. As a result, it's not enough to have your own family health insurance; you must also have a policy in place for your business. 

Carry out a risk assessment

One of the easiest ways to improve workplace health and safety is to understand what you are up against - i.e., identifying the hazards your team may encounter in a regular workday. This is known as a risk assessment, and not only should this document identify hazards, but it should also detail how they can be avoided or removed entirely. 

Common hazards that you may identify during a routine risk assessment could include: 

• Tripping hazards. Trailing wires, cluttered walkways, poor lighting.
• Chemical hazards. Improper storage of chemical products.
• Electrical hazards.  Faulty wiring, exposed sockets.

Once you’ve conducted a risk assessment, begin to think about ways you can enact positive change. For example, hiring an electrician to deal with any faulty wiring is essential.

One way in which you can make the risk-assessment process as safe and hassle-three as possible is by using drone technology to conduct site inspections. Click here to Learn More. 

Put together an emergency plan

While you can make every effort to make your workplace as safe as possible, accidents can still happen - whether they be caused by malfunctioning equipment or human error. As such, the steps you follow in the wake of an incident are just as crucial as the preventative measures you have in place. This means that you must put together a clear plan for what to do when something goes wrong and ensure that all employees are familiar with it. This should include information such as: 

• Emergency contact details. This could include the contact information for local emergency services, health and safety personnel, and management. 
• Evacuation procedures. If the incident requires an evacuation, the document must explain how this procedure should be initiated - and by who.
• First aid and medical advice. If employees/customers are injured, you should also outline first aid procedures that can be followed within this document.

Prevent burnout

According to a recent study, “between 60 and 80 percent of workplace accidents are the result of stress-induced issues,” such as burnout. As a result, working to combat burnout is one of the easiest ways to ensure rigorous health and safety standards are upheld with your business. Fortunately, there are many ways to tackle burnout and stress within your team, such as: 

• Developing an employee wellness or well-being program that helps them stay on track
• Providing your team with access to mental health resources and support 
• Delegating work fairly, ensuring that employees are not overburdened 
• Creating a supportive, collaborative work environment instead of a competitive one 
• Focus on working as a team toward shared goals as opposed to setting too many individual targets 
• Prioritizing well-being and happiness over deadlines and excellence, reminding your team that everyone makes mistakes from time to time
• Letting your employees take breaks as and when they need them
• Letting your employees know its okay to approach you should they have any worries or concerns

Putting your employees first will not only help keep your workplace safe, but it can also help your business go from strength to strength as they are more likely to stay in roles where they feel supported. As a result, you’ll have to spend less time (and money) on recruitment and rehiring. 

Final thoughts

In short, there are many ways in which you can begin to improve the health and safety standards within your workplace. While this is important when it comes to business longevity, it's important that you see the human side of this issue and work hard to keep your employees, contractors, and customers safe. When you remain focused on this goal, your business will not only comply with all local or government regulations, but it will also be the kind of place where people would actually like to spend time in.