The Complete Guide to a Safe Working Environment
Your employees are your company’s most valuable asset. This reason alone is enough for you to create a safe work environment free of accidents and injuries for them. A safe working environment is one thing you should never take lightly or overlook.
This is regardless of how many employees you have. One of your business’s most essential core aspects is preventing accidents and promoting a healthy working environment. Accidents and injuries could be life-changing for both the employee and the company.
The employee’s life could have a negative impact if they suffer severe or permanent injuries. The business will take a hit when they file for workers’ compensation. For these reasons, we’ve compiled the ultimate guide to a safe working environment.
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Implement Healthy Workplace Programs
The first step of ensuring a safe working environment is implementing the right safety programs in your business. It would help if you had all the employees commit to these programs. Start by including them in your company’s mission statement to encourage all employees to adhere to them.
It would help if you had consequences for not following these programs clearly stipulated and written to avoid mistakes.
Provide Visual Messages and Safety Aids
One of the most important things you can do to promote a safe working environment provides visual aids. Use posters, color codes, labels, and different types of signs. These will serve as reminders for the safety measures stipulated in your business.
You can use OSHA posters in different areas of your business. Go the extra mile and use digital signage for broadcasting the most vital safety messages, updates, and information. For instance, you can display your safety recordable through automated counters. It’s a visual aid that will display real-time information for your employees, reminding them to stay safe at all times.
If you can invest in digital signage in your workplace, it’s going to be an incredible tool during emergencies. The reason is that you can update the information instantly, unlike static posters. You can also use digital signage to post different workplace safety tips on a daily or weekly basis.
Give incentive to your employees to keep following safety regulations. You could recognize those who have demonstrated outstanding awareness. Also, keep everyone updated on any new rules and regulations in your business.
Safe Working Environment: Eliminate Potential Hazards
Eliminating any potential hazards in your workplace to implement a safe working environment. All chemical and physical hazards should be eliminated. Make sure that you comply with OSHA rules, standards, and regulations. You should ensure that your employees know how to avoid trips, slips, and falls, how to use safety equipment, and how to operate machinery safely.
Furthermore, all employees should understand how equipment should be stored on the premises (learn more about the different types of storage on the Storemasta website). This helps to not only avoid injury but also helps to avoid losing anything crucial to the business.
Make sure they understand why following all these rules is vital for their health and safety. Encourage every employee to identify and report any potential problem or safety violation. Show them what immediate steps need to be taken to resolve those problems.
Train All Employees
We cannot overstate how vital training your employees are. Every business should provide all employees with safety training. Training should primarily be offered to all new employees. According to research, new employees are usually at a higher risk of workplace accidents. This can be attributed to the fact that they have no knowledge of your workplace hazards and what techniques they should use to avoid them. Still, you should conduct refresher courses for everyone else once in a while.
You can also offer training for existing workers if they change jobs within the company. Make sure that only qualified employees partake in certain activities. These include operating heavy machinery or handling hazardous chemicals.
Ensure Employees Use Protective Safety Equipment
Using protective equipment minimizes exposure to hazards that could cause potential accidents and injuries. This is one of the best things you can do for your business because protection is always better than cure. Different departments should get different protective gear. For example, one department may need to buy hazmat suit whilst another may only need safety gloves.
The safety gear should fit comfortably not only for comfort but to ensure maximum productivity for the workers. You should provide everything from gloves, protective clothing, earplugs, helmets or hard hats, protective eyewear, etcetera.
Reduce Workplace Stress
Workplace stress can lead to many health issues such as depression, anxiety, among others. Ensure that your workplace is safe from job insecurity, high workload, workplace bullying, or similar issues that could stress your employees.
Stressed employees could turn into a liability for your business because they won’t be as productive as they should be. It would help if you also promote employee health by making sure they take regular breaks to prevent fatigue or tiredness. Breaks are also good because your employees are likely to stay focused and fresh for longer if they’re not overworked.
It would help if you also had strict regulations on substance abuse in your workplace. Surprisingly, substance abuse is the cause of 40% of industrial workplace fatalities. When employees are under the influence, they’ll have problems staying alert.
Everything from their coordination to their motor control, concentration, and decision-making ability is compromised. As a result, they’ll put themselves and others in danger of injuries, damages, and even fatalities.
Have Easy Access to Exits
All employees should be aware of what to do in case of an emergency. The one thing that should be apparent to everyone is where all the exits are, including emergency exits. Conduct a safety drill every once in a while, if possible. This way, everyone can familiarize themselves with emergency protocols and exit areas. It will help if you post exit signs close to all exits.
Create a Safety Committee
Depending on how large your businesses, it’s a good idea to create a safety committee. It should be made up of workers from various departments and be held at least once a month. The committee should keep employees and management up-to-date.
They should have the OHS software to make it easier to manage everything in one place. They should also be keen on getting employee feedback. It’ll open the management’s eyes to potential hazards that may have gone unnoticed before.
Engage Employees and Make It Fun
One little thing you can do to make safety fun in your business is to include trivia, quizzes, and engagement videos about safety. You can also conduct friendly competitions that could include prizes or a chance for recognition.
It would be great motivation for employees to follow safety regulations. It’s one of the best things you can do to prevent workplace injuries and promote a safe working environment.
Promoting a Safe Working Environment: What You Needed to Know About Workplace Safety
We hope that you’re well aware of what to do to promote a safe working environment for everyone in your business. As long as you follow these tips, you’ll be on the right track in providing a safe workplace. For more valuable information, please check out our blog section.
