Photo by © CEphoto, Uwe Aranas
Is your workplace as safe and sound as you’d like it to be?
In today’s business world, injuries on the job can negatively impact your company on several fronts.
While the safety of your workers should always be first and foremost on your priority list, workplace injuries can also hit you in the wallet, including fines from local, state, and even federal agencies.
So, are you confident that you can keep employees safe? Read on below and find out…
Workplace Safety is Your Top Priority
When you stop and look at your workplace safety efforts, can they be improved?
Even though you may feel like you are doing everything humanly possible to provide a safe work environment for your team, there are likely areas where more can be done.
Stop for a bit and focus in on these areas:
- Meeting OSHA rules and regulations – Look to see if your business meets all the necessary Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules. While you might think that your business doesn’t have to worry about such needs because you might have nothing to do with things like construction, moving hazardous materials, or a whole host of other occupations, think again. OSHA covers myriad of businesses and specific jobs, so there is a good chance your company falls under those categories;
- Making sure employees are properly certified – Short of answering the phones or typing information into a computer, there are a wide range of jobs that require one form or another of certification. With that in mind, it is imperative that your employees are properly certified. Jobs that require various forms of certification, including those in need of an aerial lift certification course, should never be short-changed when it comes to meeting all the needed requirements. If one or more employees are not properly certified and educated on the usage of machinery and other items, it can be an accident waiting to happen. To that end, you could be putting employees’ lives (and others) and your company’s future at risk. Simply put, workplace safety should never be compromised;
- Workplace safety reminders – You can never talk about workplace safety too often. That being the case; have workplace safety meetings on a regular basis. Yes, some employees may feel such meetings can be a bit too redundant, but if the meetings prevent even one accident at work from happening, aren’t they worth it? So that the meetings do not become too mundane, let employees at times carry the conversation. Encourage them to come up with ideas to make the environment they call home 40 hours a week (some may work more or less) a safe one. As mentioned earlier, one does not have to be in the business of moving heavy objects, constructing new homes, offices, shops etc. to have a potential workplace accident or two. Injuries at work can happen as easily as an employee falling, hurting their hand operating a device, lifting something and throwing their back out etc. When you stress workplace safety 24/7, you and your employees will all be the better for it;
- Learning from others – It never hurts to see what other businesses (especially those on your particular industry) are doing to keep their employees safe and sound. You can likely find such information out by visiting company websites and/or looking for safety-related videos online. In doing so, you increase your knowledge and that of those under your employ in being safer on the job. Many companies and safety organizations for that matter can also be found promoting safety initiatives on social media, so try social networking sites out too. Lastly, take recommendations from the medical community on how to make for safer workplace environments. For example, employees that spend too much time doing a particular task (perhaps driving a truck for example) can become tired and sloppy, both of which can lead to accidents. Listen to recommendations on how far your employees can go and implement such advice in your workplace.
Businesses invest in myriad of items, most notably their employees.
At the end of the day, it is crucial that your company invests in its most important product it has, your employees.