Let’s not beat around the bush here – you need to keep health and safety measures in your business, big or small. First of all, you will be punished accordingly by the local administrative OSHA authority (or whatever the relevant governing body near you is). These will then most likely lead to financial or more severe penalties. However, this should not be the reason you care about health and safety.
As an ethical person, and someone who cares about his employees or the people he or she manages, you should put their safety first. And even if this does not phase you, know that both clients, and high-level employees, will appreciate you and your company more if you show you care. So without further ado, below you can find the proper guide to occupational health and safety below.
Create a plan
The first thing you have to do is draft a plan that can help you set up safety and protection at your workplace. This means creating a proper plan, with a clear schedule and system in place. Said system is supposed to satisfy all relevant legal requirements, while at the same time giving your people ample room to actually get used to any safety standards that are required of them. Furthermore, you will have a clear idea of how much money you need to get, and if you are going to receive any type of subsidies for equipment or training. You will also need to figure out the proper timing for schedules, seminars, and things of that nature.
You obviously have to analyse your business and your situation. This will then tell you what you have to focus on, and where to go from there. You may not need to invest much, but, perhaps you will need a very serious overhaul of how you do business.
Provide proper equipment and training
Another thing you should know if you want proper health and safety systems for your business is investing in proper gear and training. In fact, if you don’t have it, you most likely will have to get the right gear. Now, this can be anything from safe cleaning supplies for the office break room, to full-blown hazmat suits if you’re in that kind of line of work. However, that’s not all. You may need to prepare the environment, get the right signs, labels, and signals. Perhaps new rails need to be set up, or better gates.
Then, you need proper employee training. Everything from knowing how to file a workplace injury report, to running heavy machinery. Proper seminars, programs, and boot camps need to be instigated. We know, this may cost you valuable resources, both in terms of manpower, money, and time, but it’s all worth it in the end. You will be more respected as a company and will attract better employees and better partners.
Remember, it’s not just that your people know how to do things properly and safely. You also want them to know how to react in the middle of an emergency. Basic first aid training may be necessary, as can emergency response training.
Have safety procedures and protocols be disseminated throughout the company, both in physical and digital forms. Send a copy to every employee’s email address, as well as provide a manual at conspicuous places.
Be diligent
A big part of really implementing safety measures is by being diligent. These, unfortunately, require at first, a bit of extra work on the part of your employees. Many won’t be thrilled with this, so you need to compensate them properly, or you need to motivate them. Have regular conversations with your people, and lead by example. Follow all safety precautions to a T, and never cut yourself some slack on this issue.
Furthermore, you need to keep records of all inspections, investigations, training seminars, and drills. If an incident occurs, you need to track everything that happened, in order to have it never happen again. This can also be important for insurance reasons since there is a great difference between an injury caused by neglect of the employee, or because of faulty equipment.
Keep a log of all work procedures, and keep track of any infringements. By practicing due diligence, you truly show that safety is your number one priority in the workplace.
Conclusion
If you want to maintain health and safety at your company, you need to do that properly. First, be diligent, and thorough. You need to show people that you care about safety, and that you care about their protection. Provide them with appropriate training, give them the right tools to get the job done. Make it as easy as possible for them to adhere to safety regulations, and you will undoubtedly end up with a safer workplace.
