When considering the prospects of their companies most business owners fail to realize just how critical is the role of workplace safety in the whole story. Of course, we are all aware of the devastating effects of workplace accidents and their emotional, financial, and financial ripples – with more than 2.8 million injuries recorded in the US privately-owned companies in 2019 we are obliged to.
What we often fail to understand is that, even when the threat of accidents is presently looming, the safe, well-maintained, and well-coordinated work environment has a very positive effect on the morale, well-being, productivity, and, in turn, efficiency of your employees.
So, let us take a look at a couple of simple and cost-effective ways you can improve the safety of your premises and allow you to harness all the benefits we have mentioned above while keeping any kind of injuries at bay.
Conduct a thorough security assessment
To put it simply, your efforts will be much more effective and bear stronger results if they are focused on the areas that truly need some sort of fine-tuning. Therefore, be sure to get everyone, especially the senior staff on board, to determine the scope of the audit and prepare a schedule so as not to interfere with the other processes. As for the very activities, they should be broken down into the following categories:
- Workers’ knowledge and skill levels
- Equipment and materials
- Compliance review
- Facility inspection
- Review of documents and safety records
- General safety review
Provide employees with sufficient training
If they are to perform their task in the safest and the most efficient manner, the workers need to get very comprehensive training that should start right with the onboarding and be implemented thought the employee’s entire stay in the company. If we, for instance, take Australia as an example we will find recent research conducted on construction companies in West Australia, we will see that the use of proper company-wide training drastically reduced the number of work-related injuries as well as helped the surveys companies to achieve a level of efficiency. Take these things into serious consideration.
Obtain quality work gear and equipment
Although it is very hard to pinpoint one item that could single-handedly save your workers’ lives, it is worth mentioning that, when put together, they produce tremendous combined results. So, if we, once more, go south for an example we will see that the men’s workwear in Australia has gone a long way from heavy and cumbersome pieces to newer sleek models that provide excellent range of motion and great dexterity. The same can be said about work shoes, helmets, gloves, and similar items. The more comfortable your employees feel in them, the fewer dangerous mistakes they will make along the way.
Make necessary schedule adjustments
To put it simply, fatigued workers are more likely to make simple mistakes that often lead to accidents and fatal injuries. According to a recent survey, this common problem is a cause of approximately 18% of workplace incidents. It is also worth mentioning that these accidents are 30% more likely to happen during night shifts. Because of that, you should make sure to avoid stretching your workers too thin and give them regular brakes. According to guidelines provided by CDC, they should be paced at every two hours of active work. This time can also be used for stretching exercises or some amusing activity.
Motivate the employees to follow the guidelines
New company-wide initiatives can be often met with a dose of resistance, even if they are implemented to the benefit of all parties involved. So, feel free to use your traditional sticks and carrots to bring the employees on board. First and foremost, you should introduce a zero-tolerance policy toward all things going against the company’s safety regulations. On the other hand, more responsible behavior, as well as independent initiatives aimed at increasing workplace safety levels, should always be rewarded with small bonuses, extra days off, etc. You can even assemble a committee that will keep track of these things.
Distribute clear guidelines and use labels
Last but not least, we would like to point out that the strategy we have suggested above will take root much easier if you provide your workers with clear, comprehensive, and easy-to-follow guidelines. Whether you are going to distribute them around the premises or make them available online is up to you – just make sure every employee has access. Also, keep the most important rules and instructions in the form of labels, signs, and color-coded items. All these tools are very intuitive, cost little to nothing, and can be easily understood even outside the context of complicated workplace procedures.
These were the top six effective tips that should help you considerably raise the safety level of your premises without having to invest considerable amounts of money or completely overhaul the workflow procedures. What’s important to understand is that every effort made in this direction is an effort well spent. Not only you are going to drastically cut down the chance of any kind of dangerous accident but you are also going to provide your workers with an environment where they will feel safe, cared for, and highly engaged.
And this is exactly the type of workers you need to join the major league.
