One thing that comes with being an employer is your responsibility over the health and safety of your workplace. Generally, a safe and healthy environment gives you and your employees assurance and a sense of security. In turn, they can channel their focus on becoming more productive and efficient at work.
With this, it helps to create a plan that orients every person in your organization on what to do to prevent illnesses and injuries and stay healthy and sane at the workplace.
1. Be committed.
Being committed to your goal of ensuring health and safety within the workplace means putting as much effort into it than you would on any other important aspect of your business. Start off with writing a policy for people in your organization that emphasizes the importance of workplace safety and health. Raise employee awareness by organizing meetings about this topic and encouraging everyone to participate in future training and workshops regarding workplace safety.
Of course, you have to commit the necessary resources if you want it to become successful. Aside from the time and effort it requires, money and personnel play a big role in helping to protect your employees.
2. Identify health and safety hazards.
Before anything else, you need to know what the hazards in your workplace are. For a start, you can review records of illnesses, accidents, and injuries in your company, as well as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) logs, complaints, and close calls. Look for trends within these records. More effectively, survey your employees, as they know better what goes on during their shifts.
Once you’ve done your research, inspect the workplace yourself for any problem that may compromise health and safety. You can hire consultants to help you survey your workplace in a more comprehensive manner.
3. Decide how to control these hazards.
Once you’ve identified the hazards, list them in order of priority. Which are the most likely to harm employees and cause serious injuries? Which can be immediately fixed? Which hazards will take a long time to be corrected?
With the help of a professional, set up a job hazard analysis to point out how best to correct hazards in your workplace. For instance, companies in the engineering industry eliminate hazards through safety tools and equipment as well as providing a clinic with a first aid kit, blood oxygen level monitoring sensors, and other basic materials in case of health emergencies.
4. Comply with safety regulations.
Know the OSHA regulations and identify what applies to your workplace. Compliance with these regulations is not just for legality, but it also ensures protection for your employees. With these regulations, you may have to develop specific programs that focus on keeping your workforce safe on the job.
5. Look beyond the physical.
Being safe in the workplace does not only mean being away from physical workplace injuries. One thing that many employers often overlook is the fact that their organization is being run by humans, who are not just drained physically, but also mentally and emotionally.
Stress is commonplace in any work environment, but too much of it can lead to more serious consequences, such as the possibility of alcoholism and substance abuse. Before one thing can lead to another, encourage staff to air out their concerns and take breaks and vacations every once in a while. For safety purposes, include an alcohol breath analyzer in your clinic or during annual physical exams to ensure that your employees are in tiptop condition at work.
Every company has its own unique system that reflects the organization’s principles, but this step-by-step guide will help you, as an employer, to create a plausible safety and health system that adapts to your needs.
