Steps to Improving Workplace Health and Safety

As a business owner, you have a legal and moral responsibility to keep your employees safe from harm. That’s why the legal framework governing health and safety in the workplace is so robust. Having a positive and proactive health and safety program is always a useful process to adopt for a variety of reasons. Not only can you reduce potential workflow disruption due to accidents, you also ensure that your team feel safer as they tackle their own workloads. How your health and safety program is developed will largely depend on the size and scale of your business, but the basics remain true for both large brands and SMEs. If you want a better business model, then here are some tips on how to improve your workplace health and safety.

Develop a Plan

Your first step should always be an assessment of your existing health and safety processes. Discuss what needs to be done with your employees, as they will usually have a more evidence-based awareness of what, if anything, needs to be changed or updated. Start to identify any potential hazards, and ensure that there is a clear emergency plan in place should accidents happen. This will require designating a first aider, and adopting the use of a health and safety accident book.

Know your Premises

Next, you will need to examine every area of your premises. This will be dependant on the size, scale, and sector of your business, and could take anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on if you’re a small restaurant or a multi-story office block. It is a good idea to hire professionals to help with your workplace inspection. Having a professional team conduct your fire risk assessments reduces the risk of missing vital danger areas and potential issues. Make sure that health and safety signage is clearly identifiable and visible, and that all of your exits are accessible.

Ensure Site Security

An unsecured workplace could be a hotbed for accidents, as unauthorised personnel or passersby can enter and leave at will, causing distractions and potential damage or theft of property. So, you need to make sure that your workplace is kept secure at all times. If your business uses high-value equipment or machinery, then you need more substantial security than just locked doors and keep out signs. React K9 Security Services can provide you with long-term solutions that will ensure the ongoing security of your premises and mean that your staff can be safe in the knowledge that no unauthorised individuals will get in and wreak havoc.

Staff Training

It’s always a good idea to have ongoing staff development programs for a variety of reasons, but health and safety training is essential. The more first aid experts that you have on your team roster the better. Make sure they are equipped with a First Aid Certificate to be sure they know exactly what they are doing and that it has been renewed on time. When it comes to dangerous equipment, it is imperative that you restrict use until an employee is fully trained on safe use, and that they are supervised throughout the training process. Doing so will reduce the risk of accidents which can negatively impact productivity, or even leave you exposed to liability claims that will damage your business more than any simple workflow disruption.

Keep Records

Not only should your incident report book be updated as soon as possible after an accident, so too should your training and in-house investigations. The more data that you collect about your health and safety strategy, the easier it will be to identify any unsafe areas that may slowly evolve over time. One of the most useful aspects of maintaining a reliable record of your health and safety strategy is that it will make it much easier to spot when a team member is lacking the required training and leaving themselves exposed to dangers.

Health and safety in the workplace does not need to be a full-time process, but it is essential for the smoother running of any business model. If you fail to develop a firm health and safety strategy, you leave yourself more vulnerable to the unexpected. While it might be impossible to prepare for every kind of incident, the more prepared you are the more secure your business will be.