Workplace safety should be a critical value for every business. As an employer, you are responsible for the protection of your employees at work, as well as the financial assets that pertain to your business. While it sounds like a lot for one person in charge to handle, there are simple ways to develop and integrate a secure workplace safety program.
Here is a simple guide to help you implement a solid workplace safety program for your organization.
Make Values for Safety Known
Prior to implementing any specific workplace safety program, you want to make it clear to your staff that safety is a company-wide principle. In your company guidelines handbook, add a section that discusses safety and your company’s goals pertaining to it.
At the forefront of this document clause should be the ways in which management will put their value for safety into action within the company. Additional outlines include how employees follow procedures, P&C claims, etc. Acknowledge that everyone is given responsibilities throughout the company to keep the workplace safe.
Determine Risks and Dangers
After acknowledging that safety is now a company value, the next thing to do is to get a clear assessment of the hazards that go along with your given workplace. It would be best if you had a professional safety evaluation done so that everyone can learn of the risks associated and what can be done about them.
Hold a meeting that gives your employees a chance to express any safety concerns they are aware of, as they are at the workplace daily and may have caught something that the professional assessor or you may have missed.
Things like injury management and transportation safety may be two areas your employees have additional insight about, so be sure to work these additional aspects into your safety plan.
Write Up a Safety Plan
After assessing all risks and hazards (both professionally and by employees), it is time to write up the actual guidelines you plan to execute as a means of creating a safe workplace culture. Outline the employee job descriptions about safety management and hazard prevention, and delegate safety-related responsibilities across staff lines as appropriate.
Have your staff review and sign the safety plan so that everyone is aware of the official guidelines. Get your department leaders’ input on the plan you write up and anyone else’s opinion that you trust. Continue editing your project until it includes everything needed for workplace safety. During these pandemic times, it’s important to include Covid-19 protocols into your safety plan. This may include rearranging your office space, having employees come in on rotating shifts, or providing regular Pittsburgh COVID testing for businesses to detect an active case of the virus before it has a chance to spread among staff.
Encourage Ongoing Safety Education
In addition to the safety plan you have created, encourage your staff to stay informed about safety at the workplace by regularly holding safety training programs and workshops.
Employee education should be an emphasized component of your workplace safety plan. Hire the right leaders to hold courses so that your staff can stay up to date on safety management and preventative measures.
Implement Your Plan and Assess Effectiveness
After your safety plan and safety maintenance workshops have been established, it is time to implement the plan. Assess how the plan is going over a month and hold a meeting for review.
Issues should be discussed and problem-solved during the session and then reassessed the following month with these new changes in place. Continue this process as needed to keep your organization as safe as possible.
The Bottom Line
Safety is about preparation and review. Creating a safety workshop, a written safety manual, and a formal review may help to keep your workplace safer.
Keep your department leaders and employees aware of these ongoing safety processes. This way, everyone at the workplace can stay safe and remain educated on workplace safety.
