For all good business owners your people come first, and keeping your team safe in the workplace is a major priority. But avoiding accidents requires both a thought-out strategy and a commitment to putting the right actions in place. Here are five ways you can help to avoid preventable safety mistakes in your workplace…
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#1. Know the risks
Before you can avoid preventable safety mistakes, you must first understand the workplace risks that lead to accidents. These risks vary widely between industries, but a good starting place for every business is to conduct an organisation-wide risk assessment. Carefully tour your entire workplace and look for any element that could pose a potential safety risk to your employees. Record them all, and rate each risk on a scale of one to five — five being the most likely to cause an accident, and one being the least likely to cause an accident.
#2. Create a plan
Examine all the risks you’ve identified, beginning with those you’ve rated mostly highly as a priority. Can any of these risks be completely removed from your workplace? Or if they are associated with key business processes, what actions can you take to minimise the risks as much as possible? Seeking expert help here will likely connect you with effective solutions that you may not have previously considered.
#3. Take action
At this point you’ve identified the risks and know what you need to do about them. Again, take action on the most highly rated risks first, and work your way down your list. It can be helpful to work with your department heads at this point. If they feel included in the process, they’ll be more likely to buy into what you’re doing, and will often be able to provide advice on how you can best put your action plan in place with disrupting departmental operations any more than is absolutely necessary.
#4. Provide appropriate training
Don’t leave your employees in the dark. Even the most effective risk minimisation actions still require your team to get onboard. Ensure each and every employee understands the specific risks they are likely to encounter in the line of duty, what you have done to minimise those risks, and what they must do on a daily basis to stay safe at work. Formalise these procedures in an official safety management handbook, and hold regular safety briefings and training to ensure all your team members are keeping their safety responsibilities at front of mind.
#5. Conduct regular safety reviews
Safety is not a set-and-forget proposition. You need to constantly monitor and regularly review all your safety procedures to ensure they are being effectively executed in the field. It’s also a good idea to conduct regular risk assessments to ensure you stay on top of any new potential safety risks that have been introduced into your workplace since your last assessment.
BusinessBasics can help you put the right steps in place to avoid preventable safety mistakes in your workplace. Contact us now to find out more.
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