“Health and safety” can sometimes feel like the punchline to a bad joke, especially if you feel as though it stops you from being as productive as you can be at work. But these regulations are there for a very good reason, and as well as preventing you from potentially getting into legal trouble, they can save lives and livelihoods.
A sense of safety also makes your employees happier. If people feel unsafe at work, they might find other options. Another good reason to improve safety regulations is because it actually helps people work better and lowers the risk of slowing the job down completely.
So, here are a few ways to keep your workplace and your people safe.
1. Personal Protection Equipment
Personal protective equipment, otherwise known as PPE, is equipment that your employees can wear when doing hazardous jobs or working in a hazardous area. The PPE that comes into mind for most people is high vis and hard hats for construction workers, but other jobs might involve different types of PPE as well, such as facemasks and gowns for surgeons.
At the very least, you should research the local governmental requirements for PPE in certain industries to make sure that you’re not viable. But if you can go above and beyond, your employees will be safer.
Either provide the PPE yourself or, if your employees have it, make sure they always wear it when they’re at work.
2. Proper Signage
One way you can do this is with proper signs. Visual reminders like PPE signs let people know when and where they need certain PPE, especially if some parts of your workplace are more dangerous than others.
Hazard signs, as well as other signs reminding people about safety rules and regulations, all contribute to a much safer workplace for everyone involved.
3. Regular Maintenance and Repairs
One of the most important things you can do to make sure your workplace is as safe as possible is to keep the building and the equipment well maintained. Maintenance might take time in the short term, but it allows you to catch problems before they massively slow down production or, even worse, injure an employee.
Make sure to get professionals in to make repairs when necessary, whether this is concrete repair to your exterior work area, or repairs to equipment and tools. Repairing is often much cheaper than replacing something, especially if you catch it early.
4. Appropriate Training
You can have the safest workplace in the world, but if your employees aren’t properly trained to use the equipment on-site, you could have some issues. Some equipment is dangerous, which means that it needs a qualified operator to be legally used. Forklifts might not seem that dangerous, but in the wrong hands, they can damage objects and people.
As well as training for the work at hand, make sure you have people at work who have first aid training and who can act as safety officers so, if something does go wrong, it can be dealt with right away.
