One crucial element that needs the most attention within any business or organization is workplace safety. A business needs to focus on the health and safety of its employees to ensure they are valued and cared for.
Workplace safety issues can be present in any field but can be prevalent in some major sectors including transportation, manufacturing, and industry.
It is seen that nearly 1.7 million people suffered from work-related illnesses and around 123 workers were killed on the job in 2021/22, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
This puts a huge duty on employers under the health and safety legislation to prevent their workers and staff from any health hazards. And so, this blog post will explore some of the best ways to improve safety standards at work.
Ways to Improve Workplace Safety Standards
Below are some steps for employers to encourage better workplace safety leading to a safer and more productive environment:
1. Inspect the Workplace
First things first, before implementing a new approach to safety at work, employers and managers need to regularly and carefully examine their work area. This includes conducting full annual inspections to assess and identify any risk and taking actions accordingly to mitigate it.
2. Develop a Health & Safety Plan
Making effective safety and health plans and sticking to them helps control and eradicate potential hazards at work. Employers need to ensure they are communicating the plan with their staff and workers to involve everyone in creating a safe workplace.
3. Create a Workplace Safety Culture
Creating a culture that guarantees workplace safety shows that employers care about their workers’ health. Creating a workplace safety culture also helps mitigate accidents, injuries, or ill health in the work area.
4. Train Employees & Workers Well
Providing comprehensive training to employees and workers is the key component in preventing and reporting accidents and injuries at work. The workers who are well aware and trained in the work environment and the nature of risks present in it are likely to take effective steps to mitigate them.
Employers can offer multiple workplace training courses to their personnel including working in construction, industrial health and safety training, IOSH working safely course, IOSH managing safely, hot works training, mental health training, stress at work, confined space training, working at height training, and more.
5. Hire Smart People
Hiring knowledgeable and smart people for the job can save tons of effort and money for a company. They can work efficiently and have the ability to cope with any risk proficiently. They also save businesses from legal, moral, and financial damages.
6. Use Proper Labels & Signs
Using proper signposts and labels in a workplace are prove to be an efficient and inexpensive tool to convey vital information to the workers quickly and concisely. This is a helpful way to inform the people about the procedures and processes and warn of hazards.
7. Keep Things Clean
Cleanliness is half faith. A messy workplace leads to accidents, injuries, or ill health and can create an unpleasant environment at work. Therefore, employers need to conduct regular inspections and workplace risk assessments. This will help them audit and report any health concerns within their work area and suggest vital controls to the workforce to minimize the risk.
8. Provide the Right Tools & Equipment for Work
Using the right tools and equipment at work makes the job easy and safe. Employers need to be sure that they are providing the right tools, equipment, and guidance to the workers to do the work. They must also ensure that the work equipment is properly maintained, inspected, and cleaned to make it suitable for work.
Improper or inappropriate equipment is one of the hazardous workplace issues that lead to severe implications and health problems for employers and their workers.
9. Allow Easy Access to Safety Information
Making safety information easily accessible to employees keeps them involved with the safety culture of the company. The right and accessible information help them understand the safety protocols, processes, procedures, and right training when in need.
This keeps them motivated which in turn reduces the risks and increases a worker’s efficiency.
10. Implement Safety Guidelines from the Start
High standards of safety can only be fulfilled if employees follow safety requirements and do their job per the set procedures and protocols. This will ensure a safe and productive environment for everyone to live and work in.
Bottom Line
Implementing safety standards at work starts with everyone’s actively participating and involvement at work. When employers and employees make combined efforts to identify, control, and mitigate workplace hazards and risks, they will be able to create a healthy, productive, and safe work environment for all. This content piece has covered some of these tips to implement at work to get the job done safely.
