Workplace safety is something no one likes to think about – until it’s too late. With that in mind we’ve put together the five best things you can do to keep your business safe, and keep your employees smiling. Whether you’re in catering, healthcare, avionics, railways, film or any other industry, this list has been designed to inspire you to create a safer workplace.
1. Have a Plan
This could be the most important thing you do, and all it involves is writing down how you and everyone else at work will act if something goes wrong. At the very least – and this is usually required by law – you should have an evacuation plan and hold drills for fires and similar emergencies. But what about minor emergencies? Try to think about anything and everything that could go wrong in your industry and then plan accordingly. Finally, you should plan to face major disasters and fit your thinking into existing national schemes for preparedness.
2. Train Your Team
This point goes hand in hand with the first paragraph, because once you have emergency plans in place it’s vital that formal training is carried out. First aid training is a must for any business and the more people you can have professionally instructed to carry out basic medical assistance, the better. You could also look at self-defence training, which could even be treated as a perk. Then we have electrical training, gas certification and similar qualifications which could come in useful even for employees who don’t normally work with equipment or machinery.
3. Eliminate Electrical Hazards
In industries such as avionics or healthcare, which depend on machinery to perform critical functions, electrical safety is a particularly important issue. That’s why you should use reliable converters like those from XP Power, avoid “daisy-chaining” (linking multiple extension cords), ensure that equipment is property insulated and free your workplace of any other electrical hazards you can identify. This is a highly specialised area and one in which it could pay to consult an expert.
4. Take Care of Housekeeping
Sometimes seemingly innocent looking items can be the source of major breeches of workplace safety. With this in mind, fire exits need to be kept clear at all times, drains have to be unblocked and any other clutter or spillage should be taken care of immediately. It has to become part of your company’s culture to not wait for someone else to do it. If you, or anyone that works with you, sees a potential problem then he or she should take care of it immediately.
5. Keep Your Eyes Open
This last point is a reminder that breeches of safety can occur at any time and in any workplace – even if you’re working from home. So, the best advice is for you to keep safety issues in mind whenever possible. You never know when a problem is going to occur, but if you’re constantly focused on avoiding breeches of safety and have viable plans in place, at least you’ll be secure in the knowledge that you’ve done your best to make a difference.
