U.S. employers pay one billion dollars each week for workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. There is an obvious imperative for employers to keep the work environment hazard-free; the impact on the bottom line is huge. This blog will share 10 easy things you can do right now to keep your work environment just a little safer.
Tips to Keep Your Work Environment Hazard-Free
1. Create a Culture of Safety in Your Workplace
Organizations must emphasize safety regularly to keep these issues top of mind. Start at orientation but build safety awareness into every aspect of your business.
2. Train Employees in Safety Protocols
Orientation starts the process of building a safety culture, but every employee should be aware of the protocols that will keep them from getting injured on a job site. Even a retail worker can trip or slip and fall—it doesn't take a piece of heavy machinery to cause an injury.
3. Set Up Rewards for Safe Behaviors
One easy way to keep safety top of mind is to set up a rewards program for your workforce. Giving small rewards to employees who go above and beyond for workplace safety will help everyone improve.
4. Invest in Occupational Clinicians
Working with occupational medicine professionals can help your organization create a safety culture of prevention. For example, occ med professionals can teach your workforce how to lift heavy items without straining their backs, a common cause of workplace injuries.
5. Use Signs
Having signs in your workplace is an easy way to raise awareness about safety issues. We recommend changing the signs at least twice a month, or at least moving them around, so that employees become less complacent about seeing these educational tools.
6. Clean Up Your Work Environment
Messy workplaces can lead to preventable accidents. It's a good idea to train your teams to look for hazards each day as they come into work. Train team leaders to do periodic inspections to look for trip hazards or boxes that seem unsteady. Keeping things a little cleaner is an easy way to keep people safer.
7. Hold Equipment Inspections
Make sure your employees have the right tools for the job, then inspect those tools regularly. Teach your employees to check out the tools they use on the job, whether it’s heavy equipment or a hand tool. This will make them more aware of the dangers of using the tool as well as making sure the equipment is functioning properly.
8. Work Stretch Breaks into Each Day
Worker stretch breaks are easy ways to teach employees good safety practices. Taking a five-minute stretch break, in addition to regular breaks, is a great way to loosen joints and cut down on preventable back strain.
9. Make It Easy to Talk About Safety
How do employees report safety concerns and how do you handle their "complaints?" Creating a culture where open dialogue about safety is the norm is critical to your success. Make it easy for your workforce to come to you with any health and safety concerns they have and it will pay you back in prevention in the long run.
10. Train and Talk about Workplace Safety
Regularly train and retrain your workforce to keep them sharp and on the alert for workplace safety issues.
Get in Touch
People Plus is devoted to keeping your workforce safe. Talk with our team about how we can help you create a safer workplace culture with top employees for your team.