Though the level of effort a business has to make to safeguard its employees depends on the industry, it is every company’s responsibility to provide a safe workplace environment. For example, safety on a construction site is a much bigger priority than in an office. Therefore, each industry is subject to its own governance and guidelines regarding employee safety. Businesses must follow these guidelines to continue trading. Still, though, plenty of practices have been put in place across all industries.
Risk Assessments
Any comprehensive health and safety plan should include a risk assessment. A risk assessment is the first step in putting protective measures in place. There are plenty of risk assessment templates available online. How you decide to format one is your decision, just make sure that it is as in-depth as possible. Here are a few things one might involve:
- Identifying hazards: Through analyzing things like accident books, hazard trends can be identified and addressed quickly.
- Evaluating level of risk: By assessing the severity of different risks within the workplace, a business can prioritize which risks to address first and use their time effectively.
- Review findings regularly: Importantly, risk assessments should be repeated consistently. The number of risks can change with the introduction of new items in the workplace, such as new machinery. Companies can maintain a safe workplace by conducting evaluations regularly.
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Developing Control Methods
After you have assessed any potential risks, it is time to address them. The measures put in place should scale to the amount of and severity of the risks identified. For instance, in high-risk environments, corporate first aid training should be invested in to ensure that if any accidents happen, their consequences are minimal. Employers should also train staff on the topics of using and maintaining machinery.
Any company with many employees should also have a strict fire procedure. Staff should know where their closest fire exits and extinguishers are to minimize risk. For the case of a headcount, it is also worth establishing a fire assembly point.
When developing control methods, be as thorough as possible. There are two types of control methods that are worth knowing.
Administrative controls
These are changes to working policies intended to keep employees safe. Examples of administrative controls include job rotation, ensuring breaks are taken at the correct times and emergency response planning. Administrative rules are often cheap, but when workers are set in their ways, they can be challenging to implement. To avoid this, employers should always consider implementing new administrative controls. Doing so will keep a company flexible to change.
Engineering controls
Engineering controls are physical adjustments to the workplace performed with the purpose of minimizing risk. Engineering controls account for practices like using ventilation systems to control air quality, installing machine guards and providing suitable workstations. Though engineering controls are often expensive, they can be used to lower operation costs and save money in the long term. When considering engineering controls, it is worth considering how something as minor as furniture can put employees at risk.
The best safety plans combine engineering and administrative controls to keep the level of risk in the workplace as low as possible.
PPE
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is equipment which employees wear to protect them from risks. This equipment should be used only when no other options are available and most commonly used on construction sites in the form of hard hats, goggles and ear defenders. The employer must provide PPE if it is needed. A company cannot make its employees pay for their own.
As a result, PPE can be quite expensive and should be used as a last resort. The price of PPE was realized during the covid-19 pandemic when people and companies found that buying face masks was becoming an economic impossibility. PPE is at its most expensive when it is required to be purchased regularly. It is best to use engineering and administrative controls as much as possible to avoid using PPE and keep operating costs low.
Final Thoughts
Creating a safe work environment can be a complicated task. In some cases, there are many risks to consider and address before employees can even begin to work. When safeguarding employees, it is best to make the most of your time and not cut any corners. Doing so will keep long-term expenditure to a minimum.
If you are looking for extra advice on this topic, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Association) has a great website dedicated to everything related to health and safety within the workplace.
