No matter what type of business you run, it’s important to prioritize safety. Whether you own a gym, run a fitness studio, manage a retail store or operate from an office, you’ll want to do everything you can to protect your staff and customers from avoidable injuries or illnesses. With this in mind, take a look at these five ways you can improve workplace safety:
1. Inspect Equipment Regularly
Whatever type of equipment you use, make sure it’s inspected at regular intervals. This includes heavy machinery, such as excavators on construction sites, but extends to computers, monitors and even cash registers in offices and stores. With frequent inspections, you can ensure that equipment is working properly and doesn’t pose a risk to staff, clients or customers.
2. Carry Out a Fire Safety Assessment
Fires can pose a significant risk to people and properties, so it’s vital to undertake routine fire safety assessments. This gives you the opportunity to identify potential hazards and mitigate them before disaster strikes. There are many ways you can protect your employees and customers from a fire at your premises, including sprinkler systems and fire doors, but you won’t be able to implement effective safety measures until you know exactly what the risks are. To learn more about the most likely causes of fires in commercial buildings, take a look at this blog post from lightingmaintenance.com.
3. Train Staff
Training your employees doesn’t just enable them to perform their duties well; it ensures they’re able to complete tasks safely. Whether staff will be undertaking physical work, such as manual handling, or using office equipment, it’s vital that they’re taught how to navigate the workplace safely. While most firms provide onboarding training when an employee joins the company, not every business offers regular training. By providing safety training at regular intervals, however, you can reduce the risk of workplace accidents.
4. Provide the Right Resources
Employees need to have the right resources in play in order to be able to operate efficiently and productively. However, having the right resources is also essential if you want staff to be able to work safely. When individuals are forced to use the wrong equipment because nothing else is available, for example, it increases the likelihood of someone getting hurt. Not only is this catastrophic for the person affected, but it could have serious consequences for your business if you’re found to be negligent.
5. Listen to Staff Feedback
Your employees can be a great source of information when it comes to workplace safety, providing you listen to them. Ensure that staff have a way of reporting safety concerns and put processes in place so that they’re acted upon quickly. This allows potential hazards to be resolved swiftly and can prevent people getting hurt.
Maintaining a Safe Working Environment
A safe workplace should always be a top priority, so don’t overlook your duties as an employer or business owner. By implementing safety protocols, carrying out risk assessments and prioritizing your employees’ wellbeing, you can earn the loyalty of your team and operate with greater success.
