Part of owning and running a business is ensuring that your staff has a safe and comfortable place to work. As well as being a moral responsibility, this is also a legal requirement as well.
There are several ways in which you can make sure your business is health and safety compliant. Some of the tips below will help you to give your workspace a critical overview. If you are still unsure, speak to a health and safety expert in your field to make sure you are up to scratch.
Building repairs
Working in any form of building needs to be a safe environment. Obviously, if there were major damage due to a natural event such as a hurricane or any other sort of accident, then you wouldn’t be able to utilize the space until it was repaired.
But there are less obvious issues that need to be addressed quickly. A broken outlet, for example, can look like superficial damage but in reality, it could cause serious harm and even a fatality.
Make sure you give any buildings a thorough check regularly and follow up on maintenance observations made by staff in good time.
Safety equipment
Safety equipment is a two-fold solution to keeping your workforce safe. PPE, or Personal Protective Equipment, is clothing and tools provided to staff for them to wear or use. This can be simple garments such as high-vis vests when working on a building site or harnesses for jobs where falling is a risk.
There are also products you can install around the office or work area such as time delay relays, outlet covers, or even security keylogging systems. What you will need to install depends on the industry you are working in.
Keep things orderly
One of the biggest causes of accidents in a work environment is trip hazards. Untidy cabling, tools left untidied after a job, or even uneven flooring can all be causes of slips, trips, or falls. The resulting injuries can be from the more minor such as bruising and scrapes, but it can also lead to brain injuries and broken bones.
Consider investing in storage solutions such as roller cabinets for tools, filing cabinets, or cable boxes to keep wires at bay. Uneven flooring should be fixed immediately, and any rugs or carpet runners should be adequately secured to the floor.
Consider your workforce
Different workplaces will have different needs. Your staff on the ground will often be a treasure trove of information about what they need in their day-to-day routines.
You may want to hold monthly open forums where staff can bring up any issues pertaining to health and safety. It could be to report an issue or to make a suggestion about ways to improve policy or practices.