Private industries recently experienced more than 2.6 million non-fatal workplace injuries in a calendar year. A dangerous workplace can lead to lawsuits and losing your employees for long periods of time.
Improving workplace safety will help you remain a good steward of your company now and in the future. Your company can remain safe and productive each day with the right information.
These tips will help you carve out a workplace safety checklist to improve your company’s standing.
Repair and Maintain Your Infrastructure
The first thing you can do is stay on top of your repairs and maintenance. Call in a handy professional regularly to address the following concerns:
- Inspecting and maintaining your electrical wiring, plumbing, and natural gas
- Fixing structural issues
- Checking and repairing fire alarms and carbon monoxide monitors
- Making sure that doors and windows are properly reinforced
- Tightening handrails and fixing steps
Fix any issues right away so that you don’t have liabilities in your workplace.
Train Your Staff
A safe work environment hinges on thorough and quality training. Put new employees through a rigorous onboarding and training process, and always provide continued education.
Here are some areas of interest that you’ll need to focus on with your employee and leadership training:
- Equipment safety training for forklifts, bulldozers, balers, or any other heavy-duty machinery
- Pinpointing and setting policies for dealing with workplace safety hazards
- Regularly holding workplace safety meetings
- Certifications in first aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
- Fire, tornado, and gas leak drills
Appoint safety professionals that can oversee training and force standards inside your building. This keeps everyone on the same page and creates standards to follow.
Maintain Industry Standards
Keep your company up to date with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other industry standards. Failing to stay in compliance can lead to penalties and fines.
Here are a few different compliance issues you should address:
- Investing in lockout tagout training with regular updates
- Courses on electrical standards
- Policies for handling hazardous materials
Satisfy the required course hours each year, and make sure to document it every step of the way.
Hang Signage in Your Office
Always bring attention to hazards in your building by hanging signs whenever appropriate.
Use color-coded signage that points out chemicals and other warnings. Hang signage inside and by the bathroom reminding people to wash their hands before returning to work. Keep plenty of soap and hand sanitizer dispensers handy so that it’s never an issue. Research OSHA standards for signage so that they’re hanging in the correct location, with the required language and any necessary codes or symbols.
Your Workplace Safety Checklist
Apply these tips as part of your workplace safety checklist and you’ll get incredible results. These points are useful regardless of what kind of business you run. Make sure to also keep your insurance policies current so that you can address a claim as soon as an issue arises.
Start here and check out our other tips for running a more effective business.
