Did you know that there were over 2.8 million non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2019?

Whether large or small, accidents always have consequences. Injuries may require ongoing treatment, time away from work or even open the way for litigation

If you are a business owner or manager you will likely want to avoid all of these results. Why not take a minute to see how some simple safety improvement ideas can help you do this? You will find them in our in-depth article below.

Check out the list

1. What are the Responsibilities of Each Person

The safety level of a workplace is only as high as the habits of those working there. Therefore, defining what you as a manager expect from each person.

Next, you can remind each worker of their responsibility by placing signs and labels in appropriate areas. These will serve to reinforce good habits by reminding workers of safe working practices.

Even those who have already experienced accidents can continue working. You can retain workers using modified duty methods. By ensuring that they have appropriate work to do and correct personal protective equipment.

2. Create a Culture of Safety

“Safety is cool”. Ok, this is not a catchy phrase. However, you likely want workers to adopt and retain good safety practices. To do this they have to see them as positive and not negative.

Safety requirements for workplaces will vary from industry to industry. Good quality training is necessary to ensure that workers have a basic knowledge of your safety rules.

After this, when you onboard new workers, you should inform them of your companies safety protocol. If you value your reputation, only retain workers who are competent enough to meet safety expectations. It has to be said, according to David Rowland, Head of Marketing at Engage EHS, that the responsibility for health and safety starts with the directors of a business. However, if they get this right, and instigate a cultural shift in their company, the benefits can include greater brand loyalty and a higher bottom line.

3. Adjust Safety Standards

If you are looking to improve your companies safety standards you will need to ensure that workers see changes in a positive light.

You could start by documenting safe working practices that are appropriate for your workplace. This is inclusive of existing practices. This way, when workers look to tick the boxes on their safety to-do list, they will see both what they should do and what are already doing.

4. Keep Everyone on the Same Page

Safety practices should be rolled-out consistently across your organization. This means that you will simultaneously create a safety culture with your company.

You can use modern tools to create tools that will allow for the fast dissemination of information. If you have a company intranet, you could dedicate a section to safety and then send regular emails with links to appropriate sections.

From this same location, you could host safety videos, accident reports, and other relevant information.

5. Safety or Production?

In modern times companies are constantly educating their workforce. However, it is crucial that this education does not contradict company values.

Itis true that productivity and motivation are of prime importance to a company. However, you should not encourage workers to sacrifice safety for productivity. Logically, increased workloads will lead to increased profits. However, expectations should be reasonable and attainable without increased danger to workers.

6. Create a Responsibility Hierarchy

There may be hundreds of workers in a company and only one health and safety official. This can lead to the lowering of standards as the one official tries to care for so many people.

It is far more effective to delegate the responsibility for safety to managers and supervisors. They can liaise with the main safety officer or department regularly to provide reports and feedback. You can evaluate their care for this responsibility before considering them for promotion.

This spreads the workload of the safety department. It also increases awareness among individual department heads.

7. Encourage Reporting of Events

Business owners have a responsibility to remove all fear of reporting accidents. Workers should be encouraged to report any little mishap that occurs. Even if no physical impact or damage results, it is good to report near-misses and even provide some reward for doing so.

As near misses are reported and the causes addressed, it will lead to a drop in minor accidents. As these reports highlight areas for improvement, you will find that workers are more aware of dangers, work more cleanly and tidily, and in an organized fashion.

8. Bring in Professionals

Arranging for consultations with professional safety companies is one of the fastest ways to raise your safety standards. These are specialists who have experience in many industries and will immediately tell you what you can do to protect employee health.

They may also be able to assist with recommendations regarding employee physical performance. They may be able to inform you of new technologies that can reduce strain on employees and simultaneously improve production.

9. Make Safety Easy

Understanding your employees’ work can help you to make decisions that make safety intuitive. By making reporting of accidents easy, ensuring that there is a sympathetic ear when they have a concern and regularly providing education, employees will likely not even realize that they are becoming more safety conscious.

Ensure that each worker has the tools that they need in order to complete their work safely. These tools should have regular maintenance there should be no stigma to replacing tools when they reach a reasonable level of wear.

Malfunctioning equipment is one of the most frequent reasons for workplace injuries. By ensuring a high level of tool safety you can cut this out almost entirely.

However, if maintenance or replacement of tools is seen as unnecessary, it is unlikely that workers will maintain these high standards.

Safety Improvement Ideas and Much More

Preventing accidents is far more than just avoiding litigation. It shows that a company cares for its workers and its reputation as a professional and mature institution.

If you are interested in learning more safety improvement ideas and workplace habits, we are here to help. Why not check out our other articles to see how we can help you today.