How Can I Improve Health and Safety in the Workplace?

Maintaining a safe and healthy workplace isn’t just a suggestion; it’s the law. Even though your employees share some responsibility for the safety of themselves and others, it is ultimately up to you to make sure risks are kept to a minimum, and no one is harmed. Failure to keep to regulatory compliances is a risk in more ways than one.

Obviously, no one wants anyone to get hurt while doing their job. Still, even when an injury is avoided, an unsafe work environment can lead to a decrease in productivity and have a massive impact on your employees’ mental health and the reputation of your business.

So how do you improve health and safety in the workplace?

It starts with communication.

Nine times out of ten, poor communication is a major contributing factor in workplace accidents. If a hazard is identified and reported quickly, it can mean the difference between an accident occurring or being avoided. If there are steps that can be taken to minimise risk, all employees should be aware of them. Lead by example and make your workplace an environment where employees take charge of their safety and aren’t afraid to voice their concerns.

Good practice begins at the top.

Remember the saying ‘do as I say, not as I do’? There’s no place for that kind of attitude in the workplace. Employees look to their supervisors and management leaders to set the standards. No matter how many employees you might have, make sure you hire a well-trained and experienced person to take charge of health and safety. Don’t be afraid to check for proof of competency when recruiting.

Training is everything.

The point of training isn’t just to tick boxes: you need to apply what you learn correctly. Remind your employees if they make careless mistakes and reassess those who may be at risk. If you’re unable to provide training in house, look to a qualified third party. Yes, there’s a time and cost associated with training, but think of it as an investment.

The devil’s in the details.

There’s no room for guesswork when it comes to keeping health and safety records. Risk assessments should be dynamic, reflecting the inevitable change in environment and circumstance that comes with time. Records of employee shift times and attendance do more than just tell you someone showed up for work, and incident logs aren’t just there to fill space on a shelf once the dust settles.

There’s no magic wand for improving health and safety in the workplace, but fortunately, there is a Genie.

Be-Safe’s multi award-winning Compliance Genie centralises the fundamental necessities of running a safe and productive workplace. Providing in-depth analysis, automatically generated reports, and a host of other features, the Compliance Genie will improve the quality and efficiency of your company’s health and safety management – whatever industry you work in, wherever you are.