A safety program in your organization can keep your employees free from harm, save your business money, and even improve your brand reputation. But if you’re new to the world of safety management, the prospect of building an entire safety program from scratch may seem daunting.
What exactly do you need? And how do you tackle this challenge?
The Dynamics of Workplace Safety
Safety in the workplace requires consideration in many different areas, and you’ll need to address all of these areas in your overall safety program.
· Culture and leadership. The foundation of your safety program should be a culture of safety, anchored by strong leaders who take safety seriously. This is because even the most comprehensive safety policies and procedures are meaningless if your employees don’t care enough about safety to actually follow them. Conversely, if you have a strong safety culture, your employees will be much more likely to make safety conscious decisions, even in the absence of formal direction.
· Hazard reduction and accident prevention. The first line of defense in workplace safety is hazard reduction. That means carefully adjusting your workplace and working dynamics to reduce employee exposure to various hazards. As a simple example, certain types of gloves can prevent you from high heat, but if you can remove high heat from the workplace entirely, you’ll dramatically reduce the risk of an injury.
· Employee protection. You’ll also need to think about protecting your employees with personal protective equipment (PPE). You’ll need to make this equipment available to employees, but you’ll also need policies in place to mandate the use of this equipment – and education and training to make sure they use this equipment responsibly.
· Reporting and accountability. Workplace injuries must be reported, not only internally but also with external authorities. You need formalized systems in place to make accident and injury reporting fast, easy, and consistent. Again, in addition to having these policies in place, you’ll need to make an effort to educate and train your employees to make sure they follow them. Additionally, you’ll need to create an atmosphere that makes employees comfortable coming forward with accident reports.
· Contractor and subcontractor dynamics. Not everyone on your job-site is going to be a full-time employee. You’ll need to make sure your workplace safety program also includes specific information for working with contractors and subcontractors.
The Role of Safety Authorities
Creating an exhaustive safety program for your organization can be difficult, especially if you don’t have much previous experience with workplace safety. That’s why many construction companies choose to work with safety consultants, who have the experience and resources necessary to help you put together a safety program that works for your business.
Creating a Safety Program
These are the most important steps in creating a safety program:
· Identify risks. The first step of creating any safety program is identifying risks. What are the biggest risks that people face in this workplace? What are the hazards that could potentially cause accidents or injuries? What are the best ways to address these risks?
· Review compliance standards. OSHA and other organizations maintain strict standards for workplace safety, so it’s a good idea to review them. Make sure your safety program has points in place to address all your legal responsibilities as an employer.
· Develop processes and policies. Next, you’ll be ready to start developing processes and policies. While it’s important to adhere to legal minimums, don’t assume that baseline compliance is enough to keep your employees safe. You’ll likely need to go above and beyond to provide more thorough safety coverage.
· Educate and train. Having a written, formal safety program in place is an excellent step, but it’s not enough. You’ll need to take the time and effort to educate and train all your employees, contractors, and subcontractors to ensure they can follow the details of the program.
· Enforce. After that, it will be time to start enforcing the safety program. Appoint good leaders who take safety seriously and will be willing to correct mistakes and take disciplinary action when necessary. Don’t allow any individual to jeopardize the safety of the job-site.
· Review and adjust. At this point, you’ll be ready to review and adjust periodically. As you gain more experience witnessing the mechanics of work on your job-site, as standards change, and as new tools become available, it’s important that your workplace safety program remains updated.
Whether you choose to work with a safety consultant or take on the task entirely internally, your organization is going to be much safer and more reliable with a safety program in place. Just make sure you’re prepared to follow through, as even the best safety programs will fail without proper leadership and enforcement.
