Regardless of industry, workforce, or business entity, you will agree that your team deserves the best workplace.
According to data published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, over 890,000 cases of workplace injuries and illnesses were reported at over 91,000 workplaces in the year 2023. That said, workplace safety has become essential for enhancing worker safety.
Although occupational hazards differ depending on the line of work, the key elements of successful workplace safety improvement initiatives do not. As a team leader, you should ensure continuous assessment of current and potential risks, and based on that, you can develop practical measures to minimize risks and injuries.
Equipped more than ever with smart technologies and data-backed methodologies, you can significantly reduce the occurrence and severity of workplace hazards.
The following article discusses five strategies to prioritize workplace safety and avoid some of the most common health and safety threats.
1. Promote a Robust Workplace Safety Culture
Of course, your organization has already established practical health and safety policies. However, for effectiveness, the policies require that everyone in your team be on board and agree to observe them across departments. You must, therefore, find a way of instilling a safety culture that penetrates every aspect of the workplace.
For this, consider hiring a workplace risk reduction keynote speaker specializing in safety to speak to your team. An occupational safety keynote speaker is adept at driving action and getting people to do what they are supposed to do regardless of the circumstances. They will unpack your safety policies more engagingly to make your employees more aware and less complacent and look out for each other.
Moreover, nurture a safety culture that ensures your colleagues have the latest safety equipment and training programs. The training should focus on reliable methods of avoiding risks and establishing speedy and effective reports for potential risks.
2. Roll out Practical Risk Mitigation Measures
Besides creating a solid safety culture, disciplined risk management strategies with an officer in charge should be implemented. A well-curated occupational safety plan will consider your organization’s unique aspects and provide fast and reliable hazard identification.
While you are creating a reliable risk management strategy, follow the following steps:
Identify the Hazards: A safety officer should be appointed to assess workplace risks based on machinery and equipment usage, hazardous materials, and general work area cleanliness and maintenance. Records also need to be studied to identify potential risks that may have been overlooked.
Evaluate the Hazards: The safety officer should now carefully review documented hazards to assess the level of risk posed by each scenario. They should consider how workers could be hurt, whether controls are in place, who should be in charge of maintaining controls, and whether additional safety-enhancing measures could be implemented.
Mitigation Controls: Consider whether implementing new controls to modify the procedure, equipment, materials, or protective gear of your employees can completely or partially mitigate a given risk.
Record Findings: The findings should be recorded and revisited occasionally to ensure company leaders constantly learn more from and strengthen hazard mitigation strategies.
Review the Policies: Examine your safety policies and update them. This is because controls from the past may not be effective today due to changes in key processes and compliance requirements.
3. Implement Ergonomic Requirements
Physical strain can lead to injury. Consequently, ergonomic requirements still play a major role in keeping a workplace safe.
Consider anti-fatigue and anti-slip matting to prevent falls and comfortably support staff members who must stand for long periods and elevate them to the correct ergonomic standards.
In addition, make the most of mobile workstations to easily move large, heavy items and foot ladders to access items stored on high shelves.
4. Train Your Employees Regularly
In the long run, employees can become complacent and think occupational safety is not an everyday concern. For this reason, you need to commit yourself to continuous training programs so that workplace health and safety measures will always be on everybody’s mind.
Consider conducting training sessions at least once yearly, though frequent refresher courses every 3-6 months are more effective in updating safety policies and mitigating new threats.
Moreover, the training programs will allow you to communicate new policies and mitigation strategies as part of occupational safety compliance.
5. Incorporate Smart Technologies into Your Workplace Safety Strategy
Such technologies as smart security systems and real-time monitoring devices can improve the function of your organizational policies and operational strategies. For instance, commercial camera systems can be installed to monitor high-risk areas continuously. Then, AI-backed video analytics software can be configured to alert safety officers about potential risks unfolding in real time.
These could be further enhanced by including the IoT with sensors and alarms. The programmable IoT sound, motion, and pressure sensors let your IT deploy safety devices directly in response to certain hazards. Thus, IoT actuators will be permitted to directly change the settings of active equipment, and alarms from the IoT will sound in real time to alert your staff to security risks.
Conclusion
The majority of business executives will concur that workplace safety and health ought to be given first priority. However, a strong commitment from all management teams and staff is needed to make sure health and safety policies are properly implemented and genuinely effective.
Therefore, to make sure health and safety programs become ingrained in everyday operations, you should explore tried-and-true tactics, including establishing a culture of safety, creating risk management plans, implementing smart technologies, and conducting ongoing training.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.