Unfortunately, employees who are injured on the job or due to company products can cause bad press, litigation, and costly lawsuit settlements. In 1993 General Motors lost a suit against them that resulted in the employee winning $4.9 billion. Small business cannot afford those types of significant settlements, so operating their businesses safely becomes the main priority.
The following are some of the ways to protect your employees and customers.
- Safety Programs
Making sure that workplace safety guidelines and OSHA regulations are followed is not enough. Your employees need to be educated and engaged in realizing that safety should be the primary concern for each and everyone. Those employees who are motivated and committed are the ones who are likely to exercise vigilance and report safety concerns; like vehicles that are malfunctioning, poor lighting, traffic obstructions, poorly stacked goods, equipment not working right, and other problems that could put visitors and personnel both at risk.
It is necessary to design a standardize and thorough safety training program for each new employee, then a regular refresher course for the older employees so that everything will stay fresh in all their minds. You must make sure that the safety policies are enforced, so they remain consistent in ‘practicing what you are preaching.’ If you ever notice an employee that is violating a safety standard, you should address the issue then and there, so there is no doubt.
- Don’t Procrastinate
Always make sure that safety is the priority. While rushing around to fill orders and complete projects means nothing if accidents happen that hurt the employees and cost a fortune for the company. There are risks like slippery spots, exposed wires, improperly stored chemicals, and loose handrails; all should be dealt with immediately. If anyone should fail to remedy or report a situation such as one of these, then they are as much at fault if someone gets hurt like the one who caused the situation. An organization should institute a system of punishment and reward for minimizing such safety risks.
- Appoint a Safety Officer
Task supervisors and leaders need safety responsibilities for different departments and locations and should promote a manager to be the head for addressing the safety issues. If there is no one qualified, then look for educational opportunities like online business safety courses. You should have some full-time employees who could take advantage of an online ‘occupations safety and health degree program’ to take while they are at work on the clock so they can learn as they go and then develop information and the skills needed to keep others safe across your companies range of business concerns.
- High Product Standards
If there is a product defect that will threaten the safety of your customers, it could be a death toll for the company’s reputation. That is not even to mention you would likely need to recall hundreds of thousands of the companies products and then provide replacements and then deal with pesky lawsuits. So, to avoid all the unsavory scenarios, be sure you conduct lots of product testing and regularly be running the quality assurance checks ensuring your products leaving your factory are in perfect condition.
- Risk Management
Worst-case scenarios and the every-day issues should always be planned for and looked at regularly. You should develop your risk management plan in line with full ethical behavior. If there is a fire, harmful fumes, intruder threat, or other dangerous factors, everyone on the facility grounds whether it is staff or clients should be able to immediately know the closest emergency exit, where the fire extinguishers are located, manual alarms, first aid stations, and so forth can be found. All staff needs to be familiar where first responder numbers can be found, where evacuation routes are located, and able to take charge in a situation to avoid a scene of panic.
If first responders need to be called and staff must be taken to an emergency room then take them to the 24/7 Emergency Room at Harker Heights, TX, near you at 76548.
Multiple companies may say they practice this idea, but are they being followed faithfully? You need to encourage an atmosphere that will go way beyond the minimum fire code and safety compliance so that all staff becomes safety-conscious.
