As an employer, you have a “duty of care” to guarantee, as far as possible, the health, safety, and welfare of employees by protecting them from undue risks, irrespective of where they are based. Undertake generic and specific risk assessments from time to time to be sure you have all the information you need about workplace hazards and take sensible measures to tackle them. The best time to react is before it’s too late. You must equally protect visitors to the company premises because, otherwise, you expose the organization to financial liability and reputational harm resulting from a civil lawsuit.
Hazards come in many forms, and the workplace environment is constantly evolving, which explains why identifying the risks that your workers may face is an uphill struggle. Depending on the filed of work, some hazards are more prevalent and dangerous than others. No matter the degree of risk, you must protect your employees (and the business), which means taking action to eliminate the causes of non-conformity and other undesirable situations. Some workplace hazards can and should be fixed as soon as they’re found.
Collect Information from Inspection and Injury Reports
Anything that can potentially harm/injure people or destroy the property (equipment, office furniture, vehicles, etc.) represents a hazard and is a cause for concern because it costs money and has a profound impact on productivity. To keep your staff safe and ensure your company runs smoothly, dig up the information about workplace hazards. You can use both internal and external sources. Gather, organise, and review the information together with your core employees to see what kinds of threats are present and which ones people might be defenceless against. These individuals are the backbone of your organisation, so they can provide critical expertise.
Access to data allows you to identify general patterns and understand how they might affect the working environment at the company. Go over workers’ compensation reports, evaluations from insurance companies, and the reports submitted under RIDDOR to work out trends and anomalies that indicate potential hazards and risks. For example, health information can help predict specific accidents and identify suitable preventative measures. Even if you capture more and more data, chances are you don’t make the most of it, and the decision-making process remains largely intuitive, so improve actions in isolation.
Observe Operations, Inspect Your Facility, And Talk with Workers
Workplace hazards fall into several categories: safety, biological, physical, ergonomic, chemical, and workload. Take action to control potential hazards rather than just respond to them once they become incidents because your company could face legal action, and you could be questioned in court. In a few cases, employees can sue for negligence. Their rights are protected under the law, and if you’d like to know more about the subject, visit https://www.how-to-sue.co.uk. As a business owner, you must do everything within your power to limit risk and keep your business running successfully, and while you can’t control every occurrence, there are actions you can take to protect your company.
Evaluating the dangers in the workplace every now and then will ensure emergencies and accidents happen less often, so set time aside to analyse your operations, walk around the premises, and chat with staff members. Menaces can be introduced over time as workstations and processes change. Simply wandering around can help predict what could go wrong, so pay close attention to detail and use the checklist method to pinpoint process-based and/or behaviour-based hazards as tasks are performed. Discuss with employees at all levels in the company – after all, they’re the ones doing the job every day.
Make Reporting Workplace Hazards as Simple as Possible
One of the best shots you’ll ever have to eliminate workplace hazards and reduce the likelihood of facing liability claims is to set up formal processes for employees to report the threats they see. Workers are intimately familiar with the details of the job, so their input is paramount to creating a positive health and safety culture. Some might be reluctant to report the dangers they come across. Provide assurance they won’t be penalised for raising concerns and even offer incentives (monetary or otherwise). Equally important is to recognise major contributions, so let people know they’re valued, and their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed by mentioning them in the company newsletter.
A well-designed hazard report form encourages employees to provide clear and detailed information about the identified vulnerabilities. Have fields for the date, time, location, and description of the safety challenges experienced through the course of normal operations to guarantee all data is captured accurately. Knowledge is never enough, so hazard identification training must be accompanied by demonstrations, practice, and feedback. Assessing risk is a vital skill for any professional, but skills are built, not born, so train people to become proficient at this. Facilitate development opportunities for employees who directly affect company performance.
Wrapping It Up
Some workplace hazards are obvious to anyone who has eyes to see, such as oil on the floor or trailing wires in the office, while others are not so evident, and you can’t rely on visual inspection alone. More often than not, individuals get so used to the workplace that they develop blind spots to potential threats. Occupational health and safety are best left to the pros, but you don’t have to be an expert with cutting-edge monitoring equipment to identify problems at work, so don’t call it quits.
Once you know what you’re up against, develop plans and procedures for responding accordingly, whether it’s a foreseeable emergency or a non-routine situation. It’s a good idea to consult with your employees before making any major changes or transformations to drive ownership and commitment and even push back resistance. Keep people informed at all times, reiterating the need for change, and admit you don’t have all the answers, but you’ll follow up as soon as you know more.
All in all, remember that good health, safety, and working conditions are key elements of productivity in the workplace, so evaluate your risk level and determine if existing precautions are enough or if more should be done.
