Workplace health and safety is one of the most important things to maintain in your business. A company without healthy, fit and strong workers is a company working on only half its cylinders. Plus, statistics show that workplace injuries and illnesses are skyrocketing, which is costing businesses – big and small – millions of dollars a year. In fact, worker compensation cases are driving some businesses to close their doors for good. There are a number of ways to make your business safer and your employees healthier, but it takes strong initiative. Here are different ways to improve workplace health and safety training.
First and foremost, you want to make sure that your workplace is a safe environment. This method is actually quite simple and it requires some basic analyzing of the workplace for basic safety risks. For instance, if your warehouse deals in lifting heavy boxes and there is a real risk for items falling, you want to make sure that you install visible warning signs. You also want to create a sign that designates the area as a hardhat only zone. When it comes to safety in the workplace, signs can do a great job at preventing injuries.
Another way to boost workplace health and safety is to make your workers safer. There are a number of ways to equip your employees with the tools they need to make the workplace safer. For instance, you could make your employees CPR certified. If something happens to one of your employees on the job, it is critical that coworkers and team members know how to perform CPR, stop bleeding and tend to wounds. Another option is to use an intensive training program, like Occupation Safety Training Systems, to make sure employees know the safest ways to operate heavy machinery, chemicals and biohazards.
Next, you may also want to implement a workplace fitness program. While you can’t make it mandatory, you can give incentives for getting involved – incentives can include paid days off or benefits. Having healthier and fitter employees will reduce the instances of diabetes, stroke, heart attack and a number of other dangerous and deadly conditions. Each year, these conditions cost employers millions of dollars in healthcare expenses. These expenses go to hospital stays, surgeries and more. So, if you want to significantly reduce these costs, you have to find a creative solution to make your employees healthier.
Lastly, you also want to implement disciplinary action if some of these workplace safety protocols are broken. It is one thing to implement them, but after that, you must enforce these rules and regulations. For instance, if an employee is seen operating a forklift dangerously or not wearing a hardhat, you want to make sure that employees get punished. Punishments can include taking vacation days away or unpaid leave. Some people think these punishments are severe, but it is purely for the protection of your employees and for your business’ assets. The last thing you want is to go belly up – all because your workers broke protocol.