How To Build A Healthier, Safer and Stronger Business
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As a business owner, making sure your business is safe for all your employees should be one of your number one concerns. If you don’t do this, not only do you put them at risk, you put the entire company at risk as well. While every business has very stringent policies that they are supposed to follow, it’s amazing the number that still cast these to one side. It’s only when disaster strikes do they sit up and take notice. Insurance is important for giving you peace of mind, so you should make sure you have appropriate public liability cover. As the old saying goes: prevention is better than the cure. So, take a look at these simple ways of making your business safer.
Manual Handling
A huge number of workplace injuries are caused by manual handling, which covers everything including lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling objects. Everyone should go through proper training to make sure that they are well versed in the correct ways to do all of these things. A lot of injuries are caused by trips, so just keeping the floor free of any debris will go a long way towards preventing accidents.
Overloaded Shelves
Something as simple as stacking too much on a shelf can cause injury as people try to get things down. While you will have a couple of designated health and safety officers in the office, it should be the responsibility of everyone in the office to make sure that everything is kept in order. All staff should have regular safety briefings so they understand their responsibilities to themselves and others.
Fire and Evacuation
As well as having dedicated fire officers and clearly marked emergency exits, there should be a designated spot where everyone meets in the event of a fire. It is likely that you will be required to have a certain number of fire drills every year, but you may want to hold these more often so people are fully aware what they need to do. Though they may seem boring to some, they can end up being life saving.
First Aid
As a minimum it is required that you have a well stocked first aid box, an appointed person who is in charge and clear information distributed out to all employees. As a responsible employer, you may want to go beyond this by having all your employees go on a first aid course. If an illness or accident occurs, your whole team will then be in the best position to handle any problems.
Keep Up To Date
Health and safety practices change all the time, so you should always keep on top of these and make any adjustments to your business that you need to. As well as this, your business is constantly changing, and you need to think about any additional risks that have been added. As your team grows, so do the risks. Be prepared to adapt and change and your business will be in a strong health and safety position.
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