3 ways to make your workplace safer

Workplace safety has always been at the top of the agenda for most businesses, but with new challenges cropping up as time marches on, health and safety is now seen as everyone’s responsibility.

Being at the helm of the business, employers are expected to take the lead on all health and safety matters, but the role of the employee cannot be understated when it comes to ensuring that everyone within the organisation stays safe and well.

Here are a few ways that you can nurture a culture of health and safety in the workplace and encourage employees to play their part.

Accidents
Accidents in the workplace are commonplace, but often they could have been avoided. The HSE states that the main responsibilities of the employer are:

• To take measures to protect anyone in the workplace from harm (including visitors and customers).
• To inform the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) (or in certain situations, the local authority) in the case of specific incidents including accidents that prevent workers from returning to work for seven days or more.

However, by offering staff a platform to report hazards as they are identified, employers are allowing their staff the ability to become champions of workplace health and safety and giving them a leading role in combating avoidable accidents.
Such platforms include a robust hazard reporting procedure, a dedicated hazard identification officer tasked with escalating the issue to management and regular team meetings where staff can convey any concerns without judgement or reprisal.

First Aid Provisions
UK law states that regardless of the size of the company, they are legally obliged to plan for the provision of first aid at work.

Even for the smallest of organisations, employers are expected to adhere to the following rules:

• Provide a first aid box (including the appropriate equipment)
• Ensure at least one person is trained to administer first aid
• That first aid information is readily available for all employees

However, by perceiving the one-person rule for the administering first aid rule as set in stone, this is making the subject of first aid the responsibility of one person and one person alone, so it pays to ensure that you have several trained first aiders on hand in case of absence.

First aid training can be offered as a personal development perk and often acts as a mechanism for team building. Having a team of first aiders to hand means you can help make the workplace a safer place and upskill staff at the same time.

Prioritise PPE
PPE is an integral part of workplace health and safety, but the process seldom goes beyond ordering and providing PPE items to employees.

To ensure that any PPE items are fit for use, have a designated PPE Officer to make regular checks on all items. They can flag up any pieces that require replacement or maintenance, which can not only help you reduce the risk of PPE becoming damaged and unreliable, it also allows your team to take ownership of the items that keep them safe.

Training staff on how to care for their PPE properly also encourages cost-saving and a focus on safety for all involved, so it is an excellent way to instil a culture of health and safety within any business environment.