Safety at a workplace is the employee and employer’s duty, but initiation of workplace safety measures is the employer’s responsibility. At times, accidents are common, no matter where you work – office or factory floor. Therefore, everyone in the work area needs to understand how to make the place safe.
Workplace accidents can be minimal or severe, leading to loss of lives, money, time, properties, or leaving people with long-term disabilities. However, safety and security are beyond locking doors and having safety signs in strategic places.
Fortunately, there are various ways to ensure the safety and security of lives and property in a working environment. Right in this article, you will learn five workable tips to ensure workplace safety and security.
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Acquire Materials That Improve Workplace Safety And Security
It might be difficult to tell when a psychopath may barge into a working environment to create havoc. Therefore, it’s of necessity for security officers to acquire materials that can prevent injuries, such as bullet proof vest. A bulletproof vest, for instance, is a must-have for security personnel in a workplace.
Having necessary security or safety materials will go a long way in securing lives and properties in a company. The employers and workers can have peace of mind and work effectively, knowing that they are well-protected.
Other materials that can ensure safety and security are key-card access systems installed at main entrances or appropriate doors. Access control badges are also considerable. Upgrade the company’s perimeter control devices with closed-circuit monitoring systems and intercoms.
While many materials and accessories can make the workplace secure, it is essential not to forget the basic ones like hand sanitizers or nose masks to prevent diseases.
Establish Safety Culture In Your Workplace
As an employer, it is crucial to establish a safety culture. It involves contemplating on how often or ways to train the employees on workplace safety and security essentials.
- Do you train them monthly?
- Do you train them yearly?
- Do you hire a professional to train them,
- Do you leave them to learn independently?
To reduce workplace accidents, ensure workplace safety, and security training becomes one of the cultures in your company.
Likewise, you can take another step by having regular surveys on possible safety hazards that pertain to your company’s work design and equipment. Then, find out the measures that can be put in place to prevent injuries.
The best way to gain adequate knowledge on preventive measures related to your workplace is to consult or have an occupational health professional in-house.
With the knowledge of workplace safety and security „hot spots“, you can have excellent information to share with employees. This will make them an integral party to the creation of a workplace culture that guarantees safety.
Create a Viable Disaster Management Plan
While no one wishes for disaster, it takes more than wishful thinking to avert it. Disaster often happens for whatever reason, and you need a workable plan to mitigate and handle the situation. Ensure you have such a plan and make it known to all workers.
An employer can take more professional steps by vetting the plan with a legal advisor or counsel.
The plan includes what the employees need to do during a crisis like a natural disaster or invasion of a violent person. Another strategy is to put safety and security equipment like fire extinguishers in the right places and inform the workers of their location for easy access during emergencies.
Please include in your plan other security and safety expectations and how workers can meet up with them. Let them be aware of all your security goals, don’t assume they know them. It’s essential because there is no way they will follow the plan they are not aware of.
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Select Safety Leaders Among Employees
Remember, you cannot do it alone and besides that, you cannot be present every time and everywhere in your company. Therefore, you can make the work easier by assigning roles to few dedicated workers in each department.
The selected employees must have accepted the role after communicating it with them. Once they come to terms with you, let them understand what is expected of them. They will as well be responsible for coordinating or taking extra responsibly at the point of emergencies.
To make the duty easier for the selected leaders, ensure that all workers know that safety is a collective effort. Also, reward the most safety-conscious persons in each department of the company. That will make them support the leaders for positive outcomes.
Encourage A Tidy Workplace
Ensure each member maintains a clean and safe environment by clearing away objects or tools that may cause an accident. Likewise, documents, especially confidential ones, should be adequately secured in proper places like safe cabinets to prevent theft.
Make sure you do not have wires running loosely on the ground that can cause trip and fall. Also, objects should not be stacked carelessly on top of each other to avoid falls that might injure someone.
Conclusion
When a workplace is secure and safe, it encourages employees to be active, productive, and efficient. As a result, implement every necessary tool to have a highly safeguarded workplace, reducing injuries, theft, and damages.
However, note that it’s impossible to eliminate workplace hazards, but you can limit them with the tips shared in this article.