When it comes to workplace safety, it’s always better to be prepared beforehand. Prevention can help you prevent countless injuries—and even possible death.
Studies even show that organizations end up saving money in the long-term when they have safety measures in place. This makes sense, because without adequate controls in place, injuries can vastly increase the costs of medical and legal fees, workers’ compensation, indirect safety costs such as accident investigations, training, implementation of corrective measures, and lost productivity.
The following steps will help propel your organization toward becoming an industry leader in occupational health and safety.
Make Sure Your Facility Is Prepared
When making the move toward becoming a more secure and safe workplace, the first thing you should do is perform a thorough examination of the environment and identify potential areas of improvement.
This will also help you pinpoint high priority issues, as well as any existing compliance problems. For this, you need to have a thorough understanding of workplace safety laws and regulations in Canada, as established by CCOHS.
Create a Culture of Prevention in the Workplace
Once you’ve prepared your facility, the next step is to ensure your employees are on board.
Studies show that simply having preventive systems in place is not enough to decrease incidents of occupational injuries and illnesses.
They need to be accompanied by the implementation of a positive workplace safety culture. For this purpose, companies need to show their dedication to safety, encourage employees to come up with workplace safety initiatives and provide assistance to workers who want to attend first aid training school. Metro Safety Training provides a selection of first aid training courses, each of which is designed specifically for different levels of expertise.
Educate Employees
Once your employees are on board and willing, the next challenge is to effectively educate them about the importance and benefits of workplace safety standards.
While there are general safety guidelines that should be practised throughout the organization, not all employees will require the same amount or level of training.
Some employees will require more specialized courses—such as fall protection inspection training or forklift operator training. Anticipating training and safety needs is important when determining which courses to opt for.
Keep track of Safety Measures
Always keep in mind that workplace safety is an ongoing process. Just because your facility is up to code and your employees are sufficiently trained doesn’t mean you can sit back and become complacent.
There will always be new facilities, new employees and new standards for workplace safety—not to mention, old or used equipment that needs to be replaced.
The key is to stay on top of any new trends in the industry while also keeping track of how safety measures are doing within your organization.
Research indicates that occupational health and safety prevention measures have a positive influence on employee satisfaction. Metro Safety Training offers a wide variety of training programs for your employees.
And with Employee Appreciation Day right around the corner, what better way to show your team that you care about their health and safety. To find out more about what program best suits you and your organization, you can reach out to us here.
