How to Start a Healthy Workplace and Safety Program in 2021

We can all agree that workplace safety can be a daunting challenge. Thus, it’s something that should be tackled one step at a time. The worst thing you can do is try to get too far ahead of yourself. Instead, focus on tasks you can accomplish today that can create a safer work environment for your employees.

One of the best methods to accomplish this is by instituting a healthy workplace and safety program. This will give you a plan that you can follow for creating a safe workplace culture, not to mention measurable goals to track your progress. Granted, creating a healthy workplace and safety program can’t be done overnight. But like we said, just take things one step at a time and you’ll get there.

Understand Regulations

The first step in any healthy workplace and safety program is to be aware of the regulations that must be followed. While things can differ from one industry to another, OSHA makes clear the standards that have to be met. Those standards should become base-level goals for company safety, so it’s critical to know what they are and what needs to be done to meet them. Of course, every company should eventually strive to go above and beyond OSHA standards.

Identify and Assess Workplace Hazards

After you get a handle on regulations, the next step is to identify and assess all potential hazards in the workplace. This requires a thorough inspection of every single task performed at the company and will likely require speaking with every employee about the workplace and safety protocols. The ultimate goal is to eliminate or mitigate all safety risks in the workplace. Naturally, that can’t be done if you don’t know every hazard that exists.

Have a Plan

Once you’ve developed a list of potential workplace hazards, you need to develop a plan for how to address them. Look for hazards that can be eliminated from the workplace altogether. If that’s not possible, consult with employees on ideas for reducing the risk they pose by either improving the personal protective equipment used or changing the way certain tasks are performed. This is also a good time to reassess company protocol in emergency situations so that employees understand how to react when something goes awry.

Educate and Train

After you’ve worked on creating plans for a healthy workplace and safety protocols, the last step in the process is educating and training employees. Of course, this is an ongoing process because the work is never fully done. Employees can never be too well trained as it relates to safety or too prepared for how to respond in an emergency. Obviously, new employees should receive extensive training on safety protocols. However, existing employees also need training whenever there is a new piece of machinery or new safety equipment. It’s also important to schedule regular safety training and safety drills as a way to refresh employees about safety protocols. The more safety training that employees go through, the more they realize that a healthy workplace and safety protocols are being taken seriously by company leaders.

Seek Outside Help

Workplace safety is so important and such a big job that most manufacturing companies seek outside help. Specifically, safety management software from EHS Insight can be helpful in organizing every aspect of safety at a company. The software is useful in conducting audits and inspections that assess risk, as well as scheduling training and safety drills to educate employees about safety policies. It can also play an important role in making sure that a company remains compliant with OSHA regulations.

If you’re in need of a little help in the safety department, let us know and we’ll explain how our software can help you create a safer environment.