June is Safety Awareness Month

If we’re being honest, every month should be safety awareness month. The only way for a workplace to remain safe is to focus on safety every month – in fact, every day of every month is the right time to focus on safety.

However, June provides a good reminder of why safety is so important. For companies that have perhaps slipped a little in making it a priority, June is a good time to refocus on workplace safety. That’s why we wanted to help by taking a closer look at the specific areas where companies should be focused when it comes to safety and sharing some of the best ways that companies can promote safety awareness in June and every other month.

Four Areas of Focus

Since 1996, June has been National Safety Awareness Month. It’s the perfect time to overview everything related to safety to get a better handle on it. For some of the bigger issues related to occupational safety, it might be a good idea to designate a full week to focus on each issue. Here are the four areas of focus for workplace safety.

1. Emergency Preparedness

The whole idea of workplace safety is to avoid emergencies from happening. But that doesn’t mean employees shouldn’t be prepped about what to do during an emergency. This means giving workers an overview of potential emergencies or disaster situations and how they should respond. This shouldn’t just be work-related emergencies; it should also cover the possibility of natural disasters and other emergency situations that can’t be controlled or prevented.

2. Slips, Trips, and Falls

As the most universal type of safety hazard, it’s worthwhile to focus on slips, trips, and falls for a full week. Since each workplace is a little different, employers need to tailor their safety lessons about slips, trips, and falls based on the specific types of hazards that exist and the work employees are expected to do. If employers are able to get a handle on these types of issues, they can do wonders for overall health and safety in the workplace.

3. Heat-Related Challenges

Since Safety Awareness Month falls in the middle of summer, it’s ideal timing to bring up heat-related safety challenges. Whether workers are outside or in inside spaces that aren’t cool, heat changes the equation when it comes to work safety. Again, these types of challenges are unique to each employer, so safety lessons in June about working in the heat should be specifically tailored to a company’s unique challenges.

4. Recognizing Hazards

The final focus of Safety Month should be on recognizing the hazards that exist. This means doing a full inspection of the workplace to identify as many potential safety hazards as possible. Identifying problematic areas is one of the most important steps toward creating a safe workplace. Therefore, it’s best to dedicate a full week to accomplishing this.

Tips for Promoting Safety Awareness

In addition to the four areas of focus during safety months, there are countless ways that businesses can promote safety awareness in the workplace. All of these tips can be mentioned to workers during Safety Awareness Month. But it’s also a good idea for workers to receive regular reminders about how they can stay safe on the job every single day. Here are some common safety tips that promote a safe environment.

Training and Re-Training

The best way to make employees aware of workplace safety is to train them to be safe in the workplace. The key is making sure that safety training isn’t just a one-time occurrence for new employees. All employees should go through safety training regularly, even if they are just repeating the same lessons time after time. There is no such thing as having too much workplace safety training. The longer employees go without any training, the more likely they are to forget what they’ve learned or pick up bad habits. If employees go through safety training regularly, they will always know that it’s an important part of their job.

Reward Safe Behavior

Just in case regular safety training isn’t enough, employees will remain aware of the importance of workplace safety if there are rewards for it. This isn’t to say that safety has to be an individual competition. However, there can be both individual and company-wide rewards offered if employees pay close attention to safety protocols and have a strong safety record. Even small rewards can help inspire employees to always remain aware of how to stay safe while on the job and remain engaged with the company’s safety policies and protocols.

Proper Clothing and Equipment

It’s always imperative for employees to wear proper clothing and safety equipment on the job. In fact, wearing this equipment can play a key role in maintaining safety awareness. The simple act of putting on gloves or protective eyewear can remind someone of the potential safety hazards of their job. This is a big reason why employers need to preach the importance of always wearing the right clothing and using the right safety equipment for the task someone is performing. It sounds simple, but enforcing this can be a huge step forward toward creating a safe workplace.

Clear Signage

Another simple way to build safety awareness is by posting signs with safety messages throughout the workplace. Certain pieces of equipment or areas of the workplace may require signs warning employees of potential safety hazards. These signs can also remind employees of the proper way to act or certain safety measures to take in a given situation. Over time, seeing these signs might feel like second nature to some employees. However, their presence remains important in keeping employees aware of potential danger and the right way to avoid safety hazards.

Cleanliness

Companies don’t always recognize the correlation between a clean workplace and a safe workplace. It’s important for company leaders to make employees aware of the connection. If a workplace is clean, it means there are fewer hazards and opportunities for accidents. If you can stress this importance and why cleanliness matters for workplace safety, employees will be more inspired to keep their work environment clean and tidy.

Tool Maintenance

Proper tool maintenance isn’t just good for business, it’s also good for safety. If tools and equipment are at risk of malfunction, it can slow down productivity and put workers at a greater risk of injury. Naturally, performing routine maintenance on workplace tools and equipment can help lower the risk of something going wrong that puts an employee’s well-being in jeopardy. Just make sure that employees understand that tool maintenance and upkeep is a double-edged sword that’s critical for both productivity and safety.

First-Aid Training

Few things will get employees to recognize workplace safety like undergoing first-aid training. It’s easy to make the connection between providing first-aid and the reasons why that might be necessary in the workplace. Obviously, you don’t want to take the focus off the first-aid training. But it doesn’t hurt to mention the relationship between workplace safety and the need for everyone in the workplace to learn first-aid.

Emergency Drills

Another obvious way to bring awareness to workplace safety is by conducting emergency drills. Much like safety training, this is something that needs to be done regularly. If not, Safety Awareness Month is a good time to do an emergency drill and start maintaining a schedule. The exact type of drill can depend on the workplace. If nothing else, a simple fire drill can be a good way to prepare employees for an emergency situation. Of course, it’s always best to connect an emergency drill with the type of safety malfunction or accident that could actually occur in the workplace. This will help tie in safety procedures that can help employees prevent such an emergency from happening.

Toolbox Talks

Similar to safety training, toolbox talks can do wonders for safety awareness. Ideally, employers will hold toolbox talks on a daily basis. They don’t have to be long meetings, but they should focus on a specific safety topic that has either been an issue lately or requires a refresher course. The simple act of having daily toolbox talks will show employees that the company values their health and safety. It’s also a good way to keep safety procedures fresh in their minds, especially since the topic of toolbox talks can be tailored every day to the needs of the business. The idea isn’t to have a daily meeting for the sake of having a meeting. The point of toolbox talks is to address a topic that’s relevant to employee safety.

Open Dialogue

Perhaps the best thing any business can do to encourage workplace safety is to simply have an open dialogue between employees and management regarding safety. There should be full transparency about safety topics, especially if changes to safety protocols are considered. At the same time, employees shouldn’t be hesitant to bring up safety concerns with management and speak about those concerns openly. When this type of open dialogue is encouraged, it helps keep safety on the minds of employees.