When it comes to safety procedures for business, there isn’t any such thing as too much. In fact, some senior managers say they do not want to hear about safety being a difficulty because a company’s precedence should be protecting their employees from harm.
With this in mind, an efficient health and safety plan is important for all companies, irrespective of size or sector.
There are five easy steps to follow when creating this plan:
1. Identifying Hazards
The first step is to identify the hazards in your workplace. You should do this together with the staff who work there every day, as they know best the environment and what precautions need to be taken.
2. Risk Assessment
Having identified the hazard, you then need to assess the risk it poses. An assessment should be made for every type of hazards, even if they’re minor and are unlikely to cause harm to anyone. This was because it was better to watch out than to be sorry later on when someone did get hurt.
3. Prevention
Once the hazards and associated risks have been identified, you need to implement appropriate prevention mechanisms in your workplace – not just for the risks that have posed the greatest threat in last few years or months. This ensures that no matter what happens, countermeasures are in place to stop anyone from getting hurt again in the future.
4. Communication
If you have carried out a health and safety risk assessment, it’s likely that you have put in place a number of precautionary measures – some of which may be beyond your control, for example, with respect to your suppliers or customers. In this case, ensure all employees are fully informed about these steps and know where to get help if needed. Ensuring that everyone seems to be aware of the risks involved and the associated precautions also ensures that you take full responsibility for the security of all employees – even when other people are involved in the process.
5. Monitoring & Review
It is important to monitor your health and safety plan and review it regularly. This ensures that you follow the actions detailed in your plan and also covers any new developments or changes that will be made to the workplace or its processes.
Health & Safety Signage and Documentation
Steps 1, 2, and 3 may not sound like something to formalize. However, you’ll need a nameplate and a marker such as Industrial Tape in place. In addition, you need to have a documented process when an incident occurs. This ensures that your employees know precisely what they need to do when an emergency arises and helps reduce the risk of panic.
An effective health and safety plan protects all of your employees and, most significantly, keeps them safe.
In conclusion
Now that you understand how to create an efficient health and safety plan, you should talk to your employees about potential hazards in their work area and how to stop them. You should also review your plan regularly to make sure that you followed all the steps detailed in it and implement any changes when necessary.
