No business worth its salt has anything other than an ideal acceptable annual injury limit of zero. Of course, this might be too idealistic, especially if you run a business that hires hundreds of employees. But if our safety approach and compliance isn’t always geared at preventing injuries and issues entirely, then what are they good for?
For this reason, it’s important to know where your most likely problem areas could be, and work at making them as safe as possible. No matter if this means investing in better safety equipment, totally restructuring a room, training your staff through and through, or enhancing accountability measures, all of these methods should be used so that you can proudly operate without any staff member or a visitor becoming injured.
What does this mean in practice, though? After all, it’s very easy to set lofty goals, it’s quite another consideration to structurally define the environment conducive to them, particularly if this will cost a pretty penny. But as you will see, there’s almost nothing more important to invest in than staff safety and wellbeing.
Let’s consider this together:
Storage Rooms
Storage rooms are important to consider, because if improperly used and poorly tracked, it’s more than possible to find potential injury here. You should train your staff to avoid stacking goods higher than torso-level, avoiding ‘towers’ of goods that lack stability, make sure all items are properly marked, tracked and labelled, as well as ensuring any risks of fire hazards are duly dealt with following the necessary code. Storage rooms should also be ventilated, and the tools you may use to find goods (like portable staircases), should be properly maintained.
Loading Bays
Loading bays are by their very nature of higher-risk thanks to the frequent comings-and-goings expected in this space. You’ll almost always benefit by making sure this areas is properly covered by CCTV, that loading instructions are clear, that the markings on the floor denote loading areas, and that the lighting is great even in th winter. Loading bays should also be secure and follow your safety protocols. Making sure the equipment used, such as forklifts, are well maintained and invested in, and that staff are trained as to every part of your logistics effort can make a tremendous difference. Also, remember height safety always. It can save lives.
Public Areas
Areas where the general public can enter and make use of your business premises are almost always the most ‘dangerous’ areas of a firm, because not only does exposure to the public sometimes come with risks, but the amount of people who could potentially become harmed in your firm skyrockets when footfall traffic is allowed. This is why heightening security and monitoring measures, making sure that issues are reported and dealt with (such as wet floors being cleaned and signposted), and that exits and fire reporting areas are clearly marked can be very helpful. Even visitors to private offices should wear name badges and be clearly taught preliminary health and safety information before moving into your firm.
With this advice, you’re sure to protect against the three most dangerous areas of any business.
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