6 tips to boost safety performance in 2019
As you focus on increasing your revenue in 2019, keep your employees safe and
healthy and improve the overall performance levels of your business.
1. Safety leadership
Does your company focus on safety management or safety leadership? Workplace safety should start at the top of any
organisation. Incorporate safety into the organisational structure of your
business from the boardroom down to the factory floor so it is part of the
company culture and intrinsic value; and not a separate function.
2. Staff training
Educating your workforce about the importance of safety and
any safety concerns helps to protect them and to establish and maintain a safe
workplace by increasing their knowledge and awareness of safety issues. No matter how skilled or experienced an employee is in a particular area they
should undergo thorough training for all aspects of the job. Safety shouldn’t
be left to common sense or chance. Ongoing training will also help create and maintain a culture of safety.
3. Employee engagement
Employee engagement is a key factor in integrating safety
into the day-to-day business operations.
Everyone from the MD or CEO down is an employee and you will increase your
success in safety, and business, if
you engage all employees in the safety management process through frequent
communication in incident investigations and asking for feedback.
4. Focus on wellness
and health of your employees
Healthy employees are the most productive, and the working
environment is directly linked to job satisfaction. As an employer your duty
doesn’t just end with health and safety compliance. Investing in the overall
health and wellness of your employees (which impacts on job performance) is key
to a safer workplace with less accidents. The home work life balance for your
employees could be improved by the introduction of flexible working. A range of
initiatives such as offering free fruit or organising office yoga and free
health check-ups are ways in which you can improve the health of your
employees.
5. Get the most from
your supervisors and managers
It’s vital that supervisors and managers lead by example when it comes to
safety since these are the people who interact with the rest of your employees
on a daily basis. No matter how many times employees are told not to do
something if they see a manager carrying armfuls of boxes down a staircase
without holding onto a handrail the chances are they are going to do as they
see.
Encourage managers to routinely hold safety discussions with employees, and to
launch an accident investigation as early as possible.
6. Be safety Smart
Technology is now available to improve workplace safety and
can play an important role in reducing injuries and fatalities. Software
technology can help employees be more aware of their workplace surroundings and
the dangers they encounter. The software generates lifelike images using two
angles of a recorded image so that any workplace site and environment can be
recreated, showing employees potential dangers. Journey management software is
another tool employers can use to improve the safety of employees working
remotely as this communicates when employees have not checked in at scheduled
times. Smart devices can help schedule maintenance of machines in factories and
equipment such as escalators.