Workplace safety is an ever-important topic that employers and employees alike need to strive to continuously improve. It shouldn’t be just about making sure you comply with certain rules and regulations. It should be about fostering an environment in which everyone feels safe and protected at all times.
Here are the key workplace safety trends for 2024 you should be mindful of:
Pinpoint the Most Obvious Safety Hazards
Start by identifying the most common safety hazards in your place of work. This should put you on a good path to prevent them.
Consider every aspect of the space. How old are the electrical installations? Are the stairs slippery? Do the windows latch properly? Is there a security system in the building?
Also take into account the area you operate in. For example, if you see a lot of snowstorms, you will need strategies in place for harsh weather conditions. If you see a lot of power outages, you need to specifically address them.
Comply with All National and Local Laws and Regulations
It’s very important to make sure you comply with all the laws and regulations your country and area has adopted. In the US, this means complying with numerous legislation, most notably the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
If you are unsure whether you tick all the right boxes, you can have a compliance specialist come in and ensure you are fully compliant. This can be especially useful when new legislation is passed.
Ask the specialist to explain everything to all relevant employees, too. Don’t merely rely on the documents themselves to teach people how to behave in an emergency.
Invest in the Right Safety Equipment
Your next step is to ensure that you have all the safety equipment required by law. This will most obviously include fire extinguishers and first aid kits, as something that every workplace needs to have. Depending on the nature of your business, you might also need to have additional equipment in place.
More importantly, make sure that every single employee is perfectly competent to handle every piece of safety equipment. Provide practical training for your entire staff and conduct regular safety drills.
Invest in Driveway Mirrors
You can significantly increase the safety of any workplace by installing a wide angle driveway mirror. It will help prevent accidents in the parking lot and ensure that everyone can hit the road as safely as possible.
A driveway mirror can be especially useful in large parking lots where there is also a lot of pedestrian traffic. Both drivers and pedestrians will be able to spot an oncoming vehicle on time and adjust their movement speed and direction.
Update Your Safety Documentation Regularly
You are required by law to have folder upon folder of workplace safety documentation. However, merely owning this paperwork is not enough. You also need to know what these documents say, and you need to keep updating them regularly.
Set up a reminder to check that your safety documentation is up to date. Whenever you make a change, notify every member of staff about it, and make sure everyone understands what the new requirements are. You can send out period reminders even when there is nothing new to report, just to keep everyone vigilant.
Assign Safety Tasks Based on Skills
Regulations require that you designate people for various safety tasks. When choosing who will do what, make sure to take into account how well they will handle the responsibility.
For example, a fire-responsible person needs to be level-headed and cool under pressure. The person who organizes evacuation needs to be able to multitask and keep people calm.
Run regular drills and make them as stressful and hectic as you can. Throw in unexpected developments. See how your staff cope under pressure.
Don’t forget to practice for potentially less common but equally dangerous situations, like robberies or pandemics.
Don’t Forget about Employees Working from Home
If you’ve adopted a WFH or a hybrid environment, you need to make sure everyone is safe in their homes, too. You won’t be able to conduct a health and safety inspection at everyone’s place of residence, but you can teach them the basics of preventing and handling certain situations.
You can also take the time to improve your staff’s online safety. Provide reliable software they can access to do their job. Pay for an antivirus and an antimalware app for everyone. Teach your employees how to stay safe online and how to protect themselves from phishing and other forms of online fraud.
Wrapping Up
Consider how you can implement these workplace safety trends this year. Some of them might be more challenging than others, but in the end, having them in place will pay off in more ways than one. Ask your employees to pitch in and share their concerns too.
