Owning a business is both exciting and a lot of work. Taking care of your business, managing finances, hiring trustworthy employees and ensuring quality products is not your biggest concern. Yes, at business seminars this is what speakers put focus on, but implementing health and safety practices is the key to a successful business.
WHS (Workplace Health And Safety) statistics report states that there were 126 work-related deaths in Australia as of October 12, 2015, with transport, postal & warehousing industry ranking the highest with 42 fatalities. Although the incidence rate decreased in comparison with previous years, it is still very high and represents over 4.5% of GDP.
As a business owner, you are responsible for health and safety in the workplace. You can learn more about national laws, regulations, codes of practice and how you can improve work safety at WHS website. Furthermore, you need to implement a safety management system unique to your type of operations and hazards of work directly related to your business.
Having proper lighting and safety equipment is another key factor. From safety clothing and footwear to PPE (personal protective equipment) and first aid kits, you can purchase all the safety equipment online or offline. Every mortar-and-brick and online Aussie safety shop stocks a wide range of safety gear and related safety products of various brands (online shops are an easier solution as you can use your time for more productive ventures). The bottom line is, approach safety as you do with marketing, product development, increasing sales, etc.; you need to invest in it and manage it if you want to prevent injuries. Simply put, a safe workplace is good for both your employees and your business.
Safety managing isn’t all that difficult. It takes five simple steps:
Identify the hazards
It is essential to identify anything that can cause harm, and not just obvious hazards. For example, tasks that involve lifting, pulling and pushing often cause sprains and strains (soft tissue injury). Or long-term exposure to chemicals which can cause lung cancer. These are all not-so-obvious hazards. You need to identify them by talking to your employees and closely monitoring all the tasks.
Access the risk
Once you find the hazards, decide which ones can potentially cause the most harm. This can be an everyday task or maybe certain projects. This is important as it will give you a better understanding of how to manage safety, which hazards require your immediate attention and which ones do not. Whichever may be the case, you must work out a permanent solution. By not accessing the risk, you put your employees and your business in jeopardy.
Eliminate or reduce the risk
The third step of safety management is trying to fix the problem. It is best to eliminate any risks or at least work out a solution and ways to control them, such as provide safety equipment (face, foot, hand, hearing, head, knee). Make sure your staff always wears protective gear.
Ensure safety equipment is in good condition
Providing safety equipment is simple, ensuring it is in good condition is what proper safety management is all about. Regularly inspect safety equipment used as it is designed to minimize safety risks, hence make sure you replace it at first signs of wear and tear. Ensuring quality personal protective and safety equipment is as important. Choose your supplier wisely. Talk to other people in your industry and ask them to recommend online Aussie safety shop they are satisfied with.
Choose the right safety equipment
You need to provide your staff with the right safety equipment considering identified hazards (chemical, electrical, physical), accessed risk and whether your employees need one particular product or maybe a combination of few. The Important thing is to choose safety equipment that will minimize exposure to work-related injuries. This may include safety glasses, earplugs, gloves, hard hats, respirators, dust masks, etc. Shop from a reliable online Aussie safety shop that has high customer rating and guarantees genuine products as it is imperative all equipment is of safe design, in good condition and comfortable to use.
