The Latest

How to Set Up a Safety Initiative at Your Business

While it may not cross your mind every day, safety affects every aspect of your workplace. No matter the industry, culture, or size of your company, safety should be a top priority. Taking the step toward implementing a safety initiative may seem challenging, but at Fraza, we’re here to help with tips to make the transition easy and effective.

Developing a program

Setting up a safety initiative doesn’t have to be difficult. Our recommended first step is to start by creating a safety committee that consists of personnel from every level of your organization. Some employees may volunteer, while some may need to be appointed. This committee should have representation for each department in the company, so ideas from every area of the workforce can be heard and included.

Once the committee is gathered, they need to brainstorm a list of safety concerns by looking at hazards that have caused incidents in the past and implement safer practices to prevent repeat incidents. After major risks have been addressed, they can identify potential hazards and ways to safeguard against accidents happening. The members of the committee should make a list of next steps and set dates for completion or updates on how the safety initiative is doing.

Communicating a program

For the safety initiative to be effective, employees need to be on board with it. Having a safety committee that has representation of all areas of the workplace will help to facilitate communication about safety issues. It’s important to have management involved in initiating conversations surrounding workplace safety, so employees can feel comfortable expressing their concerns. Two-way communication will allow safety committee members to gather ideas from their areas of work and bring them back to the safety group to add to the list of items to tackle.

Safety committee members should fill in their employees on the plans and progress of the safety program. When employees see each other taking safety seriously, they will contribute their time and effort to the safety initiative in order to see results. This is part of the culture change that has to take place for an organization to not only recognize and fix safety issues, but to ensure these preventative measures are maintained moving forward.

Tracking a program

With a safety committee that represents a wide range of employees, members can observe the department they know best and be able to track the progress of the safety initiative. Tracking changes and reporting back to the committee and employees allows the company to see results. Members can take part in on-the-job learning by celebrating safe practices and treating unsafe practices as a learning opportunity rather than a punishment. If the committee decides together what their goals are, they’ll feel more invested to see it succeed. Identifying what safety means to your employees and how it’s important to them will help shape a program that both resonates with and motivates employees.

Why it’s important

While safety affects every aspect of the workplace, it also affects every aspect of your life as well. Companies that set up safety initiatives care about the well-being of their employees, making them feel valued and happier with their jobs. Setting up a safety initiative at your workplace is important to employees, family members, and loved ones.

Every employee has the right to work in a safe space and feel secure with their surroundings. If a workplace injury were to occur, it would impact the employee and their entire family. Safety at work means making it home to your family and being able to be there for the ones you love. Safe workplaces reduce stress, create a positive work environment, and put minds at ease knowing procedures are in place to increase safety for all employees.

Check back next week for the final Fraza Safety Month blog post for more workplace safety tips.