Most if not all clients that you work with will appreciate a workplace-wide commitment to safety. It might cost them more at first, but it’s worth it for a job done safely and well, and it’s good for their brand. It’s also good for your brand, bottom line, and employee morale. Here are OSHA safety tips that can help you make this your safest year yet.
Create a Culture of Safety
Making sure you meet your safety goals means looking at your entire system. Study why employees get hurt, where communication slips happen, what changes are happening in your industry, and where your organization could improve. Don’t stop at just thinking, though—institutionalize your workplace safety policies by building them into your corporate operations and culture so that they’re on everyone’s mind at all times.
Make Workplace Safety Everyone’s Responsibility
Everyone at your workplace, from the executives to the foremen, needs to support your safety measures, or they won’t help anyone. Find ways to demonstrate that safety is valuable and worthy of employee and leadership support. Offer advancement opportunities, benefits, and recognition to those employees who take safety seriously. Train and empower everyone in your organization to be responsible for and make decisions about safety. Quantifying the importance of workplace safety will be meaningful and help you measure your progress.
Make Safety a Part of the Conversation
Making safety a habit means more than just training new apprentices, employees, and interns during their first week on the job. Making safety a priority means including it in your company orientation for new hires, even CEOs and masters. Continue the conversation after day one with posters, newsletters, and other workplace media.
This conversation should also extend to your vendors and subcontractors. Perform due diligence, and make sure safety is part of the criteria that you judge other companies by. Safety records are as important to consider as the skills and experience of the people you work with.
Practice Mindful Workplace Safety Behavior
We think of workplace safety as something that should be a habit—something that’s ingrained that you don’t even need to think about. However, a better approach to take would be a mindful one. Mindful safety approaches mean actively making mental notes about when safe behaviors are needed, and rewarding yourself for a job well-done. Self-talk leads to actively caring about health and safety instead of only doing it because it’s a requirement and can keep you from defaulting to habits in a dangerous or unusual situation. It will also help you notice when other people are being safe which helps you to be more accountable and responsible for your workplace’s safety culture. So rather than making safety a mindless task, really think about what you’re doing and why—even while you’re doing it.
Stay On Top of Safety with New Gear from PK Safety
People and practices are only a part of the workplace safety culture. Employers also need to offer their workers safer equipment and tools to help achieve safety goals. Technology is always advancing, and sometimes equipment needs to be replaced. PK Safety can help you find the best gear for your industry and make sure you meet your safety goals. To talk to a safety expert, send us a message online or call us at 800.829.9580.