June is National Safety Month, a time when all light industrial employers should examine their workplace and processes to ensure the well-being of their workforce. While that may seem like a major undertaking, a few simple approaches can be effective places to start. Here are six things you can do to keep your light industrial employees safe on the job.
1. Have Regular Training Sessions
Safety training should be an ongoing part of the employment equation. Along with an in-depth session during onboarding, schedule annual refreshers to keep your employees informed and safety-conscious. Additionally, organize mini training events whenever something changes. That includes introducing new equipment, altering a procedure, or anything in that vein.
You can also squeeze small safety messages into their day-to-day. For example, use email signatures to highlight a critical best practice or start every meeting with a quick safety message.
2. Provide the Right PPE
If your workplace requires personal protective equipment (PPE), provide as much of it as possible. In many cases, new hires won’t have access to enough funds to purchase everything right away. Since that’s the case, consider creating a new employee welcome basket with any of the items you can provide.
Additionally, have simple ways to get replacements. While providing them for free when wear and tear is clearly an issue is ideal, having a payroll deduction program to cover purchase costs could also work.
3. Give Employees the Right Tools for the Job
Having access to the right tool for the job makes a difference when it comes to safety. It ensures that employees won’t have to improvise a solution, something that can increase injury risk.
Additionally, ensure that all equipment is in good repair. Just as having to improvise makes a task riskier, so does using tools that aren’t in good shape, particularly if they could break or fail at an inopportune moment.
4. Use Multiple Cues to Mark Hazards
If a hazard is present in your workplace, don’t use just one approach to mark it. Instead, incorporate several strategies, along with a range of visual cues.
Combining written notices with brightly colored symbols denoting the type of danger involved is a great way to start. You can also make audio announcements, send out emails, update messaging on intranet pages, post notices on bathroom doors, and otherwise, spread the word. That makes the issue harder to overlook, decreasing the odds that a hazard will harm an employee.
5. Establish a Safety Committee
Safety committees make it easier for light industrial employees on the floor to share information about potential hazards. They have an easy-to-access point-of-contact that can act as a liaison between them and management. Since that’s the case, word about issues is more likely to reach the proper individuals.
6. Choose Safety-Conscious Candidates
When you’re hiring, make sure safety is part of the conversation. Ask safety-oriented questions to help you determine if a candidate is safety-conscious, allowing you to focus on job seekers who will share your commitment to workplace safety.
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