Improve Health and Safety in 5 Easy Steps
Improve Health and Safety in Your Workplace within the Week. Health and safety in the workplace is like a monster that must be looked after. If you don’t it becomes a scary, overwhelming task but by keeping on top of a few tasks, it’s easy.
- Make Someone Responsible for Improving Health and Safety
By making it someone’s job to keep on top of health and safety management, it will get done. There is accountability. Although health and safety is part of everyone’s job, it can become no ones job because they feel someone else is doing it.
Action: Make every employee aware of the health and safety tasks they must perform. Tell them you are working to improve health and safety. Make it clear what is expected of them and their responsibilities in their job description. Next, appoint one person in your business to make sure the big tasks are taken care of.
- Review Existing Documents
Basically, you need a health and safety policy, risk assessments and method statements. Every business must review these annually or when conditions change, such as an accident occurring. Although an accident is a blip, it can improve health and safety in the long run. It’s a negative that can be made positive.
Has the health and safety policy statement been reviewed and signed within the last year? Is is displayed on the wall? The employers liability insurance certificate also needs to be on the wall where the public can see it. The fine for not displaying employers liability certificates is currently up to £2500 for each day it has not been displayed.
Action: Walk around the business and watch people at work. Does each job role have a risk assessment? Is the health and safety policy signed and displayed on the wall.
- Check Training Records to Improve Health and Safety Awareness
Improving health and safety management is important but the level of health and safety within a business can be improved by training staff.
Some health and safety courses must be updated annually, such as Asbestos Awareness. Others are up to five year refresher periods, such as the CITB Site Managers Safety Training Scheme.
Action: Create a training matrix showing each member of staff and their qualifications. Book refresher training where necessary
- Communicate with Staff
The best system in the world will be ineffective unless it is communicated to the people expected to work to it. It is a requirement of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 that employers communicate with their employees.
Action: Gather staff for a health and safety improvement briefing. Explain what you are trying to achieve, what has changed and the part they need to play in it. Have an attendance register signed by all attendees to ensure you have proof of your instruction.
- Monitor Conditions in the Workplace to Improve Health and Safety on the Whole
There must be a starting point when you decide to make health and safety improvements. By undertaking an initial audit against current legal standards, you can see where you are at and put a plan together to improve.
Action: Print off our compliance checklist and identify your problem areas. Produce an action plan with timescales to ensure you can measure the improvement to health and safety standards in your workplace.