Workplace safety

Is your occupational safety up to standard?

Workplace safety is an important, but often overlooked, part of the smooth running of any business. Protecting your health, ensuring your safety, and protecting the future of your company is easy when employers and employees work together on occupational safety issues.

• Workplace Health and Safety

Is your occupational health and safety up to scratch? Are you doing all you can to protect yourself as an employee? Or your business as an employer?

New Zealanders are typically thought of as hard workers - the kind of employees who are willing to muck in and get the job done. But sometimes the Kiwi ‘she'll-be-right-mate' attitude can get us in trouble. Particularly when it comes to workplace safety.

Why worry about workplace safety?
Employees and employers alike may overlook potential occupational hazards and safety issues simply because they're so focused on getting the job done. But accidents can happen - even to those with the best of intentions.

The Health and Safety in Employment Act was created to prevent employees, contractors and visitors being harmed while at a workplace. Whether you're an employer, employee or self-employed, you're responsible for your own personal workplace health and safety and the safety of others at work.

What are the risks if you're not up to scratch?
As an employer, if you don't manage workplace safety properly, you are responsible if a worker or visitor gets hurt. You could be taken to court, prosecuted and fined, taking up a lot of your time, and costing you a lot of money in legal fees, fines and lost productivity.

Occupational injuries often mean staff are off work, which can reduce the productivity and profitability of your business, as well as putting strain on the worker and their family.

As a business owner, if you are injured at work and unable to work for several weeks, or even months, how well will your business do without you? What impact would it have on your cashflow? Would you still be able to provide for yourself and your family?

Do you need to review your workplace safety strategies?
A focus on workplace safety can reduce the chances of on-site injuries, and subsequent business costs and pressure on other workers. Whether you're an employee or employer, workplace safety should always be of upmost consideration in undertaking daily tasks.

If you're uncertain about the health and safety standards in your place of work ask yourself; Do management and staff check for hazards when there is new equipment or if procedures have been changed? Has your place of work been checked over by a workplace safety expert? Does management provide a workplace introduction or orientation that includes health and safety procedures and information for new workers? Do staff report incidents and injuries? And does management investigate them?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, chances are the workplace safety policies for your business or place of work may be in need of review.

How can you improve health and safety at your workplace?
Research in New Zealand has shown that when workers are directly involved in their own workplace safety policies and management, injury and illness rates are more likely to improve. Therefore, the best way to get workplace safety up to scratch is for employers and employees to work together on health and safety issues.

For business owners and managers, getting your workplace safety policies up to standard can be as easy as following these six simple steps:

• Let your workers know you are serious about health and safety and explain why. Let them know you're going to take action to lessen your business risks and the risks to their safety.

• Set up an accident and "near miss" register and make sure your workers know where it is and when and how to fill it in.

• Start a list of hazards and decide what action you will take to fix each hazard. Will you get rid of it? Keep people away from it? Provide protective gear?

• Deal with the most dangerous hazards first and work your way through to the less serious ones.

• Keep a record of the training and supervision your workers receive. Make sure they know how to work safely and deal with the hazards you've identified.

• Keep looking for new hazards and encourage your workers to do the same.

Ultimately, better health and safety practices will mean fewer injuries in the workplace - ensuring a lower cost to your business, and the certainty that you will be able to continue to provide for your family.

To find out more about workplace safety and how you can protect your business, your staff, and your future, click here.

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Business images from Flickr: high-vis vest, safety signs and Wellington Buildings.