Especially in the manufacturing, processing, and materials handling industries, employees need to feel safe while on the job. By creating a healthy and safe work environment, you’ll probably notice a few positive changes. That includes improved morale, higher production, and fewer mistakes. To achieve this goal, incorporate a workplace health and safety program into your operations.
Key Components of an Effective Health and Safety Program
Hiring experienced health and safety consultants for your Ontario business is the best way to improve the work environment. However, you still need a program that’s comprised of specific components. Those include:
Communication
It doesn’t take much effort for a company to improve internal communication. Typically, this has a profound effect on every employee. You and your leadership team should maintain an “open-door policy.” That way, workers will feel confident that it’s okay to report health and safety concerns.
A lack of communication could result in a threat getting overlooked. That could easily put a machine operator at risk for sustaining a serious injury or worse. So, always lead by example and encourage your workers to speak up if they spot something that concerns them.
Employee Involvement
This is another component of a successful workplace health and safety program. Getting your workers involved will yield some surprising benefits. For instance, this will make your workers feel appreciated and their input valued. As a result, they’ll eagerly want to help improve the work environment.
The other thing is that when you get employees involved with a health and safety program, there’s a better chance of getting potential problems identified and resolved. That’s because the employees are now a part of the solution, and they know processes and machinery better than anyone else.
Frequent and Ongoing Training
Perhaps the biggest mistake that companies make has to do with inadequate or a lack of employee training. This too should be a critical component of your new workplace health and safety program. This applies to both new and long-term workers. After all, processes, machinery, laws, and other aspects of a company’s operations change.
Providing your employees with frequent and ongoing training will ensure they’re current on everything they need to know. This will not only enhance the health and safety program but also give your workers a sense of pride.
Show Your Employees the Right Way to Do Things
As mentioned, you and your leadership team should always lead by example. So, be sure to include specific roles and responsibilities in the workplace health and safety program for yourself and the company’s upper management.
Professional Health and Safety Consultants Serving Ontario Businesses
For help with a workplace health and safety program, contact S.A.F.E. Engineering, Inc. As experienced health and safety consultants in Ontario, we’ll make sure your new program includes the things that you deem important, as well as those required to keep your company compliant.
