Spring — with the sense of renewal, energy, and optimism that it brings — is the perfect time for cleaning and reorganizing. A tidy and presentable workplace facility presents a positive image of your company, and has been shown to boost employee conscientiousness, morale, and pride. Spring cleaning is also a great opportunity to reassess the safety of your work facility. Rejuvenate your facility this season with these spring safety tips.
Establish Safety Goals
The first spring tip is to occupy the right mindset and make safety your goal. Cultivate a belief that your workplace can always be safer, and there is no excuse for unsafe practices. Making a to-do list is a prudent next step. Before you dive into your spring cleaning safety project, it helps to have a clear picture of your goals and the particular steps you will take to go about achieving them, as well as a realistic timeframe for completing them. In your interactions with staff, demonstrate that you value worker safety to make sure they know that it is a top priority and that you are not simply paying lip service to the concept. For instance, praise workers for following safety regulations, and follow them yourself without exception.
Offer Training Refreshers
The season of renewal is a good opportunity to retrain your staff on safe workplace practices. Remember common sense isn’t always common practice. Even the most seasoned worker may need a reminder about how to perform his or her job with the proper precautions. Whether it’s how to properly insert ear plugs or what to do in case of a fire, reiterating safety tips is especially helpful in the spring when warm weather begins to present new working environments. If the season brings new hiring, be sure to hire smart; make sure new hires are competent enough to work safely and have the right attitude toward safe work practices. It may also be helpful to solicit workers’ concerns about safety in the facility and to act on their suggestions. They are the ones in the trenches, after all.
Check Equipment Quality
If you expect employees to work safely, you must make sure they have the appropriate tools. Inspect all workplace equipment and tools to make sure they are functioning properly. Consult the products’ maker to check that you are up to date with the latest information about using the devices safely, and to see whether any are due for official inspection or replacement. Also, inspect personal protective equipment (PPE) and other safety gear to make sure that it complies with OSHA regulations and recommendations, as well as more general safety standards. Replace any PPE that you provide yourself, such as work gloves, that have become worn with frequent use over the previous weeks or months.
Watch Out For Facility Hazards
Inspect the work facility itself as well. You will want to see that there are no obvious hazards and that the facility is organized in the most sensible way. For example, make sure that any storage areas are arranged tidily so that employees know to put materials in their designated spaces and do not leave them lying around to become trip hazards. Check that boxes and equipment are not stacked in such a way that they may tumble and cause injury. Note whether there is sufficient signage providing workers’ instruction on safe work practices and proper use of equipment. This spring safety tip can help keep your workplace accident-free and productive.
Start Taking Notes
Maintain records of any safety mishaps that occur. Where any incident occurs, even if it does not result in serious injury, perform an investigation to discover why it happened and to determine how to prevent it from happening again. Dutifully note all first aid treatments, inspections, incident investigations, and safety training activities in your record books. Make sure that these safety records are well-maintained, organized and easily legible for quick reference or inspection.
Following these spring safety tips should, at the very least, act as a great starting point for your journey to a safer workplace this season. Let’s get to it!
