Health and safety is crucial for long-term business success.
The significance of health and safety cannot be overstated. Prevention of workplace related injuries and fatalities is one of the main challenges for today’s Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) experts. According to the United Nations Global Compact, an estimated 2.78mn workers die from occupational accidents and work-related diseases every year around the planet, while an additional 374mn workers suffer from non-fatal occupational accidents. Unsafe and unhealthy working conditions often result from governance gaps, insufficient knowledge and resources, unsustainable business practices, and the lack of a culture of prevention or risk mitigation.
While taking a calculated risk or two may often be seen as necessary for business success, prevention of risk is the most logical approach to a sustainable business environment. Prioritising health and safety not only ensures worker well-being, but will also likely offer multiple opportunities for enhancing various efficiencies at almost any business. Here are five steps to enhance health and safety at the workplace.
1. Effective risk management
This means that a business needs to identify and assess potential risks, measure them and put controls in place, which can help mitigate or eliminate these risks altogether. It's also important to continuously monitor and check risk-management policies to see if they are working as intended, and then make whatever changes are necessary on a periodic basis.
2. Leadership commitment
Lead from the very top and constantly reinforce the HSE message by following it. Workers are much more likely to get involved and comply with controls and risk-mitigation efforts if they see their line managers and senior management following the rules strictly without making exceptions.
3. Training
Improve health and safety competence by setting up appropriate training practices within your organisation. This ensures that everybody is on the same page in creating a safe working environment.
4. Employee Involvement
Discourage risk-taking behaviour to save time or effort. Instead, get the workers involved in risk assessments and toolbox meetings, appoint health and safety representatives at the workplace and visibly support them in ensuring a safer workplace.
5. HSE Management System
Implement an appropriate health and safety management system for your business. Aligning to the international ISO 45001 standard is one way to start this journey.
High-performance companies can thrive in an everchanging world by ensuring a safe and healthy working environment and not causing any harm to people and the environment. Investing in the right HSE practices make workplaces more efficient and productive, protects the environment and minimises overall wastage and pollution. There is no doubt that a good health and safety record can work wonders for a business to be recognised as a great place to work. On the contrary, poor health and safety performance can harm profitability and lead to loss of customers and business.
