Health and safety in your workplace is an ever evolving and changing entity. The goal is to keep improving on what you do. No more “this is the way it’s always been done” attitude! Here are five essential ways to improve work health and safety in your organisation.
Leadership
There is nothing worse than a company leader who says all the right things about safety, but in reality, they are compromising the message every day. Increasing production targets without extra resources, not budgeting for plant upgrades or replacements,
Be the leader (no matter where you are in the company), walk the talk.
Attitude
How much progress towards a safe work environment will you make if you think (and say) that safety is a chore, it’s BS, it’s all red tape?
Having a positive attitude about making improvements in your workplace translates directly in positive safety behaviour. In all things we humans do, our attitude directly influences our behaviour.
Standing up
OK, so I’m not talking about sit/stand desks here (although they are pretty cool!). This is more about standing up for YOUR safety, YOUR mates safety, the safety of YOUR workplace.
Standing up means not accepting poor behaviour, slack work practices, bad attitudes.
Standing up means not accepting that someone else will fix that hazard you just walked past.
Standing up means being accountable for your own actions and owning the consequences.
Listen
Workers in the field, doing the work that makes the products that make the company money – these people have invaluable knowledge about not only the work, but also the hazards that they face every day. Give your workers a safe and respectful consultative platform, listen to what they say. Get them involved in the solutions to hazards.
Act
Action – positive action – is a big winner when it comes to improving work health and safety culture in an organisation. Your workers need to feel that their opinions and suggestions matter, that they are being taken seriously. The best way to demonstrate this is by acting on, and implementing their improvement suggestions. It’s true that not all suggestions will work or be cost-effective. But the ones that do work, celebrate them! Communicate loud and proud throughout the company about who came up with the idea, the team that put it together, what the benefits are to the workers and the company as a whole.
How do you think your workplace rates with the five essential improvements listed above? Why not book in for a free 30 minute online consultation and get a health check on your safety systems! Call today 0401 014 619
