4 Step Guide to Getting Started with Safety for Your Small Business

As a small business owner, you always have a thousand and one things to take care of – paying the bills, handling irate customers, finding new clients, scouting for the best talent to join your team – and plenty more.

But, did you know that among all your other responsibilities – handling the safety of your employees and your business is a crucial part?

Your employees are the biggest assets of your business, and keeping them safe on the job is a huge priority.

To get started on workplace safety, you need a reliable and robust safety program that – assesses the hazards and risks in your workplace, create and define safety policies, provide the right safety training to your employees, and carry out regular safety audits in the workplace. Additionally, you have to ensure that your safety program is consistently updated to reflect the latest changes happening in your workplace.

Here, in today’s guide, we outline the steps you need to take, to implement a robust safety program for your small business.

4-Step Guide to Implementing a Safety Program for Your Small Business

Step 1 – Find Out What the Hazards and Risks of Your Workplace

As a business owner, you would have extensive knowledge of your industry. You need to identify the hazards in your workplace, as well as identify processes, substances, and equipment that could pose risks to your employees.

Use your insider industry knowledge to perform a comprehensive hazard assessment of your workplace identifying and classifying various risks in the workplace. Make sure to check out various safety resources online to find more about the potential hazards in your workplace.

Once you have identified the hazards in your workplace, the next step is to review the various processes in your workplace. Take a close look at various workplace practices and identify any gaps present. For instance, you may notice that your workplace lacks safety signage or your employees are operating heavy machinery without the right PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).

Some of the procedures that usually lack in safety include:

• Electrical equipment handling
• Heavy machinery operation
• Usage of chemical substances
• Working in extreme temperatures
• Climbing heights using ladders, scaffolds, etc.
• Working in confined spaces
• Driving in dangerous conditions
• Lifting heavy objects

Remember the points mentioned above are just a starting point. The potential risks and hazards of your workplace are highly dependent on the nature and style of your business.

Step 2 – Create a Safety Policy for Your Business

Once you have identified the potential hazards and risks associated with your business, the next step is to use the information collected to frame written safety policies and procedures for your business. These safety policies form the underlying framework for the safety program of your business.

What to Include in the Safety Policy?

• Procedures on how to reduce/eliminate workplace hazards.
• Methods to reduce workplace hazards such as installing machine guards, providing employees with the right PPE, etc.
• Other administrative controls like implementing safe practices at work.
• Support documents such as safety resources, machine usage guide, safety audit checklists, frequencies and more.
• Apart from these, the safety policy also should include business specific information like the chemicals being used at the workplace, list of confined spaces, the location of safety equipment and fire-fighting equipment, emergency exits, a detailed evacuation plan and more.
• Details about safety training methods

Step 3 – Choose the Right Safety Training Program for Your Business

Safety training isn’t something that can be done in a day. It takes time and resources. Safety training protects your employees and physical resources from accidents. While choosing a safety training method for your business, you need to pick a tailored plan that addresses the specific challenges and needs of your business.

Very often, small business owners in an attempt to reduce overall training costs, resort to standard safety training, that doesn’t suit their business. Cookie-cutter style safety training protocols aren’t that effective.

Step 4 – Commit to Workplace Safety

When it comes to safety, just adhering to the laws and regulations, don’t provide you with the maximum benefits. Taking safety shortcuts could lead to devastating results that endanger your entire business. Product loss, infrastructure damage, workplace accidents and even loss of life – are some of the disastrous consequences of taking safety shortcuts.

Remember that a workplace accident doesn’t just affect you financially – you have to pay huge regulatory fines, spend on repairs and replacements, and provide compensation payouts. It also impacts your business in other ways like – damaging the reputation of your business among clients and shareholders.

As you can see, safety is the cornerstone to the success of a small business. Safety isn’t just your responsibility. It’s your duty to the business.

Safety at the workplace starts from the top down. As a business owner, you have to commit to safety, and appoint safety managers to ensure that safe practices are being carried out at all levels. Make safety a priority in the workplace.

Remind employees that safety is essential for the health, safety, and success of the business as well as themselves. Commit to safety and promote a safety culture at work.

Safety – A Crucial Ingredient for the Success of Your Business

Safety adds more value to your business than just protecting it from regulatory fines. Safety is what attracts and retains the right talent at your workplace. When employees feel that employers are looking after their safety, they are committed to the job, which in turn, improves productivity.

There’s no denying the fact that running a small business is a hugely challenging task. By focusing on workplace safety, you take the right measures and set up your business for success. Use this four-step guide to get started with your Workplace Safety.

Feeling clueless on what to do or where to start? Worry not, our safety experts at Totalika can provide you with all the help. Totalika, India’s leading health and safety provider for businesses across industries has a huge team of safety experts, who can help you, get started with implementing workplace safety at your small business.

Give us a ring at +91-124-661-3137/ +91-124-266-3021 or drop in a mail at support@safix.org to get started.