Designing A Corporate Safety Plan - Where to Begin?

Safety First: How to Design a Corporate Safety Plan

 

Safety is a top priority for any company. But developing a safety plan requires more than just creating emergency documents and having lots of meetings, a good safety plan is a living document that grows with your company and its needs.

Creating a strong safety policy requires thorough job hazard analysis and risk assessment. It also involves a system to onboard new employees and to reward safe behaviors. With a positive reinforcement program, you can encourage everyone to follow the company’s guidelines.

Identifying Hazards

To create a safety plan, you must first identify all the hazards in your workplace. You can do this by looking at the work environment and talking to workers.

Consider each hazard and ask yourself two questions: How likely is the hazard to cause an incident, and how serious would it be if it did occur? Answering these questions will help you prioritize your hazard assessment and determine what controls need to be implemented.

Encourage workers to report hazards and incidents (including near misses) so they can be addressed quickly. Provide them with a standardized reporting system and make sure they know that their concerns will be heard and not retaliated against.

Creating a Risk Assessment

Having a written risk assessment plan shows that the business has identified hazards and decided who might be harmed, as well as how those dangers could be stopped from occurring (risk analysis and evaluation) or controlled when they can’t be eliminated (risk control). The plan should also be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes in workplace conditions.

Another way to show that a business takes safety seriously is by establishing a safety committee, which sends the message that employees will be encouraged and incentivized to report any issues or concerns. The company should also create a safety policy and require that all employees follow it. Enforcing these policies can help reduce OSHA fines, and it will show that the company is serious about keeping its workers safe.

Creating a Safety Plan

A good safety plan takes time and effort to develop. It also needs to be regularly updated and refocused as situations, environments and employees change.

The first step is to get a professional assessment of everyday hazards. It’s also helpful to have employees conduct their own assessments of conditions in their work areas.

Create a safety committee and establish a system to communicate with and support them. This is a great way to build team spirit and demonstrate that the company takes employee safety seriously. It is important to have management fully committed to the creation, implementation and communication of a safety program. This is critical to getting the best results from a program.

Creating a Safety Committee

Establishing a safety committee enables management and employees to work together to address workplace hazards. Effective committees meet regularly and have clear goals that are evaluated on a regular basis.

A good safety committee should have representatives from every level of the organization, including managers and frontline workers. Committee members should be rotated on a regular basis so that new viewpoints are always being brought to the group.

An important issue for a safety committee is how to promote it to employees and get them involved. This may involve creating a poster or email campaign. Also, it's necessary to have management participate in the safety committee meetings to reinforce their commitment to employee health and safety.

Creating a Safety Budget

As companies close the books on 2021 and begin drafting budgets, a safety plan should be top of mind. While the coronavirus pandemic has forced many enterprises to rethink their operations, it should not have made workplace safety less important.

Unfortunately, many organizations do not have the luxury of saying, “Safety? Whatever it takes!” and will have to work within a specific monetary limit. Thankfully, there are ways to make the most of your available funds by using tools that offer multiple functionalities under one roof, like DORN’s comprehensive safety solutions. That way, you can prioritize the needs of your business and focus on what matters most. The result: safer employees, a safer workplace, and lower risk.

Creating a Safety Policy

When writing a safety policy, it is important that the most senior member of management be involved in the process. This prevents health and safety managers or consultants from simply copying and pasting a generic safety plan.

The policy should detail who has what responsibilities for health and safety within the company. This can be done through a written list or an organization chart to demonstrate hierarchies and responsibilities.

The plan should also outline how inspections will be conducted and what the consequences of violating a policy will be. This will give employees a sense of ownership and ensure they take the policy seriously. It can also help build a positive safety culture in the workplace.

Creating a Safety Training Program

Safety training is an essential component of a company's safety program. It can help workers identify and understand workplace hazards, report them, and control them.

To create an effective safety training program, first perform a JHA and identify the hazards and risks that workers face. Then follow the hierarchy of controls to reduce or eliminate those hazards: elimination, substitution, engineering, work practice controls and PPE.

It's important to make the training relevant and engaging for employees. Use captivating training courses to increase information retention. Role-play scenarios can also be used to give employees the opportunity to practice their skills and improve their understanding of safety protocols.

Creating a Safety Reporting System

Having documented safety processes helps businesses maintain compliance with federal and state occupational safety laws. It also demonstrates that management is committed to the safety of employees and visitors to the business.

Before a business creates a formal safety plan, it should assess everyday risks. It can hire a professional or send a survey to employees, which allows them to express their concerns anonymously.

After the assessment, the company should develop a budget for training, meetings and other expenses related to creating and maintaining its required safety programs. The safety program must demonstrate the involvement of management, including top executives and mid-level managers. Employees should be involved in the development and communication of the policy, as well.