Safety doesn’t take a holiday
Resilience, Risk, Business Killers, Safety, Small to Medium Business | May 2, 2024
Jayston Small, CEO Riskfacta
Every day, countless hard workers across various industries put their lives at risk to keep our community running smoothly. Keeping people safe, preventing worker injuries and fatalities is not just a legal requirement it also a moral obligation. Think about all the people you work with. Imagine for a moment someone injured or killed in front of you or what it would be like attending a colleague’s funeral and comforting their family.
This is not theory. It’s reality. ~600 people are injured every week and ~70 die at work in Victoria every year according to WorkSafe. That’s why safety regulation exists and is ever-increasing. Improving. We all have a right to work, and to go home to our family. At Riskfacta we believe in the concept of being ready before, during and after for all your potential business killing events, including something as awful as a workplace injury or fatality.
Well budgeted, broad safety programs are the hallmarks of large companies. For small to medium businesses, fostering a safety culture is crucial too. Not only for the well-being of employees but also to prevent negative impacts that have the potential to certainly disrupt, and potentially destroy a company. As leaders of small to medium businesses, the daily operational drama can distract us from getting started or remaining committed. If it helps, here are some easy things that I do to ensure a safety culture is maintained in my company:
- Lead by Example: I set the tone for the entire organization. So, I actively include safety in my decision-making and practice safe behaviours. It can be small things like holding handrails or checking in on people’s mental health.
- Right-size Safety Policies and Procedures: I don’t need a set of super complicated procedures to put on the shelf, but I do need safety policies and procedures appropriate for my company that align with industry standards and legal requirements. These policies are communicated to all employees and so they understand their roles and responsibilities in maintaining a safe work environment.
- Provide Adequate Training: Again, I right-size training about potential hazards specific to our industry so employees have the necessary skills and knowledge to mitigate those risks.
- Encourage Reporting and Communication: It’s important to me that my team feels comfortable reporting safety concerns, incidents, or near misses without fear of retaliation.
- Involve Employees: I regularly seek employee feedback and encourage participation and involvement in safety initiatives.
- Recognize and Reward Safety Efforts: We celebrate milestones and publicly recognize individuals or teams that contribute to maintaining a safe work environment. This doesn’t have to be expensive. A compliment about an individual’s contribution at a team meeting can sometimes mean more than a $50 gift card.
- Continuously Improve: Leading a HSE and risk business, obviously, I stay up to date with industry best practices and implement improvements as needed. This can be tough if HSE isn’t your core business, and the regulations are overwhelming. I’d recommend seeking some professional input from organisations like mine, and at least an annual review of your procedures in addition to encouraging feedback from employees and being open to making necessary changes to enhance safety.
Remember, a single moment of negligence can lead to a lifetime of regret.
Let’s work together to ensure that everyone returns home safely after a hard day’s work. 💙🏠
#SafetyFirst #PreventInjuries #SaveLives #WorkplaceSafety #StaySafe #businesskillers
Riskfacta Insights are written by experienced professionals with decades of direct experience. AI may have been used in early research and data gathering, with all work then validated and supplemented by our subject matter experts.
