Issues with health and safety can cause massive headaches for you as a business owner. It can mean that there is a lawsuit in your future and the damages could be huge. That’s why you need to make sure that you are taking the right steps to keep your business safe for everyone including your employees. Here are some of the steps that you should take to guarantee your business ticks the right boxes here.
When it comes to working in an office environment it can quickly become stuffy. This is not great for people with allergies or breathing problems such as asthma. The last thing you want is for people to become ill while at work. It is your job as the business owner to keep the air clean and of good quality. Fresh air should be flowing through the business and offices all through the working day. This will ensure your workers are staying alert and productive.
First, you should make sure that you are hiring a health and safety officer. A health and safety officer will regularly check your business for any potential hazard that could cause an issue now or in the future. A health and safety officer can be an existing member of your team. Alternatively, you can choose to hire someone separately to fill this role for you. The right choice will largely depend on your business setup and how large your company is. In some cases, you might need more than one health and safety officer.
You need to ensure you are keeping in line with health and safety standards within your business. There are many ways to do this including putting hand washing facilities in kitchens and bathrooms. The last thing you want in your business is germs to spread and your workers to become ill. Illness means time off work and fewer jobs being done within the office, or other workers coming to take over. Take a look at different companies to get the best deal on dispensers for your bathrooms. One such example is Faucets Canada. Faucets Canada provides high quality automatic soap dispensers at affordable prices.
It’s important to make sure that you are completing regular checks throughout your business. For instance, you should think about checking any electrical appliance that is at the office address at least once a year. In doing so, you can make sure that you don’t end up in a situation where a small issue causes a massive problem like a fire. Believe it or not, not checking things like a kettle used in a staffroom can leave your business vulnerable to a massive fire hazard.
Other checks could include ensuring that the sprinkler systems are working. Sprinkler systems do corrode over time. You don’t want to only find this out when a fire does break out in your business property.
If there is an accident in your business, it’s probably going to be caused by human error. That’s why you should make sure that you do invest in the right training. In doing so, you can empower your team members to avoid issues and ensure that they don’t make a mistake that could lead to their injury or an injury for someone else. In the long term, the right type of training could save you from lawsuits and heavy costs of payouts to injured workers.
Finally, you need to think about investing in the right ergonomic furniture. The best ergonomic furniture will ensure that your team members aren’t at risk of developing issues with RSI. RSI or repetitive strain injury is one of the most common causes of a PI claim in the workplace today. As such, it’s always going to be in your best interest to do what you can to reduce the chances of a team member developing a problem like this. It’s usually caused by typing with poor posture. Ergonomic furniture will allow team members to type in a way that they feel comfortable. It can also provide them with the flexibility to work however they want. For instance, some people are more comfortable typing while standing. As such, you might want to consider getting sit-stand desks.
We hope this helps you understand what key steps to take within your business to ensure everyone is kept safe, this includes both you and your employees. Taking the necessary steps now will ensure no nasties go around your offices which could result in time off.
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