Safety and Health Programs – 10 Ways to Get Your Program Started

Whether you are a start-up or an already established company engaged in manufacturing, production, construction or hazard-related endeavors, the need to have a safety and health program at the workplace cannot be emphasized enough. A good safety program not just makes the work environment safer but it also ensures your business complies with guidelines issued by the regulatory authorities. 

Benefits of Implementing Safety and Health Programs

Under Federal Law, every employee is entitled to a safe workplace. OSHA in its Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs has outlined the benefits of having an effective safety and health program at the workplace. Implementing health and safety practices can help employers save on indirect costs (this accounts for 2.7 times the direct costs) that result from workplace incidents. This includes time lost – due to work stoppages and investigations, training and other costs associated with replacing injured workers and loss or damage to the property, material and machinery.

A safer work organization also has a stellar reputation among employees, customers and suppliers. It has a good employee recruiting and retention rate, better employee morale and improved production and quality. A non-compliant company, on the other hand, may invite legal liabilities even if there are no work-related incidents.

OSHA’s 10 Easy Recommended Steps to Get Your Program Started

OSHA has recommended 10 easy steps for employers to help them get started with safety and health programs. These steps will lay as the foundation of the programs, which business leaders can further enhance and tailor as per the needs of their organization.  Let’s have a look at each one of them:

1. Prioritize Employee Safety

Worker welfare should always be the company’s topmost concern. Assure employees that they are safe on the job and that you will work with them to spot and fix any work-related hazards. Take proactive steps to identify a safety and health hazard and find a solution to eliminate the hazard.  Make it easy for workers to come to you with safety concerns.

2. Lead by example

Masses follow their leaders. You need to follow safe behaviors yourself before you expect the same from employees. Make health and safety a part of your regular conversations with your employees. It could be maintaining safe perimeters with others, which has become imperative in current pandemic to wearing a PPE when entering a hazardous waste site.

3. Have a Reporting System

Workers should be able to access a reporting system readily where they can report any injuries, hazards, safety and health concerns, illnesses or incidents without fear of retribution. There should be a provision to report any concerns anonymously. 

4. Educate and Train Your Employees

Every company should have an agenda to ensure their employees and managers are trained on how to identify and control hazards in the workplace. Workers handling hazardous waste on a regular basis or those responsible for cleanup of such materials can take 40-hour HAZWOPER course online and work with a company’s professional for final hands-on instructions.

Those who have the certifications should be encouraged to take refresher HAZWOPER training to stay up-to-date with the latest techniques, emergency response and procedures related to hazardous waste operations.

5. Conduct Regular Inspections

A common mistake that most companies make after implementing a safety and health program is that they think their job is over. Inspections should be conducted at the workplace regularly to identify any equipment, activity or material that pose a concern.

Even if the company has no history of any hazard incident, regular inspections should be conducted as it often helps find many overlooked aspects of facility safety. Companies working in HAZWOPER arena should ensure that their workers have taken OSHA HAZWOPER training like the 24-hour or 40-hour training.

6. Suggestions on Hazard Control

Employees from all levels of the organisation should be asked to come up with any improvements or suggestions on how to control a hazard(s). Seeking insights from employees signifies that you value their input into safety and health-related decisions.

7. Implement Hazard Controls

After employees have come with suggestions for hazard control, evaluate the controls, select the appropriate ones and implement them. 

8. Identify and Address Emergencies 

A critical element of any safety and health program is identifying hazards that are present or that could have been anticipated. Corrective actions should be taken to fix the existing hazards and guidelines should be created to tackle the potential emergencies. These guidelines should be communicated to everyone by putting them in prominent places.

9. Consult your Employees    

Consult your employees before making any notable changes to the work environment, equipment or material to identify any potential safety or health issues. It will make them feel assured and create a sense of program ownership among them.

10. Make improvements

A safety program is an ongoing activity, which should be refined over time. Hence, employers should conduct regular meetings to identify the shortcomings of the program and take actions to improve them. Discuss if any equipment, materials, facilities or work practices need to be changed.