Over the last few decades, businesses have become much safer for employees thanks to government regulations regarding workplace safety and employee protections. However, not all businesses are as safe as they could be, and some still pose safety hazards for their employees, especially in busy working environments or worksites where dangerous materials are handled. In today's blog post, we look at three specific ways to make businesses a safer place for employees. By making the workplace safer for employees, employers can see a reduction in job site accidents, lost productivity, and Workers Compensation claims.

Analyze Workplace Hazards

The first step to increase workplace safety is to analyze potential and existing hazards. This analysis should be a coordinated effort between business management and employees actually involved in the day-to-day operations, who are often the most at risk for workplace accidents. The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offers guidelines for how to create a Job Hazard Analysis to clearly identify hazards and potential dangers posed to employees. The Job Hazard Analysis focuses on job tasks to pinpoint hazards before they occur, and also studies the relationship between employees, tasks, tools, and the overall work environment.

Develop Action Plans

The main goal of Worksite Action Plans is to eliminate or decrease the number of worksite accidents and injuries by developing safety strategies and guidelines for safe operations. These action plans can include company guidelines for handling hazardous materials, reducing areas for potential slips and falls, and how to properly carry or move heavy materials or merchandise without causing personal injury. In addition, employees should be trained on how to administer aid to those suffering injury and how to properly report and document worksite accidents.

Implement Safety Programs

Once job hazards are analyzed and action plans developed, the final step for businesses is to actually implement new safety programs and guidelines for all employees. A safety program only has value if it's properly implemented and embraced by employees, so training is crucial. For companies that might have difficulty with compliance, incentives and rewards can help motivate employees to maintain high safety standards and adhere to safety rules instead of taking shortcuts at the job site. Effective incentives might be cash or gift card rewards to teams or departments with zero accidents in a given time frame, or bonuses to employees who identify a new threat or propose a viable solution to an existing worksite hazard.

Worksites should be safe places for employees, and businesses that invest in protecting workers will go a long way in not only retaining valuable employees, but also reducing overall costs for Workers Compensation and lost productivity. Aegis is also committed to workplace safety, and offers top quality commercial insurance coverage for businesses and industries that face higher numbers of potential worksite hazards, such as restaurants, retail stores, industrial and manufacturing plants, and repair contractors such as electricians and HVAC companies. Contact Aegis for more information about our line of commercial insurance policies, or go online to request a free quote today!