Workplace safety is something all employers take seriously. According to Worksafe BC, there were at least 2.6 million days lost from work because of workplace injuries in British Columbia in 2016. About 150,000 workers in British Columbia reported getting injured on the job in 2016—a 2.8 percent increase from claims reported in 2015.
Still, things are getting better. According to WorkSafeBC data, the rate of workplace deaths due to injury has decreased 67 per cent in the past two decades. That’s down to 0.34 deaths per 10,000 person-years of work in 2014 from 1.02 in 1990. This reduction is based in large part on more awareness and better training about how to stay safe in the workplace.
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Still, all employers are required to provide an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) program of some kind for their employees to keep them safe. Many employers invest in employee training software. However, after the training is finished, the challenge is actually changing the culture of a workplace to keep employees safe.
Here are nine tips to help improve your organization’s workplace safety culture.
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1. Reward safe behavior
Much like gamification has become popular way to reward learners, rewards are also an engaging way to encourage workplace safety. Giving out small rewards to employees who follow safety procedures provides them with recognition, which in turn keeps them thinking about keeping safe.
This can make a big difference in reducing your workplace injuries.
2. Provide workers with the right tools
Many workers will risk using the wrong tool or taking a shortcut to get a job done more quickly and efficiently. Without the right tools, workers often improvise to complete a tasks. Determine which tools, including safety equipment, are needed to get the job done, and make sure your employees have access to them.
3. Demonstrate that your organization values safety
Do you praise workers who get the job done with whatever it takes? You may be inadvertently be encouraging a workplace culture where safety becomes a lesser consideration.
Instead, recognize and reward employees who offer suggestions for working safely. But also be careful to recognize that accidents do happen. For example, if you provide incentives for achieving zero injuries you may only be rewarding zero reporting, which may increase the risk of injuries.
A strong demand for safe work practices by your organization’s leadership can mean the difference between success and failure.
4. Demand a safe workplace
Explain to your staff that there’s always time to do things safely and it’s never acceptable to work unsafely. Then, practice what you preach. Workers will support your vision only if they believe it’s real.
5. Look for ways to improve safety
Every business looks for ways to achieve faster results at less cost. At the same time, place a similar emphasis on seeking ways to eliminate workplace risk. Spend some time with workers brainstorming for their safety ideas, and then act on their suggestions.
6. Implement safety protocols from the start
Workplace safety starts from day one, which means not only hiring people who understand the importance of workplace safety, but also training staff from the very beginning. Many organization rely on employee training software for this.
Hiring qualified employees will also improve workplace safety—if they know how to operate the equipment they will be using in their task, there is less chance of injury. Also ensuring workers are physically capable of performing their tasks is important.
7. Have regular meetings on workplace safety
Regular meetings to go over safety procedures and discuss ideas with employees keep workplace safety top of mind. This means that when something does happen, everyone knows what to do right away.
8. Remember that work can be risky
Workplace safety training may have the unintended consequence of teaching employees that all workplace risks can be mitigated. However, it’s important for employees to remember no job is absolutely without risk or completely safe.
The purpose of workplace safety training is to make the workplace safer overall.
9. Train employees well
Comprehensive training is a must for preventing workplace injury. Make sure that all your employees have access to–and complete–all the training for their positions.
Improve Workplace Safety With Udutu’s Training Software
Udutu’s course authoring and employee training software helps employers create effective courses to help their employees stay safe.
- Launch your training program confidently and quickly
- Simple to use – employees can start learning in minutes
- Track how your employees are progressing through the training
- Excellent documentation and great customer support
Udutu provides various hosted course tracking/LMS (Learning Management System) solutions that scale as needed to suit any sized organization or learning needs.
Contact us today!
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