With the start of a new year, it’s a good time to re-evaluate the safety protocols and procedures in your facility. No matter what kind of operations your company is involved in, be it manufacturing, processing, construction, retrofitting, machining, tool and dye or any other production, the benefits of putting strong safety awareness policy in place will pay for itself quickly through the lack of lost time, injuries and fatalities.
Here’s some basic employee safety resolutions you should be taking in 2009:
Revolve to inform, educate and notify all employees of proper safety protocols. Safety Starts with Awareness. Use a combination of signs, posters, decals and information boards throughout your facility to point out dangerous areas, areas that require safety equipment or other important notices. Using compound awareness methods reinforces important safety messages throughout your facility.
Resolve to have Safety Guards in place on all machines and equipment. While many machines come with safety guards in place, be sure that all are functioning and put additional guards in place where applicable.
Resolve to have proper head, foot, hand and eye protection equipment available and clearly marked. For the small investment in proper safety equipment and proper instruction to use this equipment, you can cut injuries in fatalities drastically. Your insurance premium savings alone should offset the costs of the equipment.
Resolve to organize safety teams and assign a safety lead to each department. By empowering your people to recognize safety problems and remedy them, each department feels ownership for the process and pride in maintaining safety procedures.
Resolve to recognize and reward those who exhibit outstanding safety practices. The champions for employee safety in your facility know their greatest reward is the safety of themselves and their team, but going beyond to celebrate their achievement with an award or inexpensive incentive is a constant reminder of their commitment to safety and your commitment to them.
Resolve to publish your safety numbers for everyone to see. Knowing how well the company is doing and what areas need improvement will give all parties involved the insight to make better safety decisions.
Resolve to improve safety through employee feedback. Those employees that have a method for reporting safety problems and making recommendations are more likely to be registered in the process and willing to champion your safety causes.
2009 is a great time to push your safety awareness to the next level. Make this a year without incident in your facility.
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