Most business owners worth their salt are keenly interested in keeping their employees safe. Of course, it’s clear to see that injuries are an inconvenience for you, it slows down your productivity for the day, it could shut down an entire department, and the reparative effect on your insurance could be significant. However, this shouldn’t be the main reason we as business managers should be interested in reducing injuries to a total of zero per annum – even when out on-site and conducting plumbing work. We need not patronize you by laying out what the actual, human reason is, you likely already hold it close to your heart.
However, it is important to consider not simply how we can prioritize ‘having the right reasons’ for avoiding workplace injuries, but how we can prevent them entirely. It’s the one goal where any ‘acceptable margin of error’ is simply out of the question. We must aim for perfection. For this reason, using all tools at our disposal is crucial.
For instance, using security apparatus can often increase safety to a tremendous degree. Here’s how:
Heightening Accountability
Heightening accountability can often increase the security that your firm will enjoy. For instance, business security cameras can ensure that processes are being followed well, that accidents are caught on camera and further analyzed, and that our approach is carefully calibrated by the evidence. In this respect, an at-fault staff member can be transparent and we can work through the issue, while those who may have been victimized by error can get the support they need. In this respect, our security measures not only protect against threats from the exterior but faults from within.
Restricting Access
It can be healthy to restrict access from time to time, in order to ensure that your staff are only located in the areas they are trained to handle. For instance, keycard access to your server farm can be important, in order to keep data safe and prevent any difficulties or security problems. Restricting access may mean only allowing certain areas of your manufacturing line to highly qualified individuals, or simply keeping your inventory under the correct lock and key. In this way, your people and processes become much easier to handle – provided you measure this approach with a thoroughly competent fire safety and evacuation strategy.
Social Backup
Security need not be a large fence or a scary-looking guard. It can be the means of practicing safety that come after a problem has been encountered, such as training our staff in first aid. This can be the security intervention needed to help an injured person stay cared for until direct medical assistance arrives. Social backup also means staff that are able to access secure reporting forms if noticing anything suspicious around your business premises, or that harassment is reported as appropriate. It could mean reporting a job that may have had issues surrounding it, allowing staff to feel safe when attending client’s homes or workplaces. After all, sometimes threats come from without, as well. This mature approach also means engaging with compensation payments if an injury occurs, as some manage future payments through annuity structuring.
With this advice, we hope you can understand how security measures both heighten safety in the workplace, and help staff feel more confident working within the building, focusing on the tasks they’re there to do.
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