As a business owner, you have a responsibility to keep everyone safe from injury when they visit your business premises, be they employees or customers. Aside from being the morally correct thing to do, it also helps to protect your business. The fallout from an onsite injury can be significant, costing not only sizable sums of money but also reputational damage. In some cases, businesses end up closing thanks to a single injury.
There’s no way to avoid injuries entirely. But what you can do is minimize the risk that they’ll occur. Take the five tips we’ve outlined below on board, and you’ll be doing everything within your power to keep your visitors safe.
Here are the 5 tips to prevent workplace injuries:
1. Educate Employees
Injuries rarely happen completely by accident. When you trace back the details of what happened, you can usually find that it’s a single error that resulted in the injury. And in many cases, that error is down to an employee. It’s important that staff members are fully trained in the site’s safety procedures, as well as what to do should something happen. Hold regular update training sessions to ensure your team always has safety at the forefront of its mind.
2. Maintain Your Premises
Business owners are busy with the day-to-day running of their operations, and, as such, don’t always notice when their premises are falling into a state of disrepair. There’s more risk of an injury at ill-maintained premises that show noticeable signs of damage. It’s more likely that someone will have an accident if there are potholes in the parking lot, or there’s a loose letter on the sign outside your store.
Ensuring your premises are well-maintained reduces the risk of an accident, so whether it’s hiring a commercial concrete company to fix your parking lot or replacing your store’s sign, do whatever you have to do to keep your premises in good condition. It might just save you a lot of trouble further down the line.
3. Minimize the Risk of Slips and Falls
In most businesses, the biggest injury risks are slips and falls. To prevent workplace injuries like these, It’s paramount that staff know to respond promptly to a spillage that could cause someone to fall. Cleaning the spill up and posting a ‘wet floor’ sign can reduce the risk of an injury and also your liability. If you work in a busier working environment, then you should take additional steps to keep walkways free from clutter.
4. Be Mindful of Overworking Staff
Staff are much more likely to be involved in a worksite accident when they’re tired, especially if their job involves using equipment that could cause an injury. Ensuring that your team members have a good work-life balance reduces the risk.
5. Keep Employee-Only Areas Secure
Finally, make sure that your employee-only areas are secure. Customers who access these zones, even if it’s by accident, are more likely to experience an injury since they will not have received the training that your employees have. Securing these areas will not just prevent workplace injuries but also help give peace of mind to your employees.
