A safe and healthy workplace not only protects workers from injury and illness, but a robust safety culture can also lower injury/illness costs, reduce absenteeism and turnover, increase productivity and quality, and raise employee morale. In other words, safety is good for business. Plus, protecting workers is the right thing to do. 2023 is here, and IMEC wants this to be your safest year yet. Here are 5 tips to start the new year and keep your organization OSHA compliant:
- Review and update all your organization’s OSHA required written programs and internal safety policies. Make sure they are still relevant. These programs should include, but are not limited to: Record Keeping Procedure, Hazard Communications, Emergency Action Plans and any requirements specific to your organization.
- Get your organization’s required annual safety training scheduled throughout the year, and make sure all new employees have been trained upon onboarding.
- Budget for safety; not just monetary means, but put aside time for safety walkthroughs, safety committee work and job hazard analysis. Safety is a journey and takes effort and knowledge to continuously improve.
- Communicate to all employees their responsibilities for identifying and correcting safety issues including near misses and investigation techniques. Make sure employees are aware of all safety policies and add to your organization’s onboarding policy.
- Celebrate your organizational wins in your safety journey. Continuing to improve safety increases productivity, boosts employee morale, and decreases lost work time.
Developing a robust safety culture begins with communication and learning. Start the new year off with a safety-first workforce and make it a ZERO incident year.
Let 2023 be your safest year yet!