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In your workplace, it’s imperative that you consider the safety of yourself and your employees. Creating a workplace safety initiative is an excellent place to start. It will be a process to determine all risks and adjust to any changes, but it will ensure the well-being of everyone in the workplace.

Determine Your Risks

Before creating a workplace safety initiative, you need to know what to include by determining the risks in your workplace. First, you should have a professional assessment done of any hazards. These hazards could be related to the building itself, the environment (such as air quality), or the activities done on the job such as operating machinery. Along with a professional assessment, survey your employees on any risks they are aware of. Your employees are the ones who are in the working environment every day. They will be more in tune with the risks associated with the job. Determining risks can also be done by thoroughly investigating any accidents or injuries. It’s likely that many are preventable and keeping track of these incidents will help you know what risks to look out for.

Make Education a Priority

In order for your workplace safety initiative to be successful, it is essential that everyone is aware of the regulations made. Make sure you put your initiative in writing and have all of your employees sign once they’ve read it. Go over safety training regularly to ensure your employees are still aware of regulations. Go over the regulations with new or transferred employees. It’s also a good idea to go over the initiative if there are any changes made such as new equipment being added or new hazards being noticed.

Measuring Success

In order to maintain safety in the workplace, you will need to evaluate the success of your initiative. One measure is to see if the rate of incidents changes. The OSHA Incident Rate offers a useful metric for how often injuries occur in your workplace. This incident rate will measure your workplace against other businesses in the same field. Doing so allows you to see how your workplace compares with the national average and then you can adjust your workplace safety accordingly.

The process of creating a workplace safety initiative may be long, but it will be very inclusive of your employees. You can get their feedback and show that you value their safety. Make sure you make education and evaluation a priority as you begin the process.

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