Developing a written safety plan can take time, but there are some quick things you can add to an employee manual, procedures binder, or even job descriptions that can help your employees stay safe. Think about the small, easy things employees can do to prevent accidents, especially slips, trips, and falls.
For instance, you can require that employees:
- – Wear appropriate footwear to provide good traction on the usual work surfaces. This could be shoes with some tread on them (not leather soles) for slippery floors, or it could mean boots with full treads for rough ground. This is similar to requiring steel-toed or safety boots in hazardous environments.
- – Keep areas neat and organized, so that tools and materials can be reached without stretching.
- – Keep the floors in their areas clean. This means both mopping up spills so no one slips on a wet floor and putting away items stacked on the floor so no one trips over them.
- – Be generally aware of their surroundings, in particular the condition of the ground under their feet.
- – Turn off cell phones while driving for work.
- – Lift properly.
- – Avoid unreasonable risks or chances.
This all seems like common sense, but in the rush of getting work done, all these items can (and often are) overlooked – until someone gets hurt.