Create a Safe Workplace At Your Business
If you’re a contractor, manufacturer or another type of business that deals with hazardous materials, you’re probably already mindful of the legal and practical steps you need to take to safeguard your employees and facilities. On the other hand, if your working environment is a typical office, you might assume you’re largely off the hook for safety compliance.
Not true; the reach of the federal Occupational Health and Safety Act isn’t limited to high-risk industries. In enforcing this law, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has cited employers that have “evidenced a corporate commitment to lowering ergonomic hazards but have failed to effectively implement that commitment at specific sites.” Indeed, there can be serious legal consequences for disregarding worker safety — especially if someone suffers an injury.
Key Obligations
Under the law, if you have more than 10 employees, you must:
- Provide a workplace free from serious recognized hazards (this is known as the “general duties” clause),
- Examine workplace conditions to make sure they conform to applicable OSHA standards,
- Make sure employees have and use safe tools and equipment,
- Use color codes, posters, labels or signs to warn employees of potential hazards,
- Establish or update operating procedures and communicate them so that employees follow safety and health requirements, and
- Keep records of workplace injuries and illnesses and report serious ones to OSHA.
“OSHA encourages all employers to adopt a safety and health program,” the agency declares. Your state and possibly local government may pile on with their own set of workplace safety mandates. Plus, your business liability insurance might require you to enact certain safety measures and procedures to get paid on an accident claim — or even be eligible to buy coverage.
A List of Hazards
OSHA and safety consultants say the first step toward safety compliance is to scour your workplace for hazards, whether or not you already have a safety plan on the books. Construct a hazard inventory by enlisting employees and supervisors to help identify risks and review your accident log (or create a history of recent mishaps if no log exists).
You might be able to get hazard lists compiled by other employers and consultants. Equipment manuals are also a good source of information.
Look both for hazards present during routine operations and during emergencies. For example, a blocked emergency exit wouldn’t be a hazard until conditions required an emergency evacuation. Nonfunctioning fire alarms and extinguishers also fall into this category. It’s easy to forget about testing them during normal times, but doing so could render them useless when needed.
Once you’ve made your list of hazards, identify and prioritize those that can be mitigated now, and create a plan and budget for doing so.
When you’re satisfied you’ve got a complete list, you may need to cross off a few items that seem overboard. Not every minor risk can be managed, and an overwhelming list is more likely to be ignored. Then summarize each item in clear, concise language.
Checklist Tips
With a solid list in place, you should be able to easily convert it to a well-categorized checklist of items that employees can use to regularly and methodically assess safety-related issues. For example, “Check status of and adequacy of fire extinguishers” could list the locations of individual units and prompt consideration of whether more units are needed. “Check storage areas for unsafe stacking of boxes and sufficiency of ladders/step stools” is another example.
Checklist items need to direct a specific safety check action, as opposed to simply describing a potential hazard (such as “unsafe equipment”).
Also, by definition, a checklist needs to be checked. Design the list with room for the inspector to indicate that each hazard has been assessed, when that assessment occurred, and any actions that were or need to be taken to remedy shortcomings.
Last, but certainly not least, establish a schedule for regular safety inspections using the checklist, as well as for analyzing and acting on any unsafe conditions identified.
Final Thoughts
Nothing you can do will guarantee that you’ll never have an injury-causing accident at your workplace. But doing everything possible — and doing it often — will go a long way toward preventing accidents and limiting your legal liability and financial risks.
Copyright 2024
This article appeared in Walz Group’s August 5, 2024 issue of The Bottom Line e-newsletter, produced by TopLine Content Marketing. This content is for informational purposes only.
