What is a workplace health and safety system? Why do you need a health and safety system in your business? In this article we outline the reasons why every business has to have an effective health and safety system, and provide practical, common sense tips for implementing a health and safety system that will ensure your business complies with health and safety legislation.

Keeping employees safe at work is not only a legal requirement of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and an ethical duty, but by treating health and safety as simply another crucial facet of your business is also a pretty good sign of a business that is likely to grow and thrive. If you want a workplace that’s healthy and safe, then the key lies in having an effective health and safety system. While an effective health and safety system’s first priority is to keep workers safe, it can also reduce costs and improve profits for any business that takes it seriously.

So the question you’re probably asking now is, “How can I set up an effective health and safety system for my business?”

How can YOU set up an effective health and safety system?

Without a planned, structured system for managing health and safety in your business, you are swimming against the tide. However, that doesn’t mean you have to panic and immediately post a job advert for a health and safety manager or hop onto Google to look for a health and safety consultant for hire.

There are a number of simple, common sense things that you and your management team can do to ensure your business is not only compliant with health and safety legislation but also so you can build a culture of care that will give your business a competitive edge.
When it comes to matters of workplace health and safety, strong, effective and visible leadership from the top is vital to good workplace safety and health. In turn, a good culture of workplace health and safety is essential to the success of any business.

5 simple steps for setting up a workplace health and safety system

1. The first steps it to take a proper look at what you do in your business, who is doing it, where they’re doing it and what equipment they use to do it. Ask yourself whether there is any chance of someone getting hurt at any point in the process.

2. Then, ascertain what steps you currently take to make sure no one gets hurt. We call this step “systemising common sense”. For example, you could already be doing the following to prevent injuries:

• Making sure your workers are trained or shown how to do their job safely
• Ensuring they use the right tools for the job
• Properly maintaining the tools they use to do their jobs

3. Now, ask your workers if they have any bright ideas on ways to make doing their job even safer. Workers have much to gain from a successful health and safety system, and much to lose if it fails. They also often know the most about potential hazards associated with their jobs, so you could be amazed at how many of your people come to work each day with all the best ideas for doing their job more effectively and safely trapped inside their heads. A successful health and safety system will tap into this knowledge base.

4. Then, discuss with your people the way to do their job safely and get everyone to agree to do it that way ALL THE TIME.

5. Finally, because accidents can and do still happen, discuss with your team the steps to take if something does go wrong. Make sure everyone understands what they need to do if one of them gets hurt on the job.

How to keep health and safety top of mind in the workplace

Remember how we said leadership from the top is vital for good workplace safety and health? It’s very important that your people see you taking a serious interest in keeping them safe. While that doesn’t mean you have to constantly patrol the workplace with a clipboard, you have to commit to doing regular checks to ensure everyone is following the steps that have been agreed to ensure they carry out their work tasks safely.

The above simple and common sense steps to ensuring workplace health and safety aren’t onerous or time-consuming. However, they will certainly pay big dividends in terms of keeping your business compliant with health and safety legislation and building a culture of care that will benefit your bottom line. Remember, “an ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure”!

Sensible Safety has your back

If you would like more information about developing an effective health and safety system for your business, then talk to the experienced workplace health and safety consultants at Sensible Safety. They can help you develop an effective system from start to finish, and provide you with a range of valuable resources that will help you keep your business compliant with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Call 021 294 7609 today to talk to one of our friendly consultants.

To find out how you can be compliant, be competitive, but care contact us.