National Safety Month

Each June, the National Safety Council celebrates National Safety Month, and we see this as an opportunity to call your attention to safety in the workplace. Whether your employees work in your office or at home, there are dangers that could cause injury and entangle you in lawsuits that impact your bottom line... not to mention the potential for bad publicity that could damage your reputation. Take a look at this week's articles to see where your organization could improve safety measures.

The safety and health of your workers is essential to your business. (Item #1)     You need to know the health and safety rights and obligations of employers and employees. (Item #2)     What kind of safety training do your teleworkers get? (Item #3)    

If you can improve the safety consciousness of your employees, accidents and other incidents may decrease. (Item #4)     Is your workplace lung friendly? (Item #5)     Nonprofit Risk offers questions and answers about workplace safety. (Item #6)    

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments & insights regarding business continuity. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, email me at [email protected].

Bob Mellinger, President
Attainium Corp

1. Promoting Safety & Health within the Workplace

As an employer, it's your job to help keep your workers as safe and healthy as possible. Don't skimp on these costs, since an injured worker could end up costing you more in the long run. Depending on your industry, you'll need to incorporate different safety elements into your workers' daily routines. The needs of a chemical lab, for example, are different from those of a general office. Plan programs carefully and work toward keeping things updated.
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/promoting-safety-health-within-workplace-2607.html

2. Health and safety at work

The main legislation providing for the health and safety of people in the workplace are the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Acts 2005 and 2010. They apply to all employers, employees (including fixed-term and temporary employees) and self-employed people in their workplaces. The Acts set out the rights and obligations of both employers and employees and provides for substantial fines and penalties for breaches of the health and safety legislation.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and
_conditions/health_and_safety/health_safety_work.html

3. Safe on the home front

Because teleworkers primarily are engaged in office work, they face many of the same hazards as office workers: slips, trips and falls; ergonomic issues; and fire hazards. Studies indicate that most teleworkers do not receive safety training from their organization, including how to set up an ergonomically ideal workstation or create an emergency plan.
http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/safe-on-the-home-front-2

4. How to improve employee safety

When you can improve employee safety, the result is a better bottom line for your small business. Large corporations make safety is part of their corporate culture because it's good for their bottom line. As a small business owner, when you improve employee safety consciousness in your company, you help yourself avoid legal entanglements and high workers' comp premiums. Training, visual reminders and an everyday approach to safety help make it a part of your business culture.
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/improve-employee-safety-43548.html

5. Create a Safe & Healthy Workplace

This toolkit is designed to provide a foundation for worksites to create a lung-friendly workplace. It includes five strategies to guide employers and worksite wellness providers to create a healthy working environment. Each section includes information about the strategy, recommended components to meet the strategy and downloadable tools to support your efforts.
http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/workplace-wellness/guide-to-safe-healthy-workplaces.html?ad=safety&gclid=CjgKEAjwtZucBRD77aiiq_v4xnASJABkAg8JkHJl7RVjIegnDphCArDnE-q9FW3xqKP9OjMbVt3gQ_D_BwE

6. Workplace Safety is no accident online quiz

Not sure how safe your workplace is? Take this quiz... you'll get immediate results, along with helpful info about each answer.
http://www.qualityselect.org/quiz/quiz-ps.asp
For helpful information on many workplace safety issues, Nonprofit Risk also offers a toolkit online:
https://www.nonprofitrisk.org/tools/workplace-safety/nonprofit/wsp.htm (for nonprofits) or
http://www.nonprofitrisk.org/tools/workplace-safety/public-sector/wsp-ps.htm (for public sector)