Following The Rules
You are a cautious business owner who has been careful over the years to comply with all of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations that you have ever found out about. You are to be commended and congratulated for giving your company, and company employees the very best.
However, it may come as a surprise to you to know that there are a handful of common safety violations that you possibly did not know about that could one day warrant an unwanted fine or penalty.
Please take a moment and review the following checklist to help ensure that your business is in compliance:
1. Not Reporting Accidents On Time
Did you know that your company is supposed to record all accidents, both severe and minor? It is very easy to think that only major accidents should be reported. You should have a special register which is for recording all accidents at the workplace. These accidents include those that could have harmed anyone but did not. You should inform the OH&S of accidents promptly and on time.
2. Not Adhering to Appropriate Engineering Regulations
Occupational Health and Safety Inspectors want your company to provide a safe workplace that conforms with all known OHS Regulations. Make sure that your company does not bypass important standards in daily schedules or activities. Regulators want to know and see that everyone in the company has put in the appropriate amount of effort to implement all required safety regulations.
An important thing to look out for: Make sure that you are adhering to all engineering standards on noise and health hazards that an employee faces at the workplace.
3. Doing Nothing About Identified Hazards
This is one of the most serious violations that OSHA inspectors do not like seeing because it smacks of gross irresponsibility and a lack of concern for your employees’ safety. Regulators will probably come down heavily on you if they discover that you have conducted a safety audit, identified some serious hazards and did nothing about it. OSHA demands that you fix any safety issue discovered during a safety review.
It is highly advisable to address what you have discovered during a safety audit as soon as possible.
4. Not Enforcing Safety Rules
This could lead to the shutting down of your business or workplace. OSHA regulators will want to know if all strictly obey safety rules, regulations, and Codes in your organization. Not enforcing safety regulations both internal and external can land you a serious fine from an OSHA inspector.
5. Not Having a Systematic Approach to Safety
What are the emergency plans that your company has set in place for accidents, injuries, and other workplace hazards? Do you have a compliance system in place? Inspectors like to see what systematic approach to injuries and accidents you currently have setup so that in the event of an emergency everyone present knows how to act and what next steps to take. This is something that many companies unknowingly disregard and can pay the price in many different ways.
Make sure that necessary details are clearly displayed to everyone in the company.
Here is a simple example of an important safety detail: Make sure that all staff members know exactly where safety clothing and equipment is kept. Ready access to this kind of information is a must.
Make sure to always stay up to date on all Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. A professional safety training company like TriTech can show you how to conduct a thorough workplace safety audit and draw up the perfect template for addressing potential hazards.
