Since your employees are your greatest asset, maintaining their health and safety should be a top priority. And, as a leader, there are many ways to start the process of safety maintenance. In this blog, we will explore some of the top ways you can lead the charge to employee safety, including employee education, modeling safe behaviors, and ensuring a comfortable working environment.
Employee Education
Many sources cite employee education as a top way to ensure health and safety within your work environment. In fact, education is so valued, that the Occupational Health and Safety Association (OSHA) has developed recommended guidelines on how to best educate and train your employees in ways to avoid accidents and illnesses. Here are some of OSHA’s recommended educational action items:
- Communicate your commitment to, and provide, a written safety plan with actionable goals, resources, and performance measures so that employees will have an understanding of the program goals and what is expected.
- Evaluate and assess your unique potential workplace hazards, educate employees on these hazards, and develop specific plans to avoid them.
- Invest in training both workers and managers about workplace hazards, as well as teaching them about physical preventative measures, such as the warning signs of heat exhaustion.
Modeling Safe Behavior
Once you have developed a workplace health and safety plan that works for your organization, it is important to be sure that those in leadership positions model the new safety measures. This should include following the guidelines that your facility has put in place, however, modeling for those in leadership positions requires a more proactive approach. By continuing to grow your new health and safety program, you will be modeling the level of importance that you place on workplace safety. Some specific areas that OSHA recommends include:
- Creating a safe and open communication environment for employees to express their concerns without fear of reprisal.
- Maintain the expectations that have been communicated to your employees by providing practice drills so employees are required to rehearse the steps in your safety plan.
- Continue to grow your program through the ongoing development of processes and determine future training needs for employees.
Creating A Comfortable Environment
One of the ways leadership can exercise control in the health and safety of their employees is by ensuring employees do not fall in harm's way due to facility temperatures. In fact, a NASA study showed when the temperature rises over 85 degrees, employees are 40% more likely to make errors. Maintaining air flow will put you one step ahead in leading the charge toward employee safety. EHSToday cites one of the most efficient and effective ways to do this is through installing an high-volume, low-speed (HVLS) fan. Here are a few of their benefits.
- An HVLS fan is designed to blow air down toward the floor as well as outwards. This creates a low-level breeze that can lower the effective temperature (the combination of temperature, humidity, and air motion on the body) by up to 10 degrees.
- Because an HVLS fan is a ceiling fan, it is able to provide air ventilation to a wider area in a more uniform manner. It also provides additional safety precautions by removing the need for cords.
- Finally, an HVLS fan can be designed to oscillate in two different directions providing not only a comfortable environment in the summer months, but the colder winter months as well.
While education and modeling behavior are both prime ways to implement a safer work environment, the most proactive choice you can make is to create an environment where possibility of health and accident risk is the lowest. By installing an HVLS fan, you are not only instantly lowering the risk of injury, you are demonstrating to your employees that you value their service. When an employee feels valued the morale is higher, absenteeism decreases, and productivity goes up. This is where the real ROI of an HVLS fan is seen, both in comfort and on your bottom line.
If you’re interested in learning about how an HVLS fan could benefit your facility, we’d love to tell you more. Contact us today to get started creating a safer, more productive environment, or reach out directly at industrialinfo@hunterfan.com.