Main goal of safety and health programs is to prevent workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths, as well as the suffering and financial hardship these events can cause for workers, their families, and employers. As an employer, it is your responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. A safety and health management system can help you focus your efforts at improving your work environment.
The idea is to begin with a basic program and simple goals and grow from there. If you focus on achieving goals, monitoring performance, and evaluating outcomes, your workplace can progress along the path to higher levels of safety and health achievement.
Employers will find that implementing these recommended practices also brings other benefits. Safety and health programs help businesses:
- Prevent workplace injuries and illnesses
- Improve compliance with laws and regulations
- Reduce costs, including significant reductions in workers' compensation premiums
- Engage workers
- Enhance their social responsibility goals
- Increase productivity and enhance overall business operations
Your organization will have its own unique system, reflecting your way of doing business, the hazards of your work, and how you manage the safety and health of your employees:
- If you manage a small business in a low-risk industry, your system may simply involve listening to your employees' concerns and responding to them.
- A large business in a hazardous industry may have notebooks full of written policies and procedures and a full-time safety officer.
It is essential that your system works for your organization. How to operate a safe and healthy workplace and putting your plan into practice will best work for your organization.
Source: https://www.osha.gov/shpguidelines/index.html
https://www.safetyworksmaine.gov/safe_workplace/safety_management/
