Safety tips

Proper safety is paramount to any operation. Sometimes the day-to-day activities of production or sales can take your focus off things like safety. To combat that, make sure you’re continually talking about safety practices and procedures to managers and employees. Jill Hoffmann, senior loss control consultant at Hortica®, a brand of the Sentry Insurance Group, provides five core steps to help keep employees and customers safe at your business.

1) Good Housekeeping practices
• Keeping aisles and walkways clear and even/level
• Adequate clearance of exits, breaker boxes, emergency lighting, fire extinguishers, etc.
• This ultimately helps when an emergency evacuation is needed, helps people see and identify safety equipment, prevents accidental slips/trips/falls, and prevents fires

2) Accident investigations
• Identifying root causes
• Implementing corrective actions to prevent re-occurrence
• Gives employer documentation to record the information so it can be reviewed in the future, if needed

3) Employee safety training
• Promotes awareness
• Educates employees on safety with equipment, safety devices, chemical safety, fire prevention, personal protective equipment (i.e. gloves, safety glasses, hearing protection), etc.

4) Internal safety inspections
• Employee/employer or a team walk through the facility regularly with the purpose of identifying hazards.  

5) OSHA required written programs
• Allows employers to put an organized plan into place
• Some typical OSHA required written safety programs include: an emergency action plan, Hazard Communication, Respiratory Protection Program, Lockout/Tagout, Confined Space, etc.

For more information on safety programs, contact Hortica®, a brand of the Sentry Insurance Group at www.hortica.com

Photo courtesy of Hortica