Creating a new company isn’t exactly a simple undertaking. It can take months, if not years of planning, and then when you do open it there are still plenty of things to be mindful of and make sure you are doing correctly. One thing you don’t want to overlook as you open up the doors on your new company is a solid safety program. Keeping employees, and even customers/clients safe isn’t just your responsibility, it also speaks volumes of your business and shows people that they are valued and appreciated.

Here’s a look at some steps you can take that will help you to establish a solid safety program in your new company.

Conduct a Workplace Hazards and Risks Assessment

In order for a workplace to be safe, it's important to start with a risk assessment. What this does is identify any potential areas of concern, and just how low/high the risk is. The assessment then makes it possible for you to figure out where safety measures are needed, how extensive they need to be, and what measures will work best.

Create a Safe Practices Manual/Guidebook for All Employees

The next thing you need to do is make sure that all employees are aware of the safe practices and measures that must be taken on the job. This can be done through a safety manual or guidebook that is distributed to each employee, which acts as the official protocol to follow.

It doesn’t have to be an actual book, just a document that can be digitally circulated to each employee. The goal is to have everyone read and understand it, and you may even want them to sign off on it to acknowledge they have read the manual and will follow it. This means you need a point person that can answer questions about workplace safety should employees have any.

Safety Training is a Must for All Employees

It doesn’t matter how safe or risky of an environment you work in; all employees will also be trained in the proper safety measures. This can be part of their orientation as you hire them, and it may need to be reinforced as new measures are introduced. While the guidebook is a good first step, nothing replaces hands-on training, walking through the workplace, and pointing out all the safety steps/measures that must be taken.

Hold Regular Safety Meetings

Safety meetings will be important no matter the industry, but there are specific industries where safety meetings should be held more often - possibly even daily. A safety meeting provides you with a way to hammer home any and all safe working habits, discuss new safety measures, and make it clear that it’s important to take safety seriously in the workplace.

These meetings can be helped by the health and safety department of your company, by a project or quality manager, perhaps a foreman, a site supervisor, or any other person that can speak about the importance of safety and inform employees on the proper practices.

Lead by Example

Then there is the fact that the best way to ensure and promote safety in the company is to lead by example. As the owner of the company, employees will be looking to you as their example of what is acceptable behavior in the workplace. If you flaunt the rules or ignore them, employees will feel emboldened to do the same. Then again, if you make sure you follow all the safety protocols and show how important workplace safety is, others will follow.

Creating a Solid Safety Program is a Must

At the end of the day, your new company will benefit from a solid safety program that respects workplace safety and keeps everyone safe and healthy.