Question

5. Describe how one company uses employee engagement to improve workplace safety.

6. List five workplace health hazards and how to deal with them.

7. Discuss the prerequisites for a security plan and how to set up a basic security program.

Answer 1

5. Describe how one company uses employee engagement to improve workplace safety.

Building a safe work environment is a challenge for any company. But, perhaps even more challenging, is the ability to maintain that safety over the long-term. Many companies struggle with how to best keep workers and customers safe. And with so many statistics and opinions out there, it can be hard to determine the right solutions for your environment. One tactic that works across the board, however, is active employee engagement -- a critical element of our Safe engagement concept.

An engaged employee is someone who’s fully invested in both their work and the company’s success. This means they will put in more effort across the board; go out of their way to ensure things are done right; and actively offer their opinions, suggestions and feedback. Unfortunately, this doesn’t describe every employee. Often times, workers can become disengaged through lack of appreciation or trust from the organization. In terms of the overall safety of the workplace, this is counterintuitive to any progress, as these individuals often do not report minor injuries, hazards or near misses. They “check out” during safety briefings, and show a general lack of respect for the safety program -- often breaking rules and taking advantage of shortcuts.

Engagement does more than Boost Productivity

An excellent example of just how beneficial engagement can be comes from a SHRM Foundation study on employee engagement at beverage giant Molson Coors. It concluded that engaged employees were five times less likely than non-engaged employees to have a safety incident and seven times less likely to have a lost-time safety incident. The company was able to save $1,721,760 in safety costs, just by strengthening their commitment to employee engagement. After seeing the results, Molson Coors moved beyond just tying these engagement efforts to company profits, instead linking the increased engagement to a reduction in safety incidents, which also helped reduce costs and time lost due to injury.

So, just how can an organization begin the process of engaging and re-engaging their workforce? Let’s take a look at 15 quick tips designed to create a safer working environment through active engagement:

1. Involve employees in the safety program—call weekly or monthly safety meetings and openly discuss all changes, before they are implemented.
2. Let their voices be heard—allow staff members to voice their opinions, concerns and ideas without fear of reprimand.
3. Ensure good lines of communication—be approachable and keep your door open at all times.
4. Offer positive feedback—mistakes don’t always need to be punished. Stay positive and remember that implementation is a process.
5. Respect employees and their ideas—not every idea is good or constructive, but showing that you’re willing to consider them is a great way to instill confidence.
6. Recognize great work—when an employee goes above and beyond what is asked of them, make sure they are recognized for the effort.
7. Set clear guidelines—employees must know what they’re striving for, and displaying/discussing safety parameters helps provide that clarity.
8. Continue their education—proper safety tactics can’t be regulated to a “one and done” meeting. It’s better to hold ongoing sessions to keep skills sharp.
9. Instil a sense of ownership—let employees know their worth and show that you trust them to do the job right, every time.
10. Maintain your compassion—if someone is injured or has a scare, show that you care about their well-being, rather than diving directly into corrective measures.
11. Give credit where it’s due—if an employee reports a near-miss, provides an idea that is later implemented or continues to look out for the safety of others, reward them for their efforts.
12. Be concise at all times—if you’re asked a question regarding safety procedures, be straightforward with your response. Do not linger in any grey areas.
13. Provide the necessary tools—ensure your team has the tools they need to do the job safely and replace those that may hinder such efforts.
14. Reinforce positive behaviors—put in place a system of formal, informal and on-the-spot recognition that can help show the company’s appreciation for hard work.
15. Be respectful—speak to your employees as equals and let them know you think of them as such. People are more inclined to pay attention, if they’re not being talked down to.

Once properly implemented, these tips have the potential to become the turning point your company needs to build a safer, more engaged workplace. Just remember that these actions cannot be forced upon a team. Allow them to take hold naturally and invite your staff to offer feedback and opinions as things progress. The more engaged you allow your employees to become, the better the results you’ll see from all engagement and safety efforts. And to further solidify these efforts over the long-term

6. List five workplace health hazards and how to deal with them.

Hazards can have negative effects at the workplace for worker and company productivity. In addition to just productivity, companies who have serious issues with hazards can risk bad PR or loss of morale.

Types of workplace hazards include chemical, ergonomic, physical, psychosocial and general workplace. Luckily, there are ways to mitigate the risks from these hazards such as through planning, training and monitoring.

1. Chemicals

Chemicals at the workplace can range from cleaning products to chemical production. When chemicals are not used, stored or handled properly, they can cause injury, illness, fire or even explosions at the extreme. Ways that chemicals can harm workers can include contact with the skin, inhalation or ingestion; the impact can take place immediately or overtime over prolonged exposure.

One way to prevent chemical hazards from negatively impacting your workplace, ensure all workers and supervisors are property trained, including on WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System), or MSDSs (material safety data sheets).

2. Ergonomic

Ergonomic hazards are present in work environments from offices to construction sites; this includes injuries or strains from repetitive strains, strains from lifting/pushing/pulling, standing, shiftwork or slips and falls. Ways to manage ergonomic hazards include making sure that workers have the right equipment and tools to do their jobs comfortably, designing the workplace to be more ergonomic, and empowering workers to perform exercises or stretches to prevent musculoskeletal disorders.

3. Physical

Physical hazards are substances or activities that threaten your physical safety such as conditions that can cause injury, illness and death. The most common physical hazards are temperature, air quality, mould, noise or radiation. These hazards are particularly relevant for workers who work in industrial environments, such as in oil and gas, mining, construction and more.

In these environments, companies, supervisors and workers need to work closely together to manage the risks. Companies must ensure the right equipment, monitoring and training is provided, and workers have to proactively communicate with each other.

4. Psychosocial

Psychosocial hazards are stress, violence or bullying in the workplace environment. This can involve how workers interact with other workers and/or emotional responses workers have that negatively impact a worker’s productivity or effectiveness. Companies should have resources or a department that workers can contact if they are experiencing stress, harassment or other concerns. Supervisors and managers should have regular meetings with workers on a one-on-one basis where workers can voice their concerns.

5. Workplace

Workplace hazards include confined spaces or ventilation, temperature, or heights and particularly apply to work environments in oil and gas, mining, construction or other industrial environments. Environments with persistent safety hazards should require detailed safety planning and may even require emergency response teams to be on standby. Workers in workplaces with an abundant amount of hazards should get regular safety training, have strict safety procedures and regular training drills.

No workplace is completely hazard-free, and industrial environments are particularly risky. However, it’s in the best interest of the employer, supervisors and workers to keep everyone safe and healthy.

7. Discuss the prerequisites for a security plan and how to set up a basic security program.

What is Workplace Security?

It is basically the process to protect an employee from work related illness and injury and to make the workplace (building etc) secure from intruders. Every company should have an Environmental, Safety and Health Policy statement, in other words, a workplace safety plan

The Importance of having a Workplace Security Plan

Along with the physical security of the employees, it is essential to ensure that important data, networks, software, equipment and company’s assets are also protected. According to a research, near about 2.8 billion customer data records were hacked into by the end of the year 2017.

A productive work environment with a secured plan

As mentioned earlier, a company must have a security program in place. A person will feel secure knowing that the building s/he works in is secured. When it comes to data security, it is important to have a protected network such that it is not easy to hack into. Moreover, the network should not be shared with any outsider and should be strictly for office purposes.

Lower employee turnover rate if the work environment is safe

Employees will, of course, be insecure if the area the office is situated is not too secure. Furthermore, if the building does not have any security system then they will slowly back out of the company. The number of absentees will gradually increase. To avoid more dropouts or absentees it is important to implement security in the workplace.

Higher standards of the workplace

With a proper security program in place, the company premises will have higher standards. It will also ensure that a neat and clean environment is maintained.

Happier employees with a proper security plan

If the critical data of the company and its employees are secured, the working environment is much healthier. Communications among employees will increase and it contributes towards a happier workplace.

Fewer insurance claims if the employees are protected

Insurances are as important as security in the workplace. A firm should take all the precautionary steps to protect its critical data and employees. Regular security checks should be done to check whether the plan is foolproof or not. Changes must be brought in from time to time as it becomes easy for the hackers to into an old system. These steps will lead to fewer insurance claims by the employees.

The employees—a company’s most valuable asset is protected

The employees form the backbone of a company. Protecting the employee details and the workplace means keeping everyone secure.

Better chances of retaining clients

If the critical data of the company and its employees are secured, the working environment is much healthier. Communications among employees will increase and it contributes towards a happier workplace.

A safety plan will reduce business costs and disruption

A company is less likely to lose its finances due to break-in or a cyber attack if there is a strong security plan in place. The company will not lose its vital projects or employees. This, in turn, reduces business costs to a great extent.

Security plan for the Workplace

One of the best ways of implementing a strong security system in the workplace is to have access control facility. An access control system runs on software that is essential for managing and monitoring who has access to the doors, printers etc. As a matter of fact, unauthorized access to buildings is one of the biggest threats for companies.

• Gates: If the opening and closing of the main gates of the office building are a part of the access control system then, the security check starts at the entry level itself. It should be paired with a surveillance device like CCTV such that the staff can confirm the entry of a visitor. The opening and the closing of the gates are generally operated through specialised locks.
• Exterior doors: After the main entrance (gates) comes the security of the exterior doors. The employees can simply use their ID cards to open the doors or use biometric scans while the visitors are directed to a particular entrance. A visitor’s card should be given to them for the time they are in the office building.
• Accounting areas: There should be limited access to the HR and accounting areas. The employee or the visitor should have to take permission to get clearance to these two departments.
• Data closets and warehouse areas: Network security should be another priority of the company. Access to server rooms or data closets should thus be limited. The same goes for warehouse areas. For more info, check out our server room security guide.
• Electrified lock: The three types of electrified lock (electric strike, electromagnetic lock and electrified hardware) are easy to install in the frame of the door.
• Contactless readers: It includes contactless smart card and standard prox. It has an easy installation process. If the access control system is changed in the then, it necessitates changing the smart cards.
• Biometrics: The biometrics has become a common part of the security system used in the office buildings. Fingerprint, retina and hand geometry are some of the common variations of the biometrics.

A company should thus employ a strong security system and the employees should also co-operate to ensure their safety and the safety of critical information.