When it comes to office safety, it's more often than not a back burner topic. After all, how dangerous is a standard office?
You'd be surprised.
The most common workplace injuries are things that can happen without warning every day. Here are a few examples: tripping and falling over a stray extension cord, straining a muscle from lifting something a bit too heavy or cutting your hand opening a box.
Any of those sound familiar?
Injuries like these cost businesses billions of dollars each year in workers' compensation claims.
But there is some good news, with a little planning and foresight you can dramatically reduce or even avoid these injuries in your office. You can do that by creating an office safety checklist.
Here's how.
Step 1: Make Sure You're Protected
First things first, protect both your Colorado business and your Colorado employees with Colorado workers' compensation insurance. For any business based in Colorado, there are a number of guidelines for Colorado workers' compensation insurance you must follow. Comply with the rules and you're in good shape to start.
Step 2: Know Your Danger Areas
Potential hazards can lurk anywhere. There are likely specific job skills or roles that are more prone to accidents than others, note which ones those are. Also, look at your physical workspace too. In winter especially, you can find areas that are accidents waiting to happen.
Step 3: Note Rules and Regulation
Every industry is different, but that doesn't mean you should ignore the specific rules and regulations that apply to both your business and your workspace. That includes everything from keeping your employees notified of the rules and properly trained, especially if they work with specific equipment types.
Step 4: Pay Attention to Housekeeping
A neat and tidy office is a safe office. Do a cursory exploration around your workspace with safety in mind. Note any rogue extension cords lying around common walkways, check the supply closet to make sure items are safely stored and keep an eye out for any broken desks or chairs that should get replaced. More often than not it's these simple fixes that end up preventing injuries.
Step 5: Have an Emergency Plan in Place
Hopefully, this is one part of the checklist you will never have to use, but it's always better to prepare just in case. Create a plan that your employees can follow in case of an emergency, which can cover anything from natural disasters to workplace accidents. Post up emergency numbers and have a clear chain of command so people know who is in charge to take action.
OSHA has an in-depth planning guide for workplace emergencies that can give you some tips on things to watch out for as you create your own plan.
Step 6: Set a Review Period
While a safety checklist isn't something that you'll need to review constantly, it's also something that never hurts to update as needed. A good way to keep track is to set a semi-annual safety review. This will ensure you are covering your bases. You can remove previously fixed issues from an old checklist and add new items to watch.
Step 7: Create Your Checklist
Following the previous steps and making notes as you do will give you the perfect starting point for creating your checklist. Remember, this doesn't need to cover a thousand points, it's all about consistency. Checking the areas that are most likely associated with injury on a regular basis can go a long way towards making your working environment a safer place that shows it cares about the health and wellness of your employees.
Still need help on step 1?
We've got you covered.
At Cake, we've got a team of experts ready to help you with any questions you might have about Colorado workers' comp insurance. Contact us today and get a workers' comp quote in minutes.
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