Your Safety Manual Is It Doing It's Job.
A workplace safety manual is put in place to not only protect the workers that you hire.
They are there to protect everyone involved.
A good manual will, save you money, bring you more clients and help your business run more efficiently.
One of the things that you may have noticed more and more these days, is news of companies being fined for Safety violations.
These fines are not only being handed out to companies but also...
CEO's,Superintendent's, Foreman and Workers
For example:
Director
of operations for a company's collision centers, is charged with
failing to take precautions to protect the health and safety of
employees and other people at or near the workplace.
This is going to criminal court.Possible fine of $100,000, Jail or both fine and jail.
All over the world governments are saying. Safety Is Everyone's Responsibility through not only legislation but also fines.
What Every Company Needs Is A Safety System
What a safety system does is implement safety to the workplace. It gives your company a sense of direction not only to the safety aspect of your business.
It can help fine tune a business with the implementation of policies and procedures
One of the most important things to remember is when you are building workplace safety management systems is build it for your companies needs.
The best place to start building your system is by having your safety manual built. It not only protects employees it also protects the business owner and gives everyone an understanding that they are responsible for each others safety
What Should A Manual Have In It?
Although manuals can vary depending on your needs here is a list of a few things a manual should cover.
- Your General Health and Safety Policies
- Workplace Hazard Assessment and Controls
- Safe Work Practices
- Safe Job Procedures
- Company Rules
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Preventative Maintenance
- Training and Communications
- Inspections, Investigations and Reporting
- Emergency Preparedness
- Records and Statistics
A few other things that you might want incorporated into your workplace safety management systems is...
- Substance Abuse Prevention
- Environmental Policies
- Back Injury Prevention
- Claims Management
Also a joint work site health and safety committee.
As you can see your manual will be the cornerstone of your safety system.
The thing to remember is your policies and procedures need to be implemented into every area of your operations and then monitored for effectiveness.
Safety Manual Example
One of the best ways to see what goes into a manual is with an example.
I would like to thank Deryl Reid owner of Laredo Trucking for allowing us to use the manual that I made up for him as an example.
To view this you will need Adobe Reader (the latest version is recommended) installed on your computer in order to open and read the manual. You can get Adobe Reader here (a new window will open so you can download it without leaving this page).
To open the file in your browser window, just click on the link.
So why did Deryl need a manual created for his business?
One of the things is that more of his clients are looking for companies that have a safety program in place.
He is also looking to expand his business into other area's of the province and potential clients require a safety program in place before they will even consider hiring a company.
One other thing that he is considering is getting SECOR. Which stands for Small Employers Certificate Of Recognition. By having this certification it will allow him to earn refunds from WCB.
If your company does not have a manual in place right now.You may want to consider making it one of your top priorities.
So Where and How Do You To Get A Safety Manual Created?
Although you can find different templates on the Internet for building a manual from scratch this can be time consuming and then you have to worry about whether you have covered all the regulations required.
So one of the best bets is to have a professional safety person build the manual for you. Of course not all safety people specialize in Safety Manuals so I have started to build a list of safety consultants and companies that can assist you with getting a professionally quality manual.
So just click on the following link. If you can't find what you need there just click on our Contact Us link on the side and send me any questions that you may have and I will answer them as soon as possible
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