Health, safety and the success of your business
What is a health and safety plan?
“Occupational Health and Safety Consultants need to be appointed on all construction sites to address potential hazards and construct safe working procedures to reduce, control, or mitigate these identified hazards.
All health and safety plans will be assembled by an appointed Health and Safety Consultant/Officer following the “health and safety specifications” provided by the client. This health and safety plan is to be seen as a documented summary of the legal requirements that need to be implemented on the construction site to ensure the highest level of safety in the work environment.’’
Why do you need a Health and Safety consultant and plan?
We all know that rules and regulations are a daily part of our lives. A (construction) business is no exception, in fact for it to run like a well-oiled machine, they are integral! There are many reasons for a (construction) business to adapt a well-organised and strategic Health and Safety protocol as part of the very rules and regulations that delivers great success but first, a look at some eye-opening statistics:
- 60 000 fatal accidents – one every ten minutes;
- one in every six work-related fatal accidents occurs on a construction site;
- in industrialized countries, more than 25% to 40% of work-related deaths occur on construction sites despite the sector only employing between 6% to 10% of total employment;
- about 30% of construction workers suffer from back pains or other musculoskeletal disorders; and
- there is a 50% higher incidence rate for non-fatal accidents among workers aged 15 to 24 years.
According to: Construction Research Education and Training Enterprises (CREATE) that was commissioned by the CIDB.
Even though these statistics alone provide valid and important reasons for your (construction) site to have a solid Health and Safety protocol, there are a great many reasons for a company to adopt these protocols:
1. It’s the morally correct thing to do
Every member of every team has a family and a community that he/she impacts. Therefore, ensuring the Health and Safety of your employees have a direct impact on the well-being of their families and communities.
2. Improved Effeciency and productivity
It makes sense that workers that are protected would be more willing to deliver consistant work and work with great care. It is no secret that when an employer looks after his employees a loyalty develops and there is a reduction in employee turnovers.
3. Save money
Reducing absences caused by illness or injury does not only improve the productivity of a project but also has the ultimate result of saving the business money.
4. Legal implications
Without a Health & Safety plan in place it is easy to end up in legal disputes. A business runs a risk of fines, prosecutions and imprisonment of senior executives if the said business does not have a protocol in place.
5. Customers
The latest “trend” is to support businesses that have great moral values and ethics. This stretches further than just taking care of your employees. Customers often also look into the chain of production and purchases.
6. The job hunters
It boils down to a basic principal; If you can provide the best, you’ll be able to employ the best. Ensuring that your company has a Healthy & Safety plan will (for the most part) attract some of the most hardworking and loyal employees.
7. A competitive advantage
Any company that has a good record on their Health & Safety protocol will have a competitive upper-hand. It makes sense, right? Anyone hiring a (construction) company will want to hire the one with the least incidents.
The easiest way about setting up a successful Health & Safety plan is to hire Health & Safety practitioners. Experts in the field can do it all for you; from start to finish.