10 things in 10 minutes – take 1 step for Health and Safety today

Customer to consultant - by Steve Dixon

Before I was a Safe Business Solutions consultant, I was a Safe Business Solutions customer.

Hands down my favourite part of the support package and the thing I considered to be the most valuable – was the accountability. I knew Jason was coming. I knew the shame and embarrassment I would feel if he had given me a list of ‘low hanging fruit’ recommendations during our last meeting and I hadn’t considered them before our next meeting. So, I would take action. I would turn the recommendations into a list of tasks, I would add tick boxes and I would achieve results.

As a business manager, director or owner you are likely accountable only to yourself for time management and in tough times it is so tempting to prioritise operational matters over Health and Safety. Payroll, invoicing, quotes, purchasing… these seem like tasks which just can’t wait.

But I challenge you to take the first step right now. Can you spare 10 minutes?

Print this page and let’s go for a walk:

☐     Walk your workspace. Do a quick lap. Look for obvious trip hazards, blocked walkways, leaking hoses, loose cords or poor housekeeping.

☐     Check your emergency exits. Ensure they are clear, unlocked and signposted. If something is in the way, move it now.

☐     Cast your eye over the first aid kit. Is everything there? Has the eyewash bottle expired? Was it easy to find? Make notes.

☐     Fix one small thing immediately. Lubricate a door hinge. Lay flat a bunched-up floor mat. Identify a damaged lead and take an appliance out of circulation for repair. Small efforts can prevent big incidents.

☐     Ask someone a broad question about safety. Do YOU think this machine is safe? Have you had any close scrapes recently?

☐     Check your incident reporting process. If it’s paper-based, are blank forms available? Is it convenient? Do your team know they can and should report near misses too?

☐     Check the Personal Protective Equipment. Where is it stored? Is it clean? Has anything run out? Are your team using it?

☐     Observe your team and their task. Are they rushed? Short-staffed? Distracted? Manual handling? Make notes.

☐     Look at your signage. Are any signs damaged? Dirty? Missing? Order replacements.

☐     Review a single entry in your risk register. Are the controls accurate? Do you have a new risk to add?

You might find that your operation is shipshape and this exercise proves ‘fruitless’, which is a great outcome, because if nothing else you will have reassurance. But the thing you can’t see and the result you can’t measure is that your actions may prove contagious. Your presence as an authority on the workshop (or office) floor might have prevented an avoidable incident. Your example of workshop (or office) tidiness and diligent checks might set the standard for repeated behaviour amongst your team. Your professionalism could establish the tone for the day.

Go for a walk. Take 10 minutes and you will likely make a difference. Today, take a step for health and safety. Tomorrow, take another.