New Year, New Safety Goals

As the year ends, many people make resolutions to improve their lives. Why should companies be any different? Making workplace New Year's resolutions is a great way to start the year as we enter 2024. It can help start the new year off on the right foot, providing goals to work on and motivating employees and colleagues.

Read more below about how workplace resolutions can help you start the new year off on the right foot, providing goals to work on and motivating employees and colleagues.

The Benefits of Safety in the Workplace

About 1.8 million people were injured at work in 2020. That same year, more than 4,000 people died on the job. Creating better workplace safety guidelines can help keep your employees safe and prevent these injuries and deaths from happening.

Accidents can also cost businesses valuable time and money. In 2021, the total cost of wage and productivity losses due to work injuries reached $167 billion.  

Updating your workplace safety policy is not always easy, but it's worth it. Implementing safety programs can reduce injuries, deaths, workers' compensation claims, medical expenses, and OSHA fines while also boosting productivity. When your employees understand that their safety is your priority, morale improves.

Goal Setting With EHS

When making resolutions to improve workplace safety, consider the previous year's successes and failures. What went right? What went wrong? Use mistakes as a guide for improvement in the future. The first step in making these resolutions is to identify areas for improvement, as mistakes can teach more than successes.

To improve safety policies, it's important to establish clear goals. You can use the SMART framework to help structure your safety goals. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Following these guidelines can ensure your goals are clear and realistic. 

After you make these goals, you’ll need to find a way to track your progress to make sure you and your staff are on the right track. Consider identifying relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) such as injury rates, near-miss reports, safety training completion percentages, or the number of safety audits conducted. Having this information available to you is a great way to compare the numbers from the previous year to see if you’re improving.

While each business will have to assess its own workplace to make specific changes, here are ten New Year's resolutions for 2024 that can help improve safety:

1. Inform and educate your employees by making them aware of the four sorts of hazards: physical, biological, chemical, and ergonomic.
2. Maintaining a clean and well-organized workspace is essential for safety. Cluttered or unclean work conditions can lead to injuries, slips, falls, and increased fire risks.
3. Recommit your team to daily safety practices. This includes a company-wide safety checklist with your top priorities, highly visible safety signage on the shop floor, and awards for safety excellence.
4. Review the manufacturer-provided maintenance checklists for each significant line component right away. An excellent starting point is the extruder.
5. Creating a reliable return-to-work plan is important for companies to transition injured workers to meaningful, productive activities as soon as possible. This helps relieve financial stress, shorten recovery time, and reduce workers' compensation costs.
6. A system evaluation by the manufacturer of your equipment can lead to significant cost savings and improved results for your clients. It involves assessing equipment usage, energy usage, waste reduction, and ways to enhance output and profitability.
7. Establish a zero-tolerance policy for workplace safety, especially in hazardous environments. Corporations should avoid OSHA citations for disregarding common hazards and encourage workers to report any issues, with this encouragement coming from superiors.
8. Prevention is the best treatment for occupational hazards. Businesses should provide suitable protection for their employees. Ensure employees are aware of workplace safety protocols, wear protective clothing, and report unsafe situations.
9. Avoid shortcuts in processes and procedures. Maintain accurate records of incidents, including near-miss accidents, to continuously learn and improve systems and procedures.
10. Management should provide support during times of need and prevent work-life imbalance, as workplace problems can impact mental health and agitation. Prioritize workplace wellness by monitoring workloads and encouraging employees to use their vacation time.

Putting a Plan into Action 

After your goals and resolutions have been set, it is time to make a plan. Building a workplace safety policy from the ground up may seem daunting, but that is where OSHA.com can help. We offer up-to-date safety training on all OSHA regulations, from 10-hour to 30-hour training for both general industry and construction. Ensuring that your employees are properly trained is the best way to start off 2024. So, don’t wait. Check out our catalog today!