Workplace safety and health management is an integrated system of policies, programs and practices that is aimed at providing safe and healthful workplaces for employees. This includes policies and programs that promote safety and health and reduce injuries and illnesses among workers. Workplace safety and health is different from general health and safety. This includes laws and regulations governing the physical and social environment of the workplace. General health and safety encompasses all aspects of workers’ health and safety, including physical, mental, behavioural, and social health, workplace safety is about safety management, which includes the design, construction, maintenance, and repair of workplaces; programs aimed at promoting workplace safety; programs aimed at reducing workplace injuries and illnesses; programs aimed at improving worker health and well-being; policies designed to prevent injuries and illnesses at work; and educational programs for both employees and employers.

Workplace Safety audits

Workplace safety audits are used by employers to identify hazards in a business environment. The concept behind a workplace safety audit is to identify all hazards on the job. There are many different hazards, and employers are required to identify and fix them. This can include anything from an employee falling through a roof to a machine malfunctioning to an accident on a crane. However, there are many different hazards that need to be fixed, and some of these are more common than others.

Why are workplace safety audits important?

A workplace safety audit is important for a number of reasons:

  • It helps identify the hazards in a business environment. If an employee is injured at work, it’s only by an accident. It’s not because someone planned it. An employer is mandated to keep their business safe for employees. This means that the employer is required to conduct workplace audits. If they see hazards on the job, the employer must address them.
  • It helps identify ways to improve workplace safety. It’s common for workers to be injured in the workplace. Unfortunately, these injuries come in a variety of different forms. This is not a comprehensive list, but they include:
  • Hazards and machinery in a business environment. This includes many different kinds of equipment in the workplace.
  • Ergonomic issues. This can include many issues from poor design to working conditions to equipment to posture.
  • Unsafe procedures. This can include many different things from the way that an employee is trained to how they are trained on equipment to what kind of safety equipment they have to protect themselves.
  • Lack of training. This includes the lack of training for new workers or for new procedures. It also includes any training that needs to be repeated.
  • Injury due to a lack of safety equipment. This includes things like the lack of safety equipment to help workers perform their jobs properly.
  • Worker errors. This can include anything from a worker forgetting to lock out on equipment to failing to follow safety procedures to failing to perform regular maintenance.
  • Workplace deaths. This includes anything from an incident where an employee is injured and dies at work due to a faulty machine or something on the job to something like falling from a ladder and hitting their head.
  • Workplace fatalities. This includes deaths due to worker errors, equipment, and machinery and anything that can lead to fatalities such as a worker drowning in a trench.

How can workplace safety audits be helpful?

The best part about a workplace safety audit is that it can be helpful to both the employer and the employee. While the workers are identified and fixed, the employer can learn a lot about their business. The employer can:

  • Know what hazards are in their business environment.
  • Identify how to fix them.
  • Develop better ways to protect employees and prevent problems.
  • Identify ways to improve their safety programs. This can be very helpful for the employer because it can mean a number of different things.
  • Improved workplace safety. Many businesses are just getting started. They may have just purchased a business or opened a business a few months ago. Regardless, they need to get into compliance as quickly as possible. They want to make sure that their business is up to code. This is a great way for them to become compliant and save some money.

The employer is not limited to these types of ways. They can also:

  • Know that their safety program is effective.
  • Identify ways to improve the program.
  • Incorporate training and education into the company’s program.
  • Prevent injuries and deaths. With an effective safety program, they can prevent injuries and deaths. For example, an employer can identify dangerous equipment and have that equipment taken away from employees. This can help prevent fatalities.
  • Protect employees. With a safe workplace, employers can also protect their employees. This can mean things like training employees in areas like how to use a device safely. It can also mean that they’re keeping an eye on the equipment, the environment, and the workers in order to make sure that they’re safe.
  • Prevent worker errors. Many injuries happen due to worker errors. By taking steps to improve the business, the employer can prevent these injuries. This means that they’re improving the level of compliance for their business and preventing workplace injuries.

Prevent workplace deaths. With an effective safety program, the employer can stop workplace deaths. If the employer is making sure that their business is safe and identifying safety problems, they can prevent deaths due to a lack of safety.