Zero Harm workplace

Zero Harm: Three key strategies to implement in your workplace

By Stacey AveryCustomer Success
Published on August 7, 2019

Zero Harm.

The latest, and surprisingly controversial, movement in safety culture priorities for business is Zero Harm.

The concept of zero harm works off the ideology that every employee, contractor, and visitor who enters a work site should be able to rely on an intact and safe working environment every single day.

Sounds simple, right?

Yet implementing safe work strategies that result in a zero harm workplace has risen many issues throughout the business world.

What’s the issue with Zero Harm?

The main issue with zero harm is the safe work strategies that are considered to be empty promises and unrealistic targets.

Some people question how zero harm could ever be guaranteed when risk is always around us.

For others, a zero harm target is seen as the only real way to show true commitment to your staff and their safety; after all, when you aim for the moon, you’ll always land amongst the stars.

The issue of safety and how it is managed is what remains important. We know that risk exists in the workplace.

We know we need to implement strategies and have well-developed programs in place to detect and contain them at the earliest stage possible.

Developing a culture that supports this aim will help both an organisation and the people within that organisation to make better choices when it comes to safety.

For facilities management, finding strategies to reduce both the risks and incidents of personnel injuries are key priorities.

Where done correctly, the concept of zero harm can impact greatly upon reducing incidents of these injuries occurring. Being proactive, rather than reactive, is vital.

Here are the 3 strategies:

1. Personnel management

Your biggest asset can also play a part in creating your biggest risks.

To promote a zero harm culture of safety and awareness, it is important that your personnel are aware of your expectations of them in the workplace, including their adherence to best practice safety culture.

Having well-constructed safety processes is one thing, but ensuring they are communicated effectively is another.

Quite often an employee will be provided with an introduction to OH&S at their induction and then, perhaps, on an annual basis thereafter.

Although traditional, this is far from an effective form of injury prevention management when these are processes that, in order to be effectively implemented, must be remembered every single day.

Using Sine, you can ensure your personnel are regularly reminded of, and understand your safety, near-miss, unsafe condition, and incident reporting procedures by providing these each time they sign into a site.

Additionally, these procedures can be made available via their smartphone – easily accessible and able to be referenced as required, helping you to create a culture that prioritises safety.

2. Risk management

Every facility manager knows the key steps of risk management; identifying hazards, assess risks, control risks, and review control measures.

These steps have become a familiar safety mantra, repeated internally by facilities managers worldwide in order to reduce the risk and incidence of personnel injuries.

Familiarity, however, tends to breed complacency, so it is important to ensure that risk management is installed as an integral part of every staff members daily routine.

Creating a zero harm culture where every task that is performed is linked naturally to an awareness of the risks involved with that task is key to helping to manage risk within your workplace.

With Sine, you can help your personnel keep risk management in front of mind in a variety of ways; by including safety reminders on QR coded tools, incorporating sign-out forms to cover off on any incidents that may have occurred during the day, and by communicating with everyone in real-time in the case of an emergency or proactively – in a drill.

3. Reporting

The importance of solid reporting is an area that should never be underestimated on any sites safety agenda.

It’s one thing for your facility manager to have a bird’s eye view, but it’s quite another thing to utilise that information effectively and efficiently in order to improve the safety of those in your employ.

Setting up automated reporting systems that can draw on information across multiple sites in real-time is vital.

Sines allows you to access customised reports to easily analyse your data and ensure your workplace is tracking towards its zero harm targets.

This includes the ability to identify peak times when your team may be at greater risk due to higher numbers of personnel being on site, for example.

Looking for a better solution to support your zero harm goals? Book a demo with our team today to see how Sine can help.

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