First published on Wednesday, Jul 03, 2024
Last updated on Wednesday, Jul 03, 2024
According to the annual report recently released by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), the body carried out almost 10,000 proactive workplace inspections in 2023/24.
The recent surge in investigations, especially with 43 work-related fatalities in 2023, highlights a trend that business owners can’t ignore: the importance of workplace health & safety.
With fines totalling over €1.3 million in 2023, a clear message is sent to business owners—complacency is costly.
Staying on top of regulations is a must. So, here are 5 tips to improve health & safety in your business to keep your employees safe and avoid costly fines.
1. Conduct regular safety assessments
To get inspection ready it’s important to regularly review and update your safety statement and risk assessments.
New hazards appear all the time, and staying on top of them demonstrates to HSA inspectors that you’re taking an active role in managing workplace safety. Keeping a digital record can give you peace of mind that if HSA does come knocking, you're documenting safety processes.
Software systems like BrightSafe can help you do this effortlessly. Don’t know where to start with risk assessments? BrightSafe has over 600+ risk assessment templates at your fingertips for quick and easy compliance.
2. Don’t shirk on training
Ongoing training is your best friend. Keeping your team up to date with the latest safety practices keeps them safe and your business productive, free from legal and financial risk.
If you’re a growing business, new employees who aren’t trained on the correct safety protocol can present a risk to your workplace safety.
CPD-accredited health & safety training courses can be essential to keeping up to date on your health & safety training responsibilities and upskilling new members of your team.
3. Find external safety support
Keeping on top of the latest HSA guidelines and industry-specific advice can be a daunting task. Though, nobody expects you to know new safety regulation off-by-heart!
An effective way to offset gaps in your knowledge is finding an external provider that offers 24/7 qualified expert safety advice without hefty legal fees to keep a lid on compliance measures.
4. Do your due diligence with documents
Keeping a record of any accidents or near-misses is essential if you want to stay safety inspection ready.
Maintaining thorough documentation of all safety procedures will mean you have evidence of a dedicated and persistent effort to minimise your team’s exposure to risk to offer to HSA officials.
Consider making use of near-miss and accident reporting software, or a software-based health & safety document library with customisable templates to help you meet your legal responsibilities easily, with the peace of mind that your documentation is up-to-date and compliant.
5. Delegation, delegation, delegation
Assigning health & safety responsibilities is something that’s often overlooked. But it can mean the difference between a hazard being addressed or forgotten entirely—falling by the wayside and seriously injuring someone down the line.
Mark Cullen, Assistant Chief Executive of the HSA, has recommended that business owners take time to establish appropriate control measures to prevent serious accidents, and to seek additional help where required.
Consider designating team members as ‘owners’ of specific safety tasks, assigning them to address and rectify hazards.
Using software can streamline this process, letting you track tasks and see which have been completed, allowing full oversight and avoiding future accidents.
Final takeaways to prep businesses for HSA inspections
The apparent trend of increasing proactive safety inspections from the HSA is a sign for business owners—those who sideline health & safety do so at their peril.
Business owners should take decisive action: conducting regular safety assessments, investing in ongoing training, embracing expert advice, maintaining thorough documentation, and delegating responsibilities effectively.
Need more support?
If you need additional support to navigate the complexities of health & safety regulations, BrightSafe safeguards your business from over 600+ health & safety risks and protects your business from last minute HSA inspections with end-to-end software and advice.
Get ahead of inspections, book a demo with one of our safety experts today!
