Safety audits and safety inspections have emerged as some of the most popular mechanisms to improve workplace safety.
To support those actions, Safety walks are an additional procedure that is easy for safety managers to implement. They help keep managers alert and enable the manager to get a visual inspection. They also provide valuable insights that organisations can use to improve their safety management and culture.
Keep Managers Alert
Most businesses will implement regular audits and inspections to improve safety in the workplace. These often follow a set checklist of things to look out for. They can also be conducted by an internal or external party.
However, for effective safety management and risk protection, a safety manager has to remain constantly alert to what is happening in the workplace. Safety walks can help them do just that. They are less formal so managers can conduct them more frequently.
If a safety manager schedules routine safety walks, it enables them to better observe the safety conditions of the workplace. This helps them to remain alert to any potential risks and become aware of concerns that workers may have. This, in turn, makes for much more effective, up-to-date and responsive safety management.
Enable Managers to Get a Visual Inspection
When it comes to potential work hazards or unsafe working conditions, there is no limit to what could go wrong. A new, unforeseen safety concern may arise as employees might not know what to look out for.
As a manager, you cannot manage the safety of a workplace without actually seeing what is happening, on-site, daily.
Regardless of how much information about workplace conditions a safety manager receives by looking through reports, there is no substitute for a visual inspection.
If safety managers conduct routine safety walks, it allows them to see exactly what is happening on the ground. That helps them to get an overview of the property, the work conditions, and the work environment as a whole.
Provide Valuable Insights
When conducting a safety walk, a safety manager will be visually exposed to workplace conditions. They might see something that has previously been missed. This can offer valuable insights into potentially unsafe work environments and practices.
Additionally, the manager will actively engage with employees regarding their work and the space in which the walk has been conducted. This is important as they might notice potential safety hazards and risks during their day to day activities in the workspace. Oftentimes, these may have gone unremarked by those less familiar with the environment.
As a result, safety managers can put measures in place to reduce any risk or resolve any potential problems before they cause an accident or injury.
Final Thoughts
Despite the increased attention to workplace safety, the number of workplace injuries has actually increased in recent years. Safety walks have emerged as one of the best tools for risk prevention, injury prevention and effective safety management.
An effective safety walk gives safety managers a visual inspection of the premises. Moreover, it keeps them alert to issues and provides valuable insights to help improve workplace safety.
If your organisation is looking for a tool to manage and conduct safety walks, audits and inspections, have a look at Falcony | Audit. It enables you to better involve your staff in safety matters, create clarity on non-conformities, prevent and decrease the number of injuries in the workplace, and gather actionable data while doing these.
We are building the world's first operational involvement platform. Our mission is to make the process of finding, sharing, fixing and learning from issues and observations as easy as thinking about them and as rewarding as being remembered for them.
By doing this, we are making work more meaningful for all parties involved.
More information at falcony.io.
