How to Save Money By Developing Your Own Safety Programs

While prioritizing workplace safety is essential, it can also be expensive. Developing safety programs internally instead of outsourcing training can protect employees and financial assets. Whether you’re a business owner or manager, equipping yourself or a staff member to develop safety programs can save your company money.

Alongside the financial benefits of having a team member manage safety in the workplace, internal safety programs will likely be more relevant and suited to your facility’s or jobsite’s unique conditions. A high-quality safety program can help your team better understand workplace risks.

What Is a Safety Program?

A safety program is a structured, systematic approach to identifying workplace risks and hazards and fostering safety behaviors. 

Comprehensive safety programs include assessment of the workplace for safety issues, implementation of procedures, training, and inspections. Safety programs are developed and managed by safety professionals whose role includes encouraging employee participation, continuously evaluating results, and making improvements so that the program promotes a healthier, safer workplace.

How to Develop Your Safety Program

Developing and implementing safety programs requires strategic thinking and a step-by-step approach. Some methods will differ depending on the size of your company, the industry, and other factors, but the core stages will be similar. 

The following framework is a useful tool for developing an effective safety program.

Complete a Safety Manager Course

You’ll need to learn how to develop safety programs before training employees. Obtaining a safety manager certificate before creating a safety program allows you to make your course more comprehensive. Completing a course will also give you the skills to deliver safety training to fellow employees. 

A course can help you learn how to improve employee workplace safety and increase your understanding of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and how to apply them. 

Learning OSHA regulations can help team members understand the best practices for reducing the risk of liability and fines due to workplace injury.

Create a Positive Safety Culture

Many components contribute to creating a strong safety culture that positively impacts your workplace. You must establish clear communication channels, spread awareness of the importance of safety, and let workers know that your company puts people first. 

Assess Workplace Risks and Hazards

Identify potential risks and hazards by conducting a careful walk-through of your workplace. Remember to include the less visible threats, like assessing workplace psychosocial hazards, so you fully understand what workers are exposed to.

When developing safety programs in the workplace, it’s useful to receive firsthand accounts from different perspectives. Distribute employee surveys and collect answers about their experience with or concern about risks. Combining your professional assessment with employee insights will achieve a more thorough result. 

Employees work in particular conditions daily and may notice things even the most careful inspection won’t uncover.

Develop Procedures

Implementing a reporting system to stay aware of close calls, hazards, safety and health concerns, injuries, illnesses, and incidents is important. Remaining informed can influence your program as you develop it and help you improve for future training. 

Workers should be able to report concerns and incidents without fear, so include a way to issue a report anonymously. You can also develop standard operating procedures (SOPs), emergency protocols, and other industry-specific procedures tailored to workers’ equipment and activities.

Write Materials

Once you have assessed risks and determined procedures, you can create the written component of your course. This might include a safety manual, posters with safety protocols, checklists, signage, visual aids, presentations, handouts, and other written materials to help the employees you train to understand and retain safety information. Your program can include general safety insights and a range of role-specific materials.

Provide Training

You can provide general training for your whole team and specific training for a limited number of employees who participate in other high-risk tasks, like operating heavy machinery or handling chemicals. 

Tailor your training program to the participants and include relevant and actionable information. You can include hands-on practice sessions if appropriate, or have employees complete tests or demonstrations.

Implement Inspection Processes

After the training, schedule workplace inspections to identify where the correct procedures are successfully followed and where you can lend additional support. You could do this yourself or designate and train safety inspectors to help.

Evaluate and Make Improvements

If you notice gaps in the training program or areas that need additional focus during inspections, document them and make necessary changes. You can also ask managers, workers, supervisors, and other stakeholders for input on what they would change or add to improve the program.

Remember to recognize and reward positive outcomes and milestones as part of the reviewing process. Keeping employees engaged and motivated will positively impact the success of your training.

How You Can Save Money With Safety Programs

Some consider safety programs an additional expense without weighing the possible savings over time. Here are some ways that implementing comprehensive safety programs in the workplace saves money.

Eliminate Outsourcing Fees

One of the key ways to save money with safety programs is to avoid outsourcing safety training. Hiring safety professionals from outside your company to train employees can be expensive. External consultants may charge travel costs, accommodation costs, other fees, and high rates. 

Internal safety professionals can save companies significant amounts of money, and their training will likely be more appropriately customized and effective due to their existing knowledge of the workplace.

Lower Costs and Fewer Liabilities

A safety program can help teams understand ways to prevent accidents. When workers are more cognizant of safety best practices, they can take steps that reduce incidents, which may reduce the accompanying costs of medical treatments, rehabilitation, workers’ compensation payments and potential premium increases. 

Comprehensive programs can also help companies create safer environments to reduce OSHA fines for safety violations and costly personal injury lawsuits. 

Minimize Downtime

Hazards and accidents can create disturbances and interruptions that delay work and reduce productivity. A quality safety program will train employees on the protocols that can help reduce the risks of accidents and potential consequent downtime.

Benefit From Tailored Programs

One of the key benefits of on-site safety training is having on-site sessions designed to address the specific equipment, processes, and systems workers use daily. 

Any training developed for a particular workplace will be more effective than a broad program. An internal safety professional will also know more about the location and activity-specific risks and hazards than an outsourced company.

Learn More About Our Certified Safety Manager Course

Developing in-house safety programs can deliver significant financial benefits for any business. The National Association of Safety Professionals provides professional certifications and comprehensive safety and environmental consulting services. We also offer classroom, online, and site-specific training,

If you’re interested in equipping yourself to develop safety programs, explore our Certified Safety Manager course as a tool to save money or advance your career. 

Contact us with any questions today.