Four Simple Ways To Improve Workplace Health and Safety…

Workplace health and safety are things that should always remain at the forefront of your mind as a business owner. After all, neglecting to do so means that you are putting your employees, customers, and business at risk. 

However, whether you’re dealing with high employee turnover rates or are struggling to keep up to date with changing industry regulations, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to establishing clear health and safety standards within your workplace.

With that in mind, here are four simple ways to improve health and safety within your business so that you can push your business to the next level. 

One: Invest in vital technology. While a savvy business owner is always on the lookout for ways to save money, safety is something that you should never cut corners on. As such, this is something that you should be willing to invest in consistently throughout the entire tenure of your business. 

For example, if you run a manufacturing site, you should purchase Welding Fume Extractors. This will help you to improve indoor air quality throughout your business premises, preventing respiratory complications among your team and ensuring your practices remain above board. 

Two: Train your team. According to a recent study, up to 80% of workplace accidents can be attributed to human error. Fortunately, this means that 80% of workplace accidents are preventable when your team receives adequate training. Not only should you ensure that employees receive thorough health and safety training as new hires, but you should also work to refresh their knowledge annually or whenever new equipment or tools are introduced. You may also benefit from sending employees on external health and safety courses so that you ensure you’re as prepared as possible. 

Three: Appoint a health and safety officer. It is the responsibility of every single employee who walks through the door to maintain high health and safety standards within your workplace. However, you can ensure that exceptional standards are maintained by appointing an on-site health and safety officer. This way, you have someone on hand to conduct thorough risk inspections and bring potential hazards or issues to light before they can cause problems for your team or business. 

Four: Understand what is required of you legally. As mentioned above, workplace health and safety laws and regulations are constantly shifting to make sure the needs of employees are prioritized above all else. As such, it’s crucial that you know what is required of you legally as an employer so you can put plans in place to protect yourself and your business. For example, it is your responsibility to maintain a clean, hazard-free workspace.

 If you find it hard to break down legal jargon or to understand legislation, consider working alongside a lawyer who can explain your duties and obligations in more detail. They can also aid in ensuring that your current health and safety policy is up to date or enact changes when necessary.

In short, while it may seem like a difficult task, there are many steps that you can take to improve workplace health and safety standards.

4 Cost Effecctive Ways To Increase Sustainability In Small…

Embracing sustainability in your company not only reduces waste but also enhances your brand’s ethical image. While some may fear the cost implications, many sustainable changes are not as expensive as perceived. It’s not always a costly endeavour, as numerous cost-effective measures can be implemented.

In fact, for small businesses, you can make many free or low-cost changes that won’t impact your bottom line or require hefty funds to achieve. Taking a step back and identifying all aspects of your business, you can change or implement greener alternatives, giving you a great base from which to start. If you need help compiling this list or getting started, these simple yet effective methods can be exactly what you need.

Change Energy Suppliers

Switching to an energy supplier that uses renewable sources is a straightforward step towards sustainability. It’s a simple process that can be cost-effective, and once you’ve made the switch, there’s little else to do except keep an eye on your changeover date and pay the bill as usual. This simplicity should reassure you that sustainability is within reach and you can make a significant impact with minimal effort.

Recycle More

Recycling is a free and easy way to increase your eco credentials and ensure that you are reducing your waste and not contributing to landfill issues. You can recycle so many things within your business, including paper, cardboard, electronic waste, bottles, textiles, plastics, metals, and more. This is a simple yet powerful way to make a difference, and it’s within your reach. It likely won’t cost you any more money unless you need to use regular collection services outside of what you currently use, but it’s worth the investment if required to live until you meet your sustainability goals.

Address Your Consumption

This can be different for all businesses, but looking at what you use and consume as a business and reducing it can be a great way actually to save money and cut down on excessive waste. By reducing consumption, you’re contributing to sustainability and saving money. Areas to look into can be things like the packaging you use for your deliveries. Using custom cardboard boxes, for example, that can be reused or recycled at their end destination, can reduce your postage costs and the amount of protection you need to add to boxes without compromising on quality or protection during shipping. Switching over to digital services and not using excessive paper and stationery can reduce consumption, such as implementing a water drinking station, encouraging people to bring water bottles, helping reduce single-use plastics, etc.

Check Your Supply Chain

Lastly, checking your supply chain and asking for their sustainable efforts can ensure that your efforts aren’t in vain and that the right partners can ensure the changes you make have a more significant impact. Talk to them about what initiatives they have in place, such as using more sustainable fuels for travel, using recyclable materials, planting trees, etc. and ensure that these efforts meet the company ethos you are working towards to compound your own efforts.

4 Effective Ways To Boost Warehouse Efficiency

Warehouses are among the most inefficient business operations. There is plenty of scope for processes to lose momentum or for changes to be implemented that don’t quite gel with current operations. In the never-ending quest for improved productivity and efficiency, things can become distorted, and the results end up making things worse rather than better.

If you’re nodding your head in agreement, it’s time to take a positive step forward. Yes, there may be roadblocks in your processes, but these are opportunities for improvement. By identifying and overcoming these challenges, you can significantly enhance your efficiency.

These are not just theoretical concepts. They are practical tips that can be implemented in your warehouse operations starting today. They are designed to motivate you to overcome inefficiencies and improve your overall performance.

Monitor and Collect Feedback

In the first instance, you need to take a step back from what you’re doing, pay attention to current workflows, and monitor everything. Look at what is involved in performing certain tasks and functions, the time it takes and what each person has to do. From here, you can collect feedback from those working in the area to see what is working for them and what ideas, if any, they have for improvements. Their role is crucial, as they’re the ones doing the job and might have a better insight into the beneficial changes you need to make.

Use The Right Equipment

It goes without saying that the wrong or damaged equipment will make things much harder than they need to be. You need to equip your team with the correct tools for the job, whether this is finding the best forklifts for sale, using pallet jacks, racking strapping tools, etc. Ensuring they have appropriate tools can make everyone’s lives easier and reduce inefficiency from trying to compromise to get the job done.

Create Zones

Creating warehouse zones simply means you are paying attention to how your staff operate and placing similar products together for easier access and picking. If you have items typically ordered together, these need to be placed close by, creating clear points for receiving stock, outgoing orders, and product types are all great zoning starting points so you can improve efficiency across the board. For example, you have one kind of product in one zone and dedicated workers for each zone. If an order needs items from different zones, it’s passed to each person in charge of the zone to complete until it’s done. This removes the need for all employees to be traversing different zones.

Improve Supply Chain

Your supply chain efficiency is going to impact your in-house efficiency directly, and getting things under control can make a massive difference. Tips like diversifying your supply chain by using more suppliers can help you avoid lean periods when one supplier might be facing stock control issues or are unable to fill orders to avoid delays in your operations. It could be that you use historical data to improve forecast stocking supplies so you don’t run low or overstock when you don’t need to, making it easier to navigate the warehouse and stocked inventory. Finding the right option for you is vital to help you avoid supply chain issues and avoid an impact on your overall efficiency.

Monitor and Collect Feedback

In the first instance, you need to take a step back from what you’re doing, pay attention to current workflows, contract data extraction software and monitor everything. Look at what is involved in performing certain tasks and functions, the time it takes and what each person has to do. From here, you can collect feedback from those working in the area to see what is working for them and what ideas, if any, they have for improvements. Their role is crucial, as they’re the ones doing the job and might have a better insight into the beneficial changes you need to make.