3 Tips for Efficient Health and Safety Crisis Management
Do you and your employees know what to do or whom to speak to in the event of a health and safety crisis that results in injury or death? Instead of avoiding the topic, consider taking action and handling crisis management efficiently with these tips.
1. Improve Incident Response
The way your business responds to an incident in the workplace can have a strong impact on your brand reputation. The faster the accident response, the quicker the resolution can take place, and business operations can resume.
Ensure emergency contact details are readily available, and the accident scene can be immediately secured. Depending on the nature of the crisis, legal counsel is advisable to carry out all the necessary procedures in line with legal requirements.
Ensure your SHEQ management software includes proper incident management response guidelines, the latest updates safety procedures and legal regulations, as well as best practices to follow in case of accidents.
ISO 45001 is one of the International ISO standards identified with Occupational Health and Safety Management (OH&S). An ISO standard gives a structure to give better, protected working conditions, eliminate workplace risks and enhanced employee safety, Organisations can use ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems – requirements with guidelines for use to develop an organized way to deal with health and safety.
2. Conduct Proper Investigations
It’s important to follow-up the incident management with the investigation into what happened. Your organisation should run an internal investigation alongside the external regulatory investigation. Remain as objective as possible and follow the protocol, and pay attention to handling an influx of media interest.
Ensure that you have an integrated SHEQ management system in place that facilitates all the right documentation collection and verification, employee check-ups and interviews. A centralised database with a single point of contact can speed up the investigation.
3. Offer Training and Support
Depending on the severity of the crisis, your business may need to offer counselling and trauma support to employees and family members. This will require specific activities and appropriate flow of information to the workforce about the incident and return to work procedures.
The key to effectively managing a health and safety crisis is to ensure that the proper health and safety systems and training are in place long before anything can happen. Your company should have a health and safety management system to help prevent accidents from happening in the first place and respond promptly in case the worse does happen.
