One easy way to keep claims your Texas workers compensation rates low is to do regular workplace safety assessments. Check out our 5 Steps to Safety for a simple self-assessment you and your team can participate in:
Step one: Determine Hazards
Walk around your workplace and look at what may potentially cause harm. Ask your staff about any perceived risks since they can often pick out a problem that you may have overlooked. Use all your senses, not just your eyes. Note the noise level, run your fingers over surfaces and sniff out offensive odors.
Step two: Determine who might be harmed and how
Take note of how groups of workers are doing their jobs. Are stock workers lifting correctly, are unpackers leaving litter on the floor? Remember the purpose of this exercise isn’t to point fingers, but to keep your workplace a safe environment.
Step three: Assess the risks and decide what to do
Simply compare your risks with sound safety practices and make sure your workplace is up to standard.
Step four: Record and implement your assessments
Recording the results of your risk assessment and sharing them with your workers is a positive step. It encourages everyone to keep the working environment a safe place.
Step five: Review and update
As a business owner, you’ll be aware of how easy it is to forget reviews until there is a problem, and then it’s too late. If there’s an injury and a claim on your Texas workers compensation insurance, then everyone loses. A way to avoid this situation is to establish a date on which regular reviews will take place and make it a habit.