Slips, Trips, And Customer Safety
In business, we put a lot of time into avoiding work injuries. It’s no surprise when you consider your staff spend longer in your corporate space than anyone. Failure to take their safety into account can lead to a double whammy of expenses. You’ll need to fork out for sick pay and cover. You may also face hefty lawsuits.
But, to think health and safety of staff is all that matters would be a mistake. If your business is open to the public, you also have a level of responsibility to them. While you won’t have to fork out for sick pay, negligence here can cost in different ways. For one, an injured customer can still sue. They’d even be within their rights to demand reimbursement for time off work. But, perhaps more damaging would be the dent your reputation could take. Word of mouth is everything in business. If those mouths are talking about safety risks, you can kiss goodbye to customers.
With that in mind, it’s worth turning your attention to this. Often, customer health and safety is much the same as that of the workplace. But, you might want to take further action, as well. To give you an idea of what that action could be, let’s look at two leading customer-based industries.
In Care
You could argue customer health and safety is never more critical than in the care industry. At few other times do customers and clients put their lives in your hands as much. That level of trust means you have high safety standards to adhere to. Naturally, these vary depending on the field of care you’re involved in. In childcare, for instance, it’s crucial you do regular checks on toys. Any breakages should be removed immediately to avoid injury. It’s also crucial you install playground rubber flooring for safety in outside sessions, and keep a close eye on the children at all times. Injuries will inevitably happen, but you need to be 100% sure they aren’t your fault.
Those in care homes also need to consider this issue. It’s essential to check equipment often to ensure no patients are harmed during lifting. You also need to make sure your staff are well trained in matters of medication. That’s the only way to make sure of patient safety.
In retail
Retail may not seem such an obvious worry, but there are still health and safety issues to take into account. Often, these involve your shelving. High shelves with heavy stock need to be secure and reliable. Equally, shelves at lower levels need to be smooth and visible. It’s also essential wet floors are clearly marked to prevent slips and trips. You should also check the condition of your flooring on a regular basis. Uneven floor tiles can lead to severe setbacks. In many ways, keeping on top here involves nothing more than regular walkarounds. It may also be worth taking notes and pictures each day so you can protect yourself legally should anything happen.
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