Business Partner Magazine

Tips and advice for entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs

3 Reasons Why Small Businesses Can’t Afford to Ignore Safety Training in the Workplace

by Leave a Comment

Everyone wants to be safe, regardless of whether it is at home, out on the streets, or in the workplace. No one wants to be exposed to danger or harm of any kind. To be able to live freely and enjoy life, most people will put their safety, and that of their loved ones, over anything else.

The business of being safe

For businesses of any size, health and safety training for employees should be a top consideration. There are many benefits that can be obtained from being conscious of each business member’s occupational welfare. It is imperative that every employer is aware and practice safety precautions, as well as conduct information drives and training about safety in the workplace.

Investing in the safety training of each and every steward of the company can bring about crucial learning that will be to the advantage of the company. With the proper knowledge, employees will have the skill to protect the equipment they use, the facilities of the company, each other, and their personal selves against accidents at work. At the same time, their understanding of workplace safety will also contribute to lowering the associated cost to your business.

Here are three simple reasons why safety training in the workplace is a must:

1. Productivity loss

Studies have found that an employee’s happiness can influence productivity. If employees are well taken care of, with their health and safety being looked after in the work premises, they are more likely to focus on their jobs. If they’re not overworked due to inefficient processes that may lead to mishaps, then they can concentrate on doing their responsibilities well.

Those who are satisfied with their work tend to be happy campers. Their high morale leads to a better work environment, improved loyalty for the company, and reduced inclination to switch jobs. This will also mean better work output and quality.

2. Financial consequences

A company that takes on the responsibility of training its employees on the advantages of safety in the workplace also reaps financial rewards.

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 1.3 million workers in Great Britain suffer from work-related illnesses, which corresponds to 31.2 million lost working days. These figures translate to individuals and businesses losing an estimated £14.9 billion on costs related to occupational injuries and illnesses.

Savings can also be earned by companies who conduct safety training as workers tend to be healthier and, therefore, take fewer sick leaves. When workers are often injured and sick, there is a risk of increased faulty products or output. It also means higher absentee rates and increased retraining costs.

3. Reputation repercussions

Disgruntled employees caused by employee neglect in the workplace can also lead to damaged company reputations. This will then translate to big financial and credibility losses.

In the age of new technology where rants can be magnetized with a push of a button, companies’ reputations can be razed to the ground in an instant. Costly and noisy lawsuits can generate negative publicity which, in turn, might influence the decision of possible customers, bidders, and other stakeholders. Being embroiled in these kinds of crises affects the company’s brand equity, intellectual capital, goodwill and overall market value.

Even the turnover and acquisition rate can be affected and will create a manpower drain, low productivity, and increased risk of faulty products or decline in services.

Invest in progress

It is a company’s legal duty to provide a safe and healthy environment for all its workers – including contractors and work-from-home employees. Through a strong safety and health management system, the welfare of each member can be looked after, which then will contribute to the company’s success.

When everyone is in tip-top shape, the chances of your company being in the pink of health will also be a huge possibility. More importantly, having the welfare of your people — the backbone of your business — in mind will also mean security and peace of mind for you.

About the Author

Dave Newgass is the owner and Managing Director of Wise Global Training Ltd. Born and raised in a small California coastal fishing town but now living in the United Kingdom, Dave’s goal is to ensure that clients are not only happy with the IOSH and NEBOSH online courses they purchase from Wise Global Training Ltd., but are also happy with the total experience as a whole.

https://www.facebook.com/wiseglobaltraining

5 Tips for Line Marking Your Warehouse

by Leave a Comment

When running your own warehouse, there are plenty of things you’ll have to deal with and one of them is line marking your warehouse. No matter if you believe your warehouse is safe enough, it’s extremely important to mark the floors in order to create a safer environment for your employees. This is the case because there’s just so many things in your warehouse that can end up hurting some of your team members. We’re talking about stuff such as forklifts, energized equipment and loading docks. So, in order to make your warehouse safer, you’ll simply have to line mark it. And here are 5 tips that are guaranteed to help you do this.

Start with a good plan

Of course, if you want to line mark your warehouse the right way, you can’t just go and start applying paint wherever you want. Instead what you need to do is come up with a plan before you start using paint. While some people may tell you that all you need to do before you start line marking is picture the plan in your head, this may not always be the case. It’s always recommended that you sketch it and see how it improves safety and efficiency in your warehouse. Of course, if you notice you got the plan wrong when you start applying the paint, you can always make adjustments as you work.

Prepare the space

There’s no point in line marking if your warehouse isn’t prepared. This is especially the case if you’re using paint to line mark. Paint needs to be applied properly if you want it to be effective, and you simply can’t do this if your warehouse is a mess. We recommend suspending your operations and preparing the space for line marking. What this means is that you should clean your floors and make sure there’s absolutely nothing on it prior to application. Also, bear in mind that the paint will take some time before it dries enough so you could walk on it. So, either give everyone a day off or make sure your employees are extra careful while the paint is drying.

Try to make the most out of it

We’ve already said that the reason why you should opt for line marking is to make your warehouse safer and your operations more effective. Still, there are tons of ways to do this and you should always try to make the most out of it. This means that besides marking the area your employees should be walking in, you should use line marks to alert them about any areas where there’s risk of tripping or touching toxic material. Moreover, you can use line marks to indicate smoking allowed areas and emergency exit routes. Last but not least, these little things can help your employees avoid confusion when it comes to tools and storage.

Choose quality paint

No matter what kind of things you keep in your warehouse, your floors receive a lot of traffic and if you don’t use quality paint, your line marks are likely to wear off pretty fast. And if that happens, not only will you have to spend money on new paint but you’ll also have to make adjustments in your operations in order to apply new paint. And there’s no need to say that this is only going to slow your company down and leave more room for mistakes. That’s why your safest bet is to use quality line marking paint. Luckily, there are experts who can provide you with paint that has been specially designed to be used for line marking.

Use the right colors

When using paint to line mark, there are some basic recommendations you might want to follow. These usually regard the use of colors in order to help your employees interpret the signs better. For example, you’ll want to use yellow in order to mark paths, work cells and traffic lanes while you can use red to inform people about a defect in your warehouse. Blue is usually used for raw materials while black is used for work in progress. You can also use a combination of red and white in order to mark the spots your employees shouldn’t access for safety reasons.

Line marking plays a huge role in how safe and effective your warehouse is going to be. That means it’s not something that should be taken lightly and you’ll want to put a lot of effort in order to get it right.

About the Author

Carolin Petterson is a businesswoman and content marketer with years of experience under her belt. She has had the opportunity to contribute to a number of popular business and marketing websites.

 

5 Things you should Consider Before Starting a Business

by Leave a Comment

Team of young designers working together in office. Diverse business executive standing at a table working on new business project.Do your research

Be realistic, you’re not going to know everything about your chosen field, but make what you do know, is accurate. It’s super important to make sure you understand the market you are about to enter, in order to have maximum impact.

Be organised

It’s true what they say, failing to plan is planning to fail. It’s one thing to have a really great idea, and a completely other kettle of fish when it comes to implementing a strategy, and following it through til the point of completion. Organisation is key, if you can be prepared for all eventualities, and have a backup, you’re more likely to feel confident in your endeavours.

Survey your target market

Industry is one of the most varied markets in the business, and a hard one to tackle at that. Ensure you spend time surveying both your chosen market, and your competition. In order to make it, you’re going to need to offer something they don’t, offering a similar less well-known service just won’t cut it.

Ensure you are in with the law

Prevention is always better than cure. Whilst it is often presumed that legal help is only for those that are in trouble, it’s important to ensure you are within the law from the very beginning. Health and safety is hugely prevalent in all aspects of our lives, and rightly so, in order to protect both the employer and employees. It can often be difficult to know exactly where to start when ensuring the correct safety procedures are implemented into your new business. Look to seek help from a professional service, for example Reece Safety offer a free of charge review, whereby they can assess your business and advise you on the best products and practise, to ensure you are abiding by the laws of safety.

Be visible

Get your name out there! Once everything is up and running, it’s important that you are visible to your target market. Networking within the corporate community, having a strong social media presence and reporting on positive feedback from customers will all help to build a positive reputation.

Article by Reece Safety

How to Choose the Right First Location for Your Business

by Leave a Comment

Alley of a modern office buildingThe success of your business can be a wonderful period to go through, but it can also present a number of issues and decisions. For example, you can’t keep trading out of your back bedroom forever. Growing staff numbers, need for more storage and requiring a professional meeting space for client meetings makes it impossible. Not to mention your roommate/parents may not tolerate it in the long term.

So, how exactly do you go about choosing the right real estate for your business?

Calculate Your Budget

When first contemplating the business real estate scene your budget will be a huge factor in both the places you view and the place you eventually rent. To keep costs low and affordable no doubt your budget won’t be huge, so the spaces will reflect that.

If you need more space but have no spare budget, then you may consider other compromises. Real estate in the city centre will always be more expensive, but bigger spaces may be available at a lower price further afield from where you would prefer to work – even smaller towns may offer better value for money than cities.

An office or business premises can be a costly endeavour, especially in the long run. So be sure you have done the maths and understand your financial state before committing to anything!

Determine Your Needs

Do you need storage? Or is a large loading area vital for your business functions? Maybe your employees simply would like the benefit of convenient parking. Whatever your needs, consider them carefully whilst on the real estate hunt. A location may be modern and beautiful, but will soon become a nightmare if it doesn’t cater to your specific business.

To make this process simpler write a list of your ‘necessities’ and your ‘desirables’. Hand them over to a property advisor to work out, between your budget and location, how achievable they are. It is here where you will discover how well your dream and reality match up.

Remember, your first location can be as simple as a stepping stone to your next. It doesn’t have to be grand and luxurious, so long as it gets the job done and allows for your business to grow even more!

Health & Safety

If you rent a property knowing that it has issues but believe it can be fixed up, you may be setting yourself up for a nightmare. Health and safety policies are integral to every business, so if things aren’t right you will have to fix them. Having to put a large amount of money into fixing a property to make it habitable for your business and staff can be a costly endeavour.

Before agreeing to let a property for your business consider the obvious health and safety issues. Exposed wires, sharp fixtures or mould are hazards. Fixable, but could be costly depending on the volume. Always consider your budget when it comes to fixer uppers.

You must also consider health and safety issues which you cannot see. The air quality of the space, for example, is a hidden issue that may not even cross your mind when searching for a property. A good ventilation system is vital for clean air, as indoor air pollution can affect your employee’s health and even cause them to have sick days more often. If there is no evidence of this in a property, nor any large windows to allow any air flow, then you may have to discount it to avoid illnesses down the line.

Feeling

Sometimes a property will simply feel right. Whether you can imagine yourself working there the minute you walk in the door, or it simply feels like your brand in the shape of a building. As long as it fits your budget and meets all your requirements, of course, this feeling should be jumped on!

It is very rare that something feels right, so when it does you should use this to your advantage.

So, there you have it: the important factors you need to consider when choosing the right first location for your business. A mixture of price, facilities, health and safety, and that all important gut feeling.

About the Author

Zack Halliwell is an avid writer who works closely with a ventilation system company to raise awareness for the importance of workplace health and safety in start-ups.