How safe is your business? (Business Interview)

May 29, 2012 - PRLog -- From walking into the filing cabinet draw left open, to hotels with no evacuation procedures, seems our offices and workplaces are accidents waiting to happen, and many bosses are ignorant of the issues. Health and safety is the responsibility of anyone employing people. Surveys show that staff at companies which have clear and active health and safety policies and procedures are happier and more productive and breed profitable workplaces. Therefore company bosses should be embracing these practices, yet many are not.

Basil Gillett of Risk Safety Associates a leading health and safety consultancy based on the Wirral told us today:

"I have seen a number of instances where otherwise profitable companies were wiped out overnight by circumstances that could so easily have been prevented. There was the case of a hotel in the South West of UK that went up in flames as a consequence of a skip positioned too close to the building being igniting by an arsonist, and the result was three guests at the hotel died. In addition to causing the death of three people and losing the business overnight, the owners were fined around £145,000 as they had failed to ensure fire detectors and alarms were working at the hotel and failed to make an adequate risk assessment despite previous warnings from the council. There have been higher fines with one London hotel owner being fined around a quarter of a million pounds following a fire as they also had not put in place a sufficient fire risk assessment and had not maintained their fire safety features and procedures.

From the large catastrophes to what may seem to be trivial accidents caused through slips, trips or falls in our everyday workplaces, accidents can prove really costly when a member of staff is off for long periods of time, resulting in weeks of lost productivity, Statuary Sick Pay, resulting claims. It is really not worth ignoring Health and safety!"

Basil has had 11 years as a company secretary advising directors how to get the best out of staff, making happy and safe work places and how to make sure everyone knows the fire drill, evacuation procedures, machine operation, correct lifting and handling techniques and how to use fire extinguishers, et al. Policies that make staff feel happier and valued. He also dealt directly with insurance claims from employees and guests who tried to sue when things were missed and accidents did happen, as they always will. He now runs his own consultancy advising business about best practices.

"Many companies sell a service, and talk of Return on Investment, but I cannot find a business that could potentially save you hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost time and insurance claims like a Health and Safety consultant can do, perhaps even immediately.

Even in the best run workplaces, you will see the odd accident, so it is vital you know where you stand as an employer, or it could be all over overnight for your business. I recommend every company invest in an audit. We can come along and inspect your company and help you to put in place and manage your health and safety policies for a lot less than you think!

Best to get us in before you see the HSE or worse, the police and insurance companies."

Basil was interviewed on nwtv a North West based Online interview show for business people and gave us some great free tips. You can see the interview on nwtv.biz