Whether it’s from fires, lawsuits, work hazards, robbery, and theft, or even unruly customers, small businesses face threats every single day. As a business owner, you want to make sure you’re protecting yourself, your employees, and your equipment and machinery from a variety of dangerous situations. Below are 5 tips to keep your small business and your employees safe from harm.
1. Install a Security System
One of the easiest ways to protect your business is by installing a security system into your commercial property. You can install a security system through cameras, such as the Ring camera system, and also through light sensors, motion detectors, and alarm systems to alert you in case of an intruder. These are all systems that can protect your business from theft, and should seriously be considered if your business deals with valuables such as jewelry, cars, and more. You should also protect your assets and data online from would-be hackers. This can protect your business and your customer’s information. Whether your run a small clinic and have to protect your patient’s privacy or need to protect their payment information online, hire a web consultant to ensure your business’ online presence remains safe.
2. Hire Security Staff
If you run a business such as a nightclub, bar, or even a restaurant, it might be helpful to hire some security staff to help keep you, your employees, and your customer safe. Having a small club or bar might be fun, but it might also mean you can attract unruly customers. If this is the case, security staff will be able to minimize the impact they have on your business.
3. Maintain All Equipment
Running a small bakery, contracting business, or factory all require the use of machinery and equipment. It’s important to always incorporate scheduled maintenance into your business’ routine. Whether that means cleaning and sanitizing kitchen equipment and utensils, or cleaning heat exchangers a minimum of once every 5 years, maintenance applies to most equipment in small businesses! Maintaining equipment not only ensures they work properly enough to fulfill orders and keep your business running but also ensures your employees are operating equipment that is safe to use.
4. Calibrate All Equipment
It’s important to calibrate all your equipment properly when running your business. Having calibrated equipment is especially important if your business relies on having accurate weight and safety measurements to keep employees out of harm’s way. For instance, if your business specializes in high-rise window washing, the platform you’re using can only hold a certain amount of weight! This is just one example of how your business can be kept safe by properly calibrating equipment. From using load cells use that take accurate measurements using strain gauge technology, or checking the thermostat and making sure conditions aren’t too hot in your warehouse, always calibrate your business machinery and equipment for safety!
5. Always Have General Liability Insurance
Following the tips above can help ensure you’re doing everything you can to keep your business and your employees safe. This can help you avoid personal injury lawsuits, however, so can general liability insurance. In the state of Texas, people have 2 years to file for personal injury lawsuits from the time of the injury, meaning your business must be ready to tackle any frivolous lawsuits from employees or workers at a moment’s notice. To do so, ensure your general liability insurance continues to be kept up to date and working for your business.
Safety for All
From protecting yourself from lawsuits to ensuring your employees have access to up-to-date and properly maintained equipment, these are just some of the handy tips you can use to keep your small business safe.
