How Often Should A Safety Meeting Be Held

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Within the workplace, there are a great number of risks that need to be assessed regularly. Whether that includes faulty equipment, carrying out procedure checks, or showing employees how to use certain tools or pieces of equipment safely. 

Because there is a huge range of workplace variation, there are different factors that can determine how often a safety meeting should take place. Depending on the type of work that staff carry out and the physical toll that certain procedures can have, employers should follow this guide in order to decide how regularly they need to be scheduling safety meetings. 

While it is largely up to the employer to decide how often they should hold safety meetings, there are some things that can affect the frequency of these meetings. Some of these have been listed below. 

General Recommendations

Although there is a high amount of variation between workplaces and safety risks, it is worth considering that there are some recommendations for when you should hold your regular safety meetings. As a rough guide, it is suggested that you schedule around nine meetings per year. Whether this means your calendar year, business or financial year, this can give you a rough idea about how often a safety meeting should take place. 

Those that work within a higher risk environment, such as construction workers, should take part in monthly safety meetings. This is because employees will need to be regularly reminded of how to use certain equipment, and what they should be doing to protect themselves. 

During your safety meetings, it is important to address any concerns from employees and other workers. This can include other people not wearing the correct protective equipment, or using tools incorrectly. Make sure that everybody is as trained as possible in order to maximize productivity as well as prevent injury. 

For people who work in office environments, it is generally believed that there are fewer safety risks. That is why most workplaces that are less labor-intensive carry out their safety meetings on a quarterly basis. 

Things That Can Affect This

Of course, there are so many gray areas with those recommendations that it is difficult to make a concrete decision. That is why some of the key factors used to determine how often to hold a safety meeting are outlined below. 

Size Of Business

Larger businesses with multiple chains are more likely to hire a safety officer who is responsible for running safety meetings. However, it is your responsibility as the manager or owner to check that these are actually done regularly, and that anything of concern is addressed. 

Smaller businesses, on the other hand, may not need as many safety meetings if there is a small number of staff on the team. This is because it is generally easier to address concerns and issues as they arise, rather than necessarily scheduling time to discuss them. However, the decision about how your employees take in new information is up to you, and you should use this to decide how often to hold your safety meetings. 

Of course, different scales of business are determined by their headquarters size, industry, number of employees, and consumer demand. Those who run more successful businesses should take their safety meetings just as seriously as someone with a smaller business. This is because of the range of mishaps and accidents that can easily be avoided with some basic training. 

Workforce

If you are running a warehouse or factory-based business, then you should avoid rushing your safety meetings. Ensure that you are getting everybody onto the same page, and that all employees are aware of potential risks. 

The frequency of safety meetings is influenced by the workforce, because there can be particular risks to employees’ health. This includes allergies and other health risks such as if someone is more prone to seizures or fainting. 

People in charge of a higher volume workforce could also find it easier to split employees into sizable groups for safety meetings. This can allow more detailed questions to be asked without interruption. 

Workplace Risks

As with the different workplace venues, there is a huge amount of variety when it comes to workplace safety risks. These should be kept in mind when you are scheduling safety meetings, because it’s important to prevent these factors from emerging if possible. 

Those who source drivers for their regular employees will need to engage them in safety meetings regarding road accidents, and other health concerns. Ensuring that they are aware of the risks as well as the result of laziness at the wheel should provide you with the reassurance that nothing is going to happen. 

Other workplace risks include violence between employees, which can be prevented using team building exercises and rigorous personality screening during the hiring process. A business should offer workplace active shooter training and provide high-quality safety equipment to employees in the workplace to reduce risks. Another risk is a contagious illness affecting employee productivity. This is more common in an office environment, or anywhere where the airflow is restricted somehow.

By noting all the hazards within your particular area of work, you can encourage employees to be more aware of them. This can prevent a workplace accident or injury, which will require excessive paperwork and insurance policies. 

Inspections

Another factor that can determine when you should have your safety meetings is when the safety inspections are scheduled. These should occur around every three months, and you can use these to plan safety meetings at a similar time. 

This can be a great way to ensure any concerns are addressed, and that employees are given the opportunity to retrain if they feel that they do not know how to correctly use a particular machine. Depending on the workplace, you should remember to schedule meetings between the inspections as well. 

This is because three months is a long time, and if you leave your safety meetings until then, then it is more likely that employees will forget what they have learned. This can lead to injury caused by equipment misuse over time, so should be avoided if possible. 

Exceptions 

There are some exceptions that can make your safety meetings seem more randomly spaced during the regular working year. The main influencing factor is if there has recently been an incident within the workplace that has caused additional safety concern. 

Some of the main events influencing a safety meeting are employee violence, equipment misuse that may have resulted in injury, or any other type of accident. Workplace conflict can be a difficult issue to address, and it is recommended that you contact your company’s HR department if possible. 

Another potential exception that can bump a safety meeting up is external events that can cause a risk to employee safety. This includes political occurrences, extreme weather patterns, and other pressing current affairs. Ensure that your employees are aware of every hazard, and show them how to approach a task without risking injury. 

Summary

Some employers hold safety meetings weekly, whereas others may think that it is only needed once a month. Depending on your beliefs as an employer, and how well you think your team are following safety procedures, you should decide how often safety meetings should be held. 

It is generally recommended that safety meetings are scheduled in advance. This is because schedules and agendas can change frequently, so it is suggested that you use this tactic to plan around it rather than move it. 

This is your chance to ensure everybody is correctly trained and on the same page. This includes using heavy machinery correctly, wearing protective equipment if necessary, and avoiding conflict with other employees.