Yes, you should have a safety plan before you need it! Because if you put it off, you risk having a sudden unexpected emergency.
That’s what happened to Gary…
If you’re a regular PCat reader, you know that Gary owns a baking factory and that he recently had a safety scare when a worker cut his hand on the line! With some help from Process Cat, he got the immediate problem under control.
Today, Gary and Process Cat to met in the park to talk about how to prevent more problems of this type in the future.
Your 4 Options for Safety Plans
- DIY
- Government Resources
- Private Consulting Companies (that specialize in regulatory compliance)
- Hiring one or more employees to be responsible for safety at your company
DIY Safety Plans
This is not the option that PCat recommends for a company the size of Gary’s. But it might be the option that you’ll want to use if you’re a solo operator. In the US, self-employed people are not subject to OSH regulations. But, you can still start by looking up the information you’ll need from these and other government agencies:
https://www.osha.gov/ and https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ in the United States
https://osha.europa.eu/en in Europe
Other Government Resources
This again depends on where you live. In the United States, OSHA has a division of Compliance Assistance that provides free information and resources to help employers comply with safety regulations. (Look under the “Help and Resources” tab on their website!)
Private Consulting Companies
There are private companies that specialize in helping other companies with regulatory compliance. Often, the people working at those companies have a background in working for the government regulatory agency so they know how to make sure things are compliant. This is more expensive than using free government resources, of course, but you may investigate and decide that for your business it makes sense to hire such a company.
Hiring Employees
Medium and large manufacturing companies often have their own in-house departments of people whose whole job is to ensure compliance with safety regulations. Most Maker-scale businesses probably won’t need this yet, but if you keep scaling it’s something to consider!
Ok, but which one is BEST?
Look, everyone’s situation is going to be different. It will depend on factors like what country you live in, how large your business is, and what products you’re making, to name only a few!
Gary was a little disappointed that Process Cat didn’t just give him THE ANSWER….
Weekly Challenge
Are you confident in the safety plans and policies in place at your business? If not, use this information to get yourself started!
