Your employer should always be making sure that you’re operating under the safest conditions possible. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. This is why safety champions are so important. Being a safety champion can look different depending on where you are working. In some companies, the safety champion is an official management position, whereas in other organizations, being a safety champion is less of a structured position and more of a mindset. Regardless of how your organization is structured, you can certainly be an advocate for safety in your workplace.
The job of a safety champion is to facilitate improvement of safety regulations on an ongoing basis, to promote conversation about safety within the workplace, and to help implement new safety plans and procedures. Whether your organization offers the opportunity for you to do this in an official capacity or not, it is important for all workers to be safety champions, and to work together to ensure your workplace is the best possible environment.
Being an advocate for safety in your workplace first requires you to get educated. By developing an understanding of workplace safety, it will be far easier for you to point out what needs to be improved in your workplace. There are several online courses and simple quizzes that you can take on the Government of Alberta website, or you can ask your employer if your company offers any courses on workplace safety.
After developing an understanding of what safety within the workplace looks like, it’s important to talk about it. Don’t just simply bring it up to your supervisor if you see a safety hazard, but bring workplace safety up in conversations with your coworkers as well. Strike up conversations about safety often and people around you will soon feel comfortable enough to be vocal about their own safety concerns within the workplace.
A workplace safety champion doesn’t have to only be an official title, but something we all aim to be on a daily basis. By educating yourself and keeping your eyes and ears open for hazards or potential improvements, you can help ensure that you and your fellow colleagues operate under the best possible working conditions. Have questions about safety in the workplace? We’d love to hear from you!
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