Safe Work Month at ahs: Small Actions, Safer Workplaces
A safer workplace is built through the everyday actions we take to look out for ourselves and one another.
This Safe Work Month, we are encouraging our people to Spot It. Fix It. Share It. Commit to It. These four steps help us spot hazards, respond appropriately and keep safety part of the way we work every day.
Spot it: notice what could cause harm
A hazard is anything that could cause injury, illness or damage. Hazards can be physical, electrical, chemical or related to how a task is carried out.
In housekeeping and facilities cleaning, they might include wet floors, cluttered walkways, damaged equipment, incorrectly stored chemicals, poorly stacked linen or a trolley that is difficult to manoeuvre. Changes to a task, work area, piece of equipment or client request can also introduce new risks.
During the Safety Scavenger Hunt, teams took a fresh look around their work areas and identified potential hazards. It was a practical reminder that noticing a risk early is the first step towards preventing an incident.
Fix it: take the right action
Some hazards can be addressed straight away, if they’re simple and within your training and ability. For example, you might put up a warning sign near a spill or move an obstruction from a walkway, as long as it’s safe to do so.
If a hazard is serious, recurring, needs maintenance or is outside your control, report it to your manager. If there’s an immediate risk, stop the task if safe, keep others away and get support. Never put yourself or someone else in danger while trying to fix an issue.
Share it: help others learn
During team briefings and Workgroup Discussions, ahs team members shared practical safety tips from their day-to-day work. These conversations help everyone learn from one another and bring useful ideas back to the workplace.
One simple example: Check the vacuum lead before use, report any damage and don’t use equipment with a damaged lead.
“The best safety tips are practical and easy to use in our everyday work. When we share them during briefings, we help everyone look out for one another,” said Jay, General Manager of Safey & Quality at ahs.
Commit to it: make safety a habit
Safe Work Month is a chance to build habits that continue throughout the year. Choose one practical action to carry into every shift, whether that’s checking equipment, keeping access ways clear, storing chemicals correctly or raising a concern early.
Thank you to everyone who took part and shared what they learned. Spot it. Fix it safely. Share it. And keep making safety part of the way we work.
