Why is a Safety Plan Important In the Supply Chain?

July 7, 2020 | Staffing Blog

The supply chain that you run is composed of contracts that allow you to use specific services and/or provide them to your customer base. This process is something that needs close monitoring, as oversights can happen, but need to be controlled or the product you are sourcing will be negatively affected. Not only that, without strict safety protocols in place, your team can be at risk for injury or worse.

The International Labour Organization found that 6,300 people die everyday from accidents or diseases they contract while at work. Even if they are not fatal, 317 million accidents happen to people on the job a year, resulting in major costs for everyone involved. However, with the right set of rules and processes in place, many of these accidents can be avoided.

Strong Management is Essential to Your Supply Chain

If key supply chain management skills are activated, your team and company will be at a much lower risk of accidents that could result in tragedy and financial strain. Such skills include thorough knowledge of:

• Manufacturing processes.
• Transportation and logistics.
• Standard warehousing rules and information.

Supply chain managers need to be great communicators who are able to verbally and visually communicate with tools such as labels on packaging and in storage locations.

Other Factors That Govern Safety in the Supply Chain

Besides management, safety and lack thereof in the supply chain workplace is most often determined by:

• The size of the environment the team is working in.
• The nature of the corporate culture.
• How well trained the employees are.
• How disciplined your team is when it comes to following rules and protocols.
• The coordinated approach to workplace safety and communication.
• The economic resource pressures that can be a real factor the lower you reside on the supply chain.

Some Solutions to Consider

As you approach your busy season, make sure you have strong safety solutions in place. To help you start your checklist, consider the following:

• Is your team aware of all health codes and violations when it comes to sanitization within your facilities and areas outside of the field?
• Ensure that your team is fully aware of areas where they need to be more careful, and if there are designated spots for taking breaks or storing personal items.
• Thoroughly communicate to your team the importance of staying home when sick so they do not contaminate products or other employees.
• Have first-aid kits for employees who cut themselves and ensure they know to use bandages and wear gloves when working with an open wound.
• Quiz your management staff and the rest of the team on all safety procedures so you know where your strong and weak links reside.
• Restaff with more dedicated employees when necessary to ensure that your strong people have the support they need.

Helpful Resources

If you are an exporter in the supply chain in need of better safety solutions and compliance, there are some great resources that can provide you with the information you need. A few examples are:

International Labour Organization. This company develops a system of international labor standards that will result in opportunities for people to obtain jobs in work conditions that support freedom, equity, security, and dignity. The safety guidelines they have developed help companies to create safer work environments with research documents and the resources they need. Find more information on the ILO website.

Corporate Social Responsibility. Many companies have committed to a key corporate social responsibility platform in order to improve workplace safety. If the leader of the company advocates for better workplace safety practices, companies at the top of the supply chain have the power to enforce better working conditions for those at the bottom. Organizations like ACCSR can help you develop a strong CSR strategy.

Your Employees Make the Difference

Though you may have created sets of rules and guidelines for your team, that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be followed. The only way to ensure enforcement is knowing that your managers are continuously monitoring your supply chain processes with all of these rules in mind. There is technology and software that can help you to audit your staff. However, the most important thing is that you have a strong staff who makes auditing themselves and others around them essential.

At Allegiance Staffing, we are committed to helping you find the exact type of individuals you need on staff for a safe and productive environment. We have been awarded as Inavero’s Best of Staffing by our own staff and clients each year since 2010 because we deliver. To learn more about how we can help you build a stronger staff, reach out to us here.