Workplace safety is not just about protecting workers but also anyone that visits the site. The visitor could be a client, a supplier, a consultant, or even a family member of an employee. It is the responsibility of contractors and businesses to ensure the well-being of visitors while they are on our premises.
A visitor safety checklist is designed to maintain and ensure safety of anyone who is visiting construction sites, mines, manufacturing plants and even hospitals. The visitor safety checklist could be a printed manual or a digital document. Usually, the safety checklist is created for both visitors and employees.
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OSHA) has set out specific requirements for businesses to regularize visits to sensitive locations. This is the reason many organizations create the visitor safety checklists.
What does visitor safety checklist include?
The visitor safety checklist includes everything from marking the hazards at the workplace to guidelines in case there’s an emergency. Both employees and visitors benefit from this checklist.
The following points are included in this list:
- Make visitors enter in a controlled manner through nominated entry gates.
- Make a count of total visitors present at a particular time because in case of an emergency condition, an accurate count of visitors will be needed to ensure everyone’s safety.
- Keep a complete eye on visitors’ location in emergency conditions so they can be guided quickly to move in a safe place.
- Take measures to keep visitors from entering restricted areas and if they accidentally do, have a plan to take immediate action.
- Educate employees in identifying authorized visitors and taking action when they see unauthorized individuals enter the site.
- Keep a track of when all visitors have left the site.
What to do in emergencies?
While preventive measures can go a long way in ensuring safety, there are times when emergency situations can occur. Here’s what organizations can do in this scenario:
- The emergency action plan has to be designed the way that it addresses the visitor safety checklist.
- Inform visitors about emergencies and how they will be dealt with in such situations.
- Inform visitors about safety issues when they come on a visit.
- Teach employees how to secure visitors in emergencies without compromising their safety.
Visitor safety checklist considerations
There are several considerations in the checklist that can help secure visitors from potential hazards.
- The first step is to create a visitor safety checklist about hazards and accidents that may occur.
- Teach employees how to identify hazards at site.
- Make a safety checklist of expected hazards and tragedies that might happen to be prepared If someone gets in contact with a hazard.
- Make visitors wear protective equipment to protect them from chemical splashes, exposed light, fire and other expected dangers.
Importance of maintaining the checklist
The visitor safety checklist provides numerous benefits to a business. It helps in locating visitors, keeping an eye on expected hazards, monitoring the company’s site via the map, and also keeping a count of present visitors.
In the visitors’ safety checklist, an officer marks checkboxes about present visitors and makes a list of present visitors.
Purpose of visitor safety checklist
The purpose of the Visitor Safety Checklist is to ensure how many visitors are there right at the moment in a company, how many have left the company by marking the list from entry gates, and how many have entered. Making a record of visitors also helps in studying how many non-employed individuals visit the company daily, monthly, and annually.
Contractors can also identify whether there’s an unusual increased number of visitors at site, which can always create safety hazards. Similarly, employees feel valued in workplaces that are proactive about their security and making a checklist goes a long way in achieving this goal.
Managing protocols of visitor safety
These are some key measures and protocols for visitor safety and management in a corporate setting, which can help you safeguard both visitors and employees.
1. Give the visitors an identity card
Always give the visitors identity cards so that when they come to visit the company will have access to their identity if something goes wrong. Meanwhile, having the visitor’s identity on display will deter any suspicious activities on the site.
2. Implement a visitor limit
In simple terms, implementing visitor control means controlling the number of people that can visit the site at a time. Have a clear limit on visitors at the workplace and never let it be exceeded under any circumstances. Make different gates for entrance and exit to avoid the rush and public traffic.
3. Integrate visitor safety in the management system
Make your company’s management system and make a team to assign them different tasks regarding visitor’s safety checklist.
4. Train your employees in visitor safety
Make teams of fully trained employees that can maintain visitor management. Never compromise on visitors’ safety as well as employees’ safety.
5. Give safety awareness to visitors
Explain your visitor safety checklist policy to visitors and convince them to cooperate with the company’s policy.
Enhance site safety for visitors and employees
You can significantly improve the safety of construction sites for both employees and visitors by implementing OSHA 10 hour construction and a much more comprehensive, OSHA 30 hour construction courses.
These courses provide comprehensive training in hazard recognition, risk mitigation and safety protocols. Knowledgeable and trained employees not only make workplaces safer for themselves but are also able to protect visitors.
