Occupational Safety and Health Forum Occupational Safety and Health Forum Occupational Safety and Health Forum Occupational Safety and Health Forum Occupational Safety and Health Forum

Posts By :

Guest Author

Prioritising safety in the loading bay
By:

Employee safety is paramount in every industry. For logistics operations juggling unprecedented customer demand with significant numbers of new employees, safety is now a major business issue – especially in high-risk areas such as the loading bay. 

According to Great Britain’s health and safety body, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), there are 13 fatalities and 26,000 non-fatal injuries per year within the UK transportation and storage industry. And with a high percentage of accidents happening in or around the loading bay, it is considered one of the most dangerous areas.

As Wouter Satijn, Sales Director at Joloda Hydraroll, explains, continually reviewing, improving and implementing the best working practices, while also promoting employee well-being, is the key to optimising logistics operations and getting more goods on the road...

Escalating Safety Concerns

The transportation sector has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. Consumer demand has accelerated across industries, with world trade in goods and services amounting to US $22 trillion in 2020.  At the heart of every logistics operation lies the loading bay. As thousands of new logistics drivers and packers take up newly created roles to keep up with demands, it’s more important than ever for employers to understand the challenges involved in logistics and in the safe loading and unloading of goods.

Of course, this is a highly regulated industry: logistics operations must adhere to strict health and safety regulations. But a good working environment is also key to employee morale, which is a crucial factor in retention. With higher than usual levels of staff turnover, ensuring everyone understands the dangers is vital.  This is especially important in working environments using heavy machinery to move large packages and products, or where hazardous materials are being unloaded or loaded. Accidents can easily happen, especially in the loading bay – so how can businesses identify and mitigate these risks?

What are the Risks?

The economic cost of workplace injury is estimated at more than £800m. The challenge for logistics operations is the diversity of both the risks and causes of injury. For example, falls off the edge of the dock can be a result of slippery floors, a lack of removable barriers or distractions. Heavy machinery can fall forward if wheels are not properly chocked. And poor communication from drivers – or engines left on during the loading process – can also lead to injury. In addition, these procedural errors can create other dangers, such as gaps opening between vehicles and loading bays.

Organisations can overcome these risks by implementing robust safety practices across the loading area – and the first place to start is identifying dangers.

Risk Analysis

A comprehensive risk analysis is essential. Indeed it is a legal requirement. This robust process should determine the specific threats within the organisation’s loading bay(s). Taking a walk around the space and considering what employees will be doing day-to-day can quickly highlight potential dangers. Are floors kept clear? Are there any overhead electric cables and, if so, is there any risk of a chance touch or electricity jumping to ‘earth’ through machinery, loads, or people?

It is also important to review recent health and safety incidents to identify particular problems that are occurring. This helps to understand the risks from an employee perspective. What tasks are they struggling to complete safely? Are the same injuries occurring frequently? Forklift truck usage is one area of particular concern – on average, they are involved in about a quarter of all workplace transport accidents. 

Having determined current safety issues, the next step is to introduce appropriate mechanical solutions for safety, warning signs, training, and electrical safety.

Automated Loading Systems 

With so many injuries caused by the use of equipment such as forklift trucks, it is well worth considering the role loading systems can play in improving workforce safety. Automated loading systems are built to speed up a standard process that happens in every production and warehousing location – the 45 minutes it takes to unload using a forklift takes under five minutes with an automated system. By removing the use of forklifts, companies immediately reduce the risk to employees, improving safety.

Adding further automation will also significantly improve both efficiency and employee well-being. By connecting the entire auto-loading docks and unloading docks to a conveyor or autonomous guided vehicles (AGV), the complete loading procedure can be de-manned. This 100% automation is, by default, far safer as no manual intervention is required.

Safety Starts with Employees

Human error is one of the main causes of injury in loading bays and other areas of logistics facilities. Indeed, one employee’s mistake can make the entire environment unsafe. To avoid injury, organisations must provide staff with the right training, including the correct use of equipment and safe behaviour.

Regular training and education for employees working within the loading bay should cover a range of issues. This includes the prevention of chronic or acute injury through incorrect lifting methods; the correct way to secure cargo when loading; and the safe removal of secured cargo when unloading the truck.

Good signage is also important to support employees as they move around the loading bay. For example, marking ‘danger zones’ ensures individuals know where to go, such as avoiding loading dock edges. Signage helps to direct traffic flow correctly, too. Additional signage reminding drivers to turn off engines is key to avoid the build-up of poisonous carbon monoxide in the loading bay area. Providing weight rating signs on each element of the loading bay equipment will remind employees of the weight limits in place, avoiding dangerous overloading situations. 

Additionally, it is worth reminding people that loading bays must remain tidy and clear of hazards at all times. Small pieces of packaging can get stuck in machinery and pose a trip hazard; while even small spills can have significant ramifications, with oil spills requiring special attention. For experienced individuals, additional signage may feel unnecessary but with the considerable number of new employees entering the logistics industry, providing clear, up to date information is essential. It will help to improve safety and, equally important, add confidence and boost morale for new members of the workforce.

Conclusion 

Efficient loading bays are core to the success of any logistics operation. But these hubs of activity can be not only incredibly inefficient, but also extremely hazardous. Automation is increasingly important for any business today to transform productivity, improve efficiency and to demonstrate that health and safety comes first. This means improving end-to-end automation to reduce the manual activity required by employees, as well as implementing stringent safety processes and giving all staff appropriate, timely training.

The benefits are tangible. Automation improves effectiveness and also creates a safe and healthy workforce. Creating the right working environment not only improves employee morale – which is key to retention – but also contributes to greater productivity, ensuring the business meets demand and builds a satisfied, committed customer base.

OPINION: Employee safety in the logistics industry starts with data collection and analysis
By:

Logistics organisations are under unprecedented pressure to improve not only efficiency, but also employee safety. The COVID-19-inspired spike in demand has highlighted endemic performance problems and created new workplace challenges; how can companies recruit and retain staff in a highly competitive market when the transport and storage industry exhibits a higher rate of injury at all levels of severity compared to other sectors?

Digital transformation provides a chance to improve efficiency, reduce costs and enhance responsiveness to customers, and transform the day-to-day experience for employees. This can only be achieved, however, if organisations get the right data collection and analysis solutions in place that quickly and effectively deliver new insight to logistics teams, explains Peter Ruffley (pictured), CEO, Zizo, and Ian Brown, CEO, Excelpoint…

Data Capture Challenge

While there are many technologies associated with digital transformation, in essence it is about data; using data to both automate processes and gain better understanding to drive business improvement.  

For many organisations, however, that simple statement is the stumbling point. What data is required? Where is it located? How is it accessed? Can it be used in combination with other sources? Is there any contextual information? How often does it change? 

The first question, of course, is: how can data be collected? For warehouse operations still reliant upon many manual, even paper-based processes, data collection is complex and time consuming. It can require significant effort to entice any insight from systems – information which is then out of date in this fast moving environment.  Inefficiencies remain unchecked and safety risks ignored.

Extracting Value

Achieving fast, effective data capture is a priority. No-code automation software that can be configured into a range of solutions for business-critical processes can quickly improve access to information, eliminating the need for multiple inputs across numerous systems. Such software helps businesses to streamline the way they manage people, systems and information, in turn, improving the workforce’s welfare, achieving flexibility and significant cost savings. 

For example, from a safety perspective, simple, automated solutions for logging, recording and resolving incidents can both ensure Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) compliance and provide vital insight to ensure the incident is not repeated in the future; while automated safetyaudits create a structured process where information driven insights support employee safety while meeting compliance regulations. 

In addition, the deployment of sensors or wearable devices, connecting to an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform or at the edge, can very quickly deliver new business insights.  For example, data from smart controls, such as loading docks, blind intersections and door openings can be used for operational improvements, as well as ensuring employees are safe and following protocols. 

Employee Safety

With a holistic overview of operations, logistics managers gain confidence to make better decisions regarding both performance and employee well-being.  Workforces can identify areas where incidents could happen, highlighting risks before an accident occurs. In addition, information gathered from wearable devices can pick up an individual’s lifting techniques, body temperatures, heart rate or distance travelled in the workplace – providing managers with the ability to intervene in any unsafe practices in real-time.

This insight also creates a unified picture of what is happening across the factory or warehouse by highlighting patterns of behaviour that previously may have been undetectable, information that can be used within a feedback loop to drive continual improvements. For example, employees can be offered specific interactive and data-driven training – which will not only enhance employee wellbeing, but also improve employee productivity, in turn, increasing their satisfaction. 

This is crucial as, according to the Health and Safety Executive, ‘training helps people acquire the skills, knowledge and attitudes to make them competent in the health and safety aspects of their work.’ Such programmes, driven by data-insight, can ensure that individuals performing a task have the competence to do so without putting the health and safetyof others or themselves at risk.

Conclusion

Good employees are hard to find right now. For an industry experiencing a significantly higher number of safety incidents – for example forklift accidents account for approximately 85 deaths and 34,900 serious injuries each year – more must be done to both improve the operational risk environment and create tailored employee training and education. 

Furthermore, employee safety is a great place to kick off a digital transformation programme. With wearables and no-code solutions, the process is simple and creates zero disruption; and the insight is both immediate and accessible for logistics staff. Critically, it builds confidence in the value of data amongst logistics teams, accelerating their commitment to transformation and helping to create an appetite for data driven change.

Once businesses realise the benefits and can see the impact, such as better employee safety, warehouse managers will begin to question what else they can do. What else can be improved? What else can be changed for the better? And this is the foundation to driving the digital transformation.

Wellbeing in the Workplace: Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff
By:

Stress has become one of the great public health challenges of our time, but it still isn’t being taken as seriously as physical health concerns. April sees the return of Stress Awareness Month, now in its 30th year, to help increase public awareness about both the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, around 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. Whether work-related or personal, stress can place demands on both the physical and mental health of employees with symptoms influencing their behaviour, relationships with colleagues and performance.

Stress is often a leading cause of work absences and 2019 alone saw over 602,000 cases of work-related stress and anxiety in the UK. Stress affects everyone, and it’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s a human response to the stressors and strains of modern life. But what causes it and how can we spot it within the workplace?

Causes

Stress in the workplace isn’t always caused by one singular event or incident, it can often be a culmination of day-to-day stressors that build up over time into a more sustained period of stress. Some key stressors include;

  • excessive workload and/or unrealistic deadlines 
  • poor work/life balance
  • difficulties maintaining relationships with colleagues
  • lack of control over how to complete a job 
  • lack of support and information to complete tasks
  • being unclear of job role and responsibilities

It is worth noting that stress affects everyone differently, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to solving the issue. Individual factors such as skills, experience, age, disability, tolerance and personality may all have an impact on someone’s ability to deal with stressors.  

Symptoms 

Stress isn’t always easy to diagnose due to its wide-ranging impact on both physical and mental health which means it can be expressed in a variety of ways. Physically, long-term stress can increase the likelihood of heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, immunosuppression, insomnia, headaches and much more which left untreated or managed can cause complications later in life. 

Mentally, a simple sign of stress is ‘Brain Fog’ which is often described as a cloudy or muddled feeling, it is mainly characterised by confusion, forgetfulness, and a lack of focus and mental clarity. However, some key symptom indicators in the workplace could be identified by;

  • Performance at Work;
    • Declining performance
    • Unexpected errors
    • Loss of motivation or commitment
    • Memory lapses
    • Lack of interaction 
    • Arriving late / leaving early 
  • Behaviour Changes
    • Irritable/moodiness
    • Over-reactionary
    • Argumentative/temperamental
    • Noticeable mood swings 
    • Overly critical 
    • Clashes with colleagues

The Knock-On Effect

Alongside the individual effects, stress and mental ill health is responsible for 72 million working days lost every year, costing over £40bn to the economy, highlighting the importance of employers taking stock of the impact that work, demands, deadlines, support (or lack thereof), and much more has on an individual. 

To help support you and your colleagues, hero has a range of engaging and thought-provoking packages available to identify and understand stressors, and work to help prevent stress in the future:

Mental Resilience Programme

  • Webinar 30mins + Q&A (£600)
  • Digital Workshop – <90mins (£800)
  • Physical Activity Webinar – 20 mins (£150)
  • Full Package (£1,495 + VAT)

Sessions can include; Introduction to Wellbeing, Mental Health Awareness, Positive Mindset, Better Sleep, Understanding Stress, Winter Wellbeing, Brain Health, Power of the Breath, Positive Psychology, Food & Mood, Movement for Mood, Mindfulness, Managing Anxiety, Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, Post-Pandemic Resilience, Seasonal Affective Disorder

With access to hero’s award-winning whole-person health wellbeing platform, Navigator, your team will gain access to evidence-based, research-led solutions and resources. For more information please get in touch with hero.

Adopting a Culture of Movement: Supporting Employees to Keep Active and Healthy
By:

As many workplaces have gradually switched to a flexible working scheme, alternating between working in the office and at home, there is no hiding that employees may currently be struggling to receive support for their physical health and keep active. 

The NHS suggests that adults should be aiming for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity every week. In fact, prolonged inactiveness accounts for about 70,000 deaths per year in Britain alone. 

What’s more, research shows that the rate of unexpected, illness-related absenteeism is more substantial in workers who are less physically active. Small tweaks in habits can have a massive impact on people’s productivity, absence rates, and overall health. 

With some insights from Richard Holmes, Director of Wellbeing at Westfield Health, we take a look at how employers can prioritise employee wellbeing and encourage their staff members to be more active both outside and inside the workplace...

Setting up a culture of movement

Workplace culture can have a significant effect on employee wellbeing and behaviour. A manager or leader who promotes the importance of physical health will truly encourage their workers to exercise more during the day.

One way of embedding activity into the workplace culture is to include physical health support as a key feature of your wellbeing plan and strategy. Here are some policies you may want to consider:

  • Offer discounted rates for equipment and gym access
  • Schemes to encourage employees to cycle to work
  • Educational fitness classes or exercise sessions that are free of charge
  • Reserving time slots for exercise and physical activity during people’s shifts
  • Standing desks and flexible workspaces

Of course, every organisation will take a different approach based on its needs and possibilities, but always make sure to ask your employees how you can help to keep them active while at work.

Share your exercise policies with your team and invite them to take advantage of the various options. To keep track of the effectiveness of your physical activity programme, make note of people’s engagement and evaluate the long-term impact it’s having on the business.

How to encourage your employees to move more and feel empowered!

To ensure you are incorporating physical activity into the working day, it is crucial to enable your people to prioritise it. One idea could be to send out monthly wellbeing emails with resources, links to online workouts and general exercise tips.

Also, make allowances for managers to discuss physical wellbeing, as well as mental health, personal targets, and performance, during one-to-one meetings with team members. Ultimately, employees will feel empowered to make physical activity a priority if their managers are too.

As for in-office facilities, business owners can actively support their workers’ physical health by creating a designated area for exercise and activities within the workplace. Whether it’s converting a quiet corner or a compact meeting room, an active space with mats, resistance bands and dumbbells can become a huge asset to the office. In fact, it will certainly encourage and help employees enjoy some exercising at work.

If you don’t have enough space for an active space, consider offering your employees discounted memberships for popular chain gyms. This will help your team stay fit and healthy whatever their schedule.

Seven great resources to help get you started

  1. NHS physical activity guidelines – Exercise advice for people aged 19 to 64.
  • Helpful Move More at Work guidance – Feel free to download these resources as a PDF and print out some useful workplace posters. You will also find some 10-minute workplace exercise videos.
  • Health and lifestyle screenings – Confidential one-to-one health screenings for employees with an experienced coach.

Wellbeing in the Workplace: Time to start counting sheep!
By:

Sleep. It’s something we spend a third of our life doing, but why is it important for workplace wellbeing? As technology has advanced and attention spans have dwindled, combined with the 24/7 “always on” culture in today’s modern society, sleep has never before been pushed so far down the pecking order in terms of importance.

Sleep is crucial for the core functionality and efficiency of the human body and without enough of it, it can cause serious and lasting health complications. It’s important that employers realise the impact that work, demands, deadlines, support (or lack thereof), and much more has on an individual’s sleep, and that more can always be done to sufficiently support their colleagues.

Physical Complications

Put simply, a lack of sleep can have an extremely negative effect on the body. Physically, poor sleep health can also put the body at a higher risk of serious medical conditions such as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes. Not to mention that sleeping less can lead to weight gain due to reduced levels of leptin (the chemical that makes you feel full) and increased levels of ghrelin (the hunger-stimulating hormone). Poor sleep also has a detrimental effect on the immune system, putting the body at greater risk of infections, bugs and common viruses.

Mentally, a lack of sleep can cause the brain to fog, making it difficult to concentrate and make decisions, making work and completing simple tasks harder and taking longer to complete. The risk of injury and accidents at home, work and on the road also increases. It can also cause employees to feel fatigued, short tempered, and irritable. Chronic sleep debt may also lead to long-term mood disorders like clinical depression and generalised anxiety disorder in adults.

Employee Performance

Therefore, whether the workforce within your business is manual, physical or office-based, a lack of sleep can could present itself in different ways, however, it is likely to be more noticeable at work while the brain is under more strain to perform, some key indicators could be:

  • Decreased communication 
  • Performance deterioration
  • Poor concentration
  • Increased caffeine intake
  • Greater risk-taking behaviour
  • Increased number of errors
  • Poor mood and/or appropriate behaviour
  • Poor cognitive assimilation and memory
  • Increased sickness/absences 

Knock-On Effects

The health complications associated with poor sleep health can lead to a significant impact on business performance too. According to RAND Europe, 200,000 working days are lost each year due to sleep-related absences, costing the economy around £40bn each year – equivalent to 1.86% of GDP.

With access to hero’s award-winning wellbeing platform, Navigator, your team will gain access to evidence-based, research-led solutions, including advice from sleep experts and a wealth of resources, to help provide a positive impact on staff. For more information please get in touch with hero.

Wellbeing in the Workplace: How utilising tech can benefit wellbeing ways of working
By:

As we move ever closer to the two-year anniversary of the first UK coronavirus lockdown, the technology around us has found new applications, both at home and in the office, to improve the health and wellbeing of staff across the world. The world of hybrid working, remote meetings, working from home and the “always-on” culture has rapidly evolved and developed with the advancements of new and emerging technology.

Don’t forget the remote! 

With more people than ever working at home, it’s crucial for businesses and employers to ensure there is the technology in place to allow teams to collaborate with employees who are remote and on-site. Recreating the experience of in-person participation for remote employees can significantly reduce the likelihood of loneliness, depression, and anxiety and ensure that remote workers feel valued and included.

Not only that, but the introduction of tools such as Miro (the virtual collaborative whiteboard tool) or Google Workspace can further support remote involvement and engagement with colleagues, providing wellbeing benefits through socialisation, as well as a sense of purpose and direction within their work, keeping staff engaged and morale high.

Managing staff concerns in 2022

With two-thirds of people concerned about returning to the office, a common problem for employers is trying to entice those members of staff back, with health, safety and wellbeing at work remaining high on the agenda.

As employers, it’s imperative to now consider both the physical and psychological needs of staff when returning to work. According to Gensler, the global architecture and design firm, “People need to feel healthy and safe. It’s not enough to have a space that’s built to be safe. We actually need to make the healthiness of our spaces visible.”

But how do we do that? By investing in technologies that keep people safe in the workplace, helping to reduce levels of anxiety and stress within the workforce. Examples to consider can include space management tools to track workplace density and create socially-distanced floor plans, or even introducing touchless technology, such as touchless entry, access control, temperature screenings, to integrate employee wellbeing into the fabric of the shared workspace.

The Future of Wellbeing Tech

It won’t end there. The future of workplace technology knows no bounds. Some expert opinions of the future could see desks and meeting rooms offering real-time feedback on health and wellness if you’ve been working for too long without a break. ​​Smart glass technology could allow staff to tint glass to control glare and optimise daylight, reducing eye strain and headaches. The exposure to more natural light will also decrease drowsiness and boost happiness in the workplace.

Wellbeing of staff is crucial to the recovery of the workplace post-Covid and the expert team at hero can help provide you with tools, support and best practice needed to implement the very best health and wellbeing provision that contributes to improving all four pillars of health – mental, social, financial and physical health. 

With access to hero’s award-winning wellbeing platform, Navigator, your team will gain access to evidence-based,  research-led solutions to not only plan an effective wellbeing strategy, but to execute and implement it efficiently. For more information please get in touch with hero.

The difference between life and death
By:

Every year in the UK, over 30,000 people suffer from a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) out-of-hospital. Where the Emergency Services attempt to resuscitate, less than 10% will survive.[1]

Many Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) victims can be saved if they receive immediate treatment before the Emergency Services arrive, including Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation which shocks the heart to resume a normal rhythm. 

If defibrillation is delivered within three to five minutes of collapse, survival rates can be as high as 50-70%.[2]

As the Emergency Services average response time is seven minutes, having a defibrillator in your workplace could improve the chances of survival. Are you putting your workers at risk by not having one?

Many factors in the workplace can delay resuscitation, such as:

  • Remote locations that are likely to be subject to longer Emergency Service response times
  • Urban or multi-story locations where Emergency Responders find it difficult to reach 
  • Businesses with spread out facilities that could provide hazardous if first aid equipment is located in distant buildings 

Having a defibrillator in the workplace could make the difference between life and death.

Click here to find out more.

[1] https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-public-affairs/transforming-healthcare/out-of-hospital-cardiac-arrests 

[2] https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/cardiac-arrest-out-of-hospital-care/background-information/prognosis/

What does Health and Safety look like in a digital world?
By:

By Bcarm

“Tech is the new muscle” is a common turn of phrase often used to discuss what lessons we can take from covid and certainly digitisation is a way to upgrade your health and safety organisation.

As a Health and Safety professional, any risk management system, unless in the simplest, lowest risk organisation is complicated.

  • There are many activities
  • These may involve many people
  • It has to operate in a dynamic environment
  • There needs to be a robust audit trail
  • There may be conflicting pressures in the business.

Anything that creates difficulty in the process creates operational and engagement barriers that can undermine the management of risk in the business.

Anything that makes the process easier, more convenient, with less operational friction will see better levels of risk management and this is where a digital health and safety management system can deliver both cost benefits and improved engagement by the business.

Digitisation can make a difference as the “muscle” that enables people. In our recent webinar “Risk Assessment in a Digital World”, 70% of attendees said it would “significantly enhance” their process.

In helping clients make the necessary transitions to leverage the benefit of “digital”, we are helping them tackle a wide range of issues from document migration, training and also process evolution and we’re keen to learn more to help take the unknown out of the process.

Take part in our 4-question survey – and you could receive Health and Safety training for up to 250 employees*

We’re undertaking an industry-wide survey for Health and Safety professionals to help us better understand their concerns and priorities of managing H&S in a digital world.

All Health and Safety professionals taking part in the survey will be entered into a free prize draw to win a year’s licence to our E-Learning package for up to 250 employees!* 

For more info and to take part in the survey click here: https://survey.hsforms.com/1aDusl0ovS_euxzDSvzHK2w2u2zn

*See T&Cs in link

The long and short of it: The effects of long Covid in the workplace
By:

If health and safety professionals were in any doubt about it, it’s clear that the long-term effects of COVID-19 will be felt and discussed for many years to come, with many employees still feeling the daily effects, due to what is known as “Long Covid.”

A recent Office of National Statistics study indicates that over one-fifth of those diagnosed with COVID-19 are still suffering the ‘long’ symptoms for the following five weeks, while one-in-ten presented symptoms that lasted for three months or longer.

But what is ‘long COVID?

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) identifies Long COVID as lasting for a duration longer than 12 weeks. The Guardian recently estimated that 376,000 people in the UK have been suffering from Long Covid for more than a year, with older patients, women, those with underlying health conditions and those in their 40-50s most likely affected. Symptoms can include:

  • Fatigue, or extreme tiredness
  • Breathlessness and difficulty in breathing
  • Racing pulse
  • Joint and muscle pain
  • Loss of taste or smell
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Prolonged fever
  • Dizziness
  • “Brain fog” – not being able to concentrate or think clearly

Managing employees with Long Covid

While most natural reactions would be to isolate and encourage Long COVID sufferers to work from home, it is not infectious. The reintroduction of these employees to a stable workplace may in fact aid some of the mental issues caused by Long COVID, including depression and loneliness.

In certain circumstances, a healthcare package or offering for staff is key. Private healthcare options can provide employees with access to healthcare, both physically and mentally to help manage their symptoms. Provision will also give staff a higher level of satisfaction, even if only they appreciate the feeling of being able to access help voluntarily.

The camaraderie and support through the initial months of the pandemic was crucial, and employers should continue to foster this spirit adequately in order to support staff and colleagues affected by changes to their working patterns. 

Wellbeing is an important part of the Long COVID journey. It impacts all pillars of health from mental, social, physical and financial. The expert team at hero can help you to create a COVID recovery package that will help and support you and your teams effectively manage this area. For more information please get in touch with hero.

Impact safety with full colour precision signs
By:

Discover BradyJet J4000 Colour Label Printer

Create a safer, more efficient workplace with compliant, photo-quality full-colour labels, signs and procedures that last. Balance the complexity of safety and compliance labels with the demands of an industrial environment while reducing your safety signage inventory and material waste. Discover BradyJet J4000 Colour Label Printer!

Features & Benefits:

  • Create compliant labels and signs: Trust your regulatory labelling offers the colours needed for ISO, CLP/GHS, ANSI, BS5609 and arc flash
  • Extend label performance: Rely on specially formulated materials and ink designed to stand up to harsh environments
  • Maximise impact, improve efficiency and reduce waste: Stock and print only what you need, when you need it, in photo-quality full-colour every time

Watch the printer in action & book the demo >>

Best practices for a leaner and safer workplace

Visual Workplace is a lean concept that’s all about putting important information right where employees need to see it. This concept plays a critical role in some of the most popular lean tools, including 5S. That’s because it creates a sustaining base for lean improvements to remain clearly visible, readily understood and consistently adhered to.

Download the free 5S Plus Guide >>