As hurricane season approaches, the Department of Homeland Security’s Ready Campaign and The Advertising Council are reaching out to small businesses and encouraging them to “define their day after” by putting emergency preparedness at the top of their to-do list. A series of national public service advertisements entitled “Procrastination” were released nationwide last week for radio, print, Internet, and outdoor media. Tapping into the natural tendency for individuals to put off making plans for another day, the PSAs focus on what can happen when business owners choose to place making an emergency plan at the bottom of their to-do list.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, small businesses employ more than half of all Americans. However, Institute for Business and Home Safety research shows that, at the minimum, one in four businesses never reopen following a disaster. “Research conducted by the Ad Council found that more than 85 percent of small businesses understand that emergency preparedness is important, yet only four in ten businesses have a plan to protect their businesses,” said DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff. “The ability of these businesses to survive and recover quickly from both natural and man-made disasters directly benefits employees, customers, the community, and the local, and even national, economy.”

The “Procrastination” PSAs were created by Neiman Group and mark the third round of national PSAs created for Ready Business, a component of the Ready Campaign. Ready Business is designed to help owners and managers of small- to medium-size businesses prepare their employees, operations, and assets in the event of an emergency by providing practical steps and easy-to-use templates. To date, the Ready Business effort has received more than $91.1 million in donated media support; its Web site has received more than 29.7 million hits and more than 2.6 million unique visitors; and more than 2.3 million Ready Business materials have been requested or downloaded from the Web site. For more information on SBA’s disaster program and preparedness tips, and links to the public service announcements and the Nationwide disaster guide, visit www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/disasterpreparedness/index.html.

OSHA has a Small Business Handbook available to employers.  This booklet is not intended to be a legal interpretation of the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 or to place any additional requirements on employers or employees.  The book along with OSHA’s FREE On-Site Consultation Service can assist small businesses in compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program, funded largely by the agency, is a service provided to employers at no cost. Through this program, employers can find out about potential hazards at their worksites, improve their occupational safety and health management systems and even qualify for a 1-year exemption from routine OSHA inspections.  The On-site Consultation Program can help small bussinesses achieve Sharp StatusHow You Can Participate In SHARP
To participate in SHARP, you must: 

• Request a consultation visit that involves a complete hazard identification survey;
• Involve employees in the consultation process;
• Correct all hazards identified by the consultant;
• Implement and maintain a safety and health management system that, at a minimum, addresses OSHA’s 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines;
• Lower your company’s Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rate and Total Recordable Case (TRC) rate below the national average; and
• Agree to notify your state Consultation Project Office prior to making any changes in the working conditions or introducing new hazards into the workplace.

The important fact to remember is, consultation services are totally separate from enforcement and do not result in penalties or citations.  Your only obligation will be to commit yourself to correcting serious job safety and health hazards — a commitment which you are expected to make prior to the actual visit and carry out in a timely manner. 

THIS time of year, it’s often dark by the time we leave our offices. This, together with the upcoming bustle and busyness of the holiday season, makes it a great time to review the security practices at your workplace.

Security company Protection One suggests these tips for keeping your office, employees and inventory secure during this season and year round:

• Make well-lit, access-controlled parking available, and suggest a “buddy” system within the parking area.
• If possible, make security escorts available to and from employee parking.
• Register all guests and accompany them during their visits.
• Never leave your reception area unattended.
• Do not allow entry doors to be propped open if no one is present or nearby.
• Don’t allow unknown service personnel free access to your office space.
• Report broken doors, windows and locks to building security personnel.
• Monitor and report suspicious activity in or near your facility.
• Consider an integrated, monitored security and fire system as well as a remote/IP video system, which allows easy access to facility cameras via the Internet.
• Install an electronic access system, and closely inventory all photo badges, ID cards, etc.
• If you already have a security system, request regular system inspections and evaluations.
• Do not open suspicious packages: Report them to local authorities.
• Employ updated computer security software for your entire network.
• Back up and store sensitive and critical information and databases.
• Shred or destroy old documents containing sensitive business information.
• Keep an inventory of your most critical equipment, hardware and software.
• Develop fire and emergency plans and regularly practice drills.
• Keep facilities well-lit, inside and out, even during non-business hours.
• Form a safety team to help keep safety and security issues a focus.
• Encourage employees to secure valuables, including documents that might contain personal information, in their work areas at all times and especially during company gatherings or breaks.

If you own a small business (up to 500 employees) and think safety is not important you should read Collen DiBaise’s article How to Protect Employees From Injury for Small Business.  DiBaise points out that OSHA does marshal its small-business information into one central place. Its eTools section provides downloadable files with useful information on protecting your workplace from specific threats, such as anthrax, lead and even Legionnaires’ disease. The NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business), which has an alliance with OSHA, further attempts to whittle down the volumes of information, providing a page with its vote for best OSHA links.
Another place to turn is OSHA itself. The agency provides safety and health training at education centers across the country; to find a site near you click here. You can also request a free consultation at your workplace with an OSHA-trained professional through the agency’s Consultation Program. The service is free, but you need to commit to correcting any serious job safety and health hazards that are found. And finally, to read about how other small businesses are keeping their workplaces safe, read about OSHA’s “Small Business Successes.” Examples include a Vermont coffee roaster that installed special lifting devices to reduce back injuries and a family-owned microbrewery that informs employees about safety procedures at paid-for, after-hours meetings with catered meals.

Safety does matter.  Remember for an injury that cost a company (OSHA average) $25,000, a company needs to sell about and additional $833,000 (at 3% profit margin) to equal that cost.