5 Key Fire Safety Measures for Small Businesses

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article | 5 Key Fire Safety Measures for Small BusinessesIf you’re a fledgling business owner or are in the early stages of setting up premises for a new venture, one aspect you are likely not thinking about a lot is fire safety. Starting a new business requires a hefty amount of thought and planning, but most of that will be focused on acquiring customers, financial planning, marketing strategies, overheads, and so on.

Once you’re up and running, ensuring that the bricks and mortar of your small business are physically and financially protected from fire is essential. Below are five safety measures to implement as a small business.

Identify Fire Hazards

The importance of a fire risk assessment cannot be underestimated. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), there are roughly 37,000 fires on manufacturing and industrial properties every year in the US, resulting in nearly $1 billion in damages. The first place to start when conducting a risk assessment is to evaluate any fire hazards around the facility, such as electrical hazards or combustible and flammable materials. It is also a good idea to review all areas of the office and consider how fires may start because of surrounding materials.

Identify People at Risk

Once you’ve identified potentially hazardous areas or materials, you will also need to evaluate any people who are more at risk during a fire. For example, do you employ anyone who may be visually or physically impaired? Or do you have people whose roles put them at additional risk to fire than others? Identifying these people means you’re able to put secure plans in place should a fire strike.

Invest in Fire Protection Services and Products

It goes without saying that installing the necessary fire protection products around the office is a necessity. Items such as fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, alarms, emergency lighting, and the like will all need to be evaluated and installed. If you are unsure about how to go about this, try consulting experts at a fire protection services company like APFE.

Plan and Practice a Fire Exit Strategy

Every business or office should have a sound fire exit strategy and this should be practiced regularly. All employees need to be aware of the main exit points and what is expected in the event of an alarm. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) require all companies to have evacuation maps and visual communication so that staff can quickly refer to guidance if needed. Facilities are also required to have two exit points and paths that are clearly identified.

Train Staff in Fire Awareness and Safety

Creating a fire safety plan for your business is not enough. You will need to train your employees so that they clearly understand the risks of a fire, how they can prevent fires, and what they need to do during an emergency. As fire safety training is a legal requirement, there are various fire safety eLearning modules that your staff can complete online at any time.

The risk of fires is a very real and serious matter to consider when setting up and running a business. To ensure that you and your staff are safe, refer to the above tips and take the necessary precautions. Otherwise, the danger to life and financial consequences for your business could be huge.

Creating a Personal Protective Equipment Strategy for Your Business

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Personal Protective Equipment|Creating a Personal Protective Equipment Strategy for Your BusinessEvery business should have a personal protective equipment strategy in place whether staff sit at a computer or handle toxic chemicals. In light of recent events, this strategy is ever-more important, and there will be a range of extra things to consider protecting your workforce.

Adapting and updating your PPE and broader health and safety processes can be challenging, depending on your industry. However, there are some key considerations that every strategy should have, and these are detailed below:

Carry out a risk assessment

Before you start to plan the strategy for your business, a risk assessment needs to be conducted. This assessment will look at every aspect of the company operations and identify hazards to the workforce. This initial look into the areas that require PPE will examine how people require safety equipment and how much you need to carry out everyday tasks safely. The added requirements for the recent pandemic also mean that extra elements need to be considered, such as face coverings and screening.

Adequate training

A crucial part of the PPE strategy is training. Your company may have all the right equipment, but if people do not know how to use it, it is counterproductive. Everyone needs adequate training on what they use and how to use it. It is also crucial to impart knowledge of your employees on how to identify risk and carefully equip themselves to avoid danger in the workplace.

Using the correct equipment

There are several suppliers of personal protective equipment. However, it is essential to choose the appropriate equipment for the job. Employees must have a safe and well-fitted kit to ensure they are safe at all times. Suppliers such as medical-supermarket.com have a wide selection of equipment to assist across all departments, including overalls and gowns, to face and hair covers. For the recent risks due to COVID-19, there are also thermometers, sanitizing gel and cleaners to reduce the risk for all staff.

External risks

Businesses come into contact with external risks every day, so this needs to be a part of your overall strategy. A significant part of this area will involve identifying potential risks that could come in from deliveries, outside contractors, or if your staff work off-site.

Responsibilities as an employer

Business owners have a responsibility to ensure their workforce is safe to conduct their daily duties. This aspect needs to be incorporated into the strategy, as it will detail these areas and how to ensure you comply with regulations. It is also an area that needs to be kept up to date as changes frequently occur in the health and safety arena. You should also have a plan in place in regard to changes in government policy and ensure that a health and safety officer is available to answer questions and manage the responsibilities.

Regular reviews

After you’ve completed your PPE strategy, regular reviews need to take place to ensure you are equipped for changes that could happen quickly and without warning.

Corporate Coup: Protecting Your Business From The People Within

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Protecting Your Business|Corporate Coup: Protecting Your Business From The People WithinIt’s hard to imagine your employees doing something that could hurt your business. These people benefit from your relationship with them, and they will usually work as hard as they can to make sure that the company is moving forwards. Of course, though, it isn’t always easy to guarantee that your team has the right things at heart, and malice doesn’t have to be at the root of the damage they can cause. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring the damage your employees could do to your company, along with some of the tools that you can use to make sure that you can avoid it all.

Damaged Reputation

When a customer interacts with the people working for your business, they will often see it as though they are talking to the company directly. Anything they hear will be taken as fact, and it can be all too easy for your employees to make mistakes that reflect badly on your company. Of course, in most cases, you can view this sort of issue as your fault, as you should be giving your team members the right kind of training to deal with the customers they speak to. There are loads of companies out there that offer customer service training, making it nice and easy to handle this without spending loads of time on it.

Being Taken To Court

Being taken to court by an employee can happen for a number of reasons. They may have been treated unfairly, they could have been injured at work, or you could have broken their contract, and each of these issues can end up costing a small fortune. You need to base the action you take at this stage on the type of company you have. For example, if you have a property development firm, you should contact a construction accident attorney to figure out how to protect yourself from being taken to court if someone hurts themselves.

Whistleblowing

It’s quite common for businesses to break the law, and this sort of activity can easily go unnoticed. Of course, though, whistleblowing has become more and more common in recent years, with a lot of people feeling that they have a responsibility to speak out if they see the law being broken. Your team can whistleblow to your local authorities, and this could leave you dealing with expensive lawsuits to deal with. The best way to avoid this is by simply obeying the law. Alongside this, you could also ask your employees to come to you if they ever notice that you’re doing something wrong, giving you the chance to solve the problem before any legal body has to get involved.

It’s strange to think that your employees could damage your business. Thankfully, most of these issues are quite rare, with many businesses going for decades without having to face them. Of course, though, it helps to be prepared, and you can only get yourself ready for the things you can predict.

Is Your Business A Target For Criminals?

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To answer the question of the title simply, it should be stated that: yes, businesses are more at risk of being targeted by criminals than private citizens and public sector entities. This is simply because it’s assumed there is more of value to take from a business. As such, we’re going to look at the major criminal risks facing your business and how to make sure that you’re protected.

Theft

If you have any physical assets of worth, be they retail goods, business equipment, or digital hardware, then there is a real risk of theft. Investing in the physical protection that you need is crucial. Smart CCTV systems linked up to digital alarm systems can help you spot and act on signs of theft as early as possible. Ensure that you’re protecting against internal loss caused by theft from employees, as well. Use an inventory management system to ensure you track every asset and know where it is located at all times and who has access to it. For higher value assets, consider using GPS trackers so that, even if stolen, you can track them down and get them returned in more cases.

Fraud

For businesses that conduct any kind of high-value transactions, there is always the risk of fraud. Thankfully, there are a lot of ways to protect yourself from it, as well. Ensure you safeguard access to any financial accounts, by making sure that they require multiple layers of authentication to access and by doing employee background checks to make sure you’re not being targeted by career criminals. Investigation software can help you make better use of the reams of data that modern businesses tend to have to deal with, making it easier to find the facts behind a case of fraud. Lastly, make sure that you invest in fraud protection insurance so that any costs you do accrue can at least be recouped.

Cybercrime

More and more businesses are relying on increasing levels of digital technology, meaning that we tend to store more valuable data on digital systems and also need them to carry out core business functions. As such, preventing hacking attempts is crucial. Make sure you work with a digital security expert to find and close vulnerabilities in all your hardware, software, and networks. Teach your employees the importance of good cybersecurity practices such as password security and never leaving their terminals open and accessible to anyone who might find it. One of the latest threats, ransomware, also shows the importance of investing in enterprise-strength anti-malware software. There is a digital threat race ongoing, and you need to be continually improving your defenses to make sure you don’t get left behind.

Assume that your business is at risk of being targeted by criminals, then figure out what those risks are and make sure that you’re doing what you can to protect against them. Whether it’s theft, cybercrime, fraud, or otherwise, you can’t let your business stay vulnerable. Complete your risk assessment and find what kind of protections you must invest in.

How To File A Lawsuit In A Business Disagreement

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article | How To File A Lawsuit In A Business DisagreementAre you having a business disagreement with another business or individual? Have you tried everything you can to resolve the issue, but without any success? If so, the next option may be to file a civil lawsuit.

This may seem like an extreme option, but in reality, civil lawsuits are fairly common. In fact, over 40 million civil lawsuits are filed every year in the USA, and there are over a million lawyers to help deal with the lawsuit process.

So if you need to file a lawsuit, you’re not alone – but it is important to make sure you know what you’re doing before you get started.

Here’s everything you need to know about filing a lawsuit in a business disagreement.

Who Is The Defendant?

Is the defendant a business, an individual, or both? It is important to know who you are filing a civil lawsuit against before you do it, as it can help to determine the amount you could win. It can also help you to decide if it is worth it; generally, it is much easier to file a lawsuit against an individual, but if you have a strong case and a good attorney, you can certainly win against a business.

What Do You Expect To Get From The Proceedings?

Filing a civil lawsuit comes with legal fees and court costs. If these costs are more expensive than the amount you hope to win, it may not be worth pursuing the case – but if you could stand to win big, you may wish to continue. So take some time to think about how much the individual/business cost you, and then compare this cost to the court fees.

Is The Defendant Harming Your Business?

If they are harming your business, you will need solid proof, such as an expert witness or video footage of the harm they cause. Without this proof, it will be difficult to win in court, so take some time to gather up evidence and witnesses before filing a claim.

What You Need To Do: Hire An Attorney

The first thing you should do is speak to an attorney about your case. They will be able to review your case and decide if you should proceed, and they can also represent you in court. We suggest finding an attorney who has experience in the specific area you are dealing with (such as employment law or contract law).

Contact The Correct Jurisdiction

Once you have weighed up your options and gathered evidence, you can contact the right jurisdiction. This often depends on where the event took place, and it can also depend on the type of case. For instance, you may need to speak to a small claims jurisdiction or exclusive jurisdiction. You can find out more about these options by contacting your local court for more information.

Write A Demand Letter

Once you have contacted jurisdiction, you can write a demand letter. This letter will explain your case and how you want to be reimbursed, and this will be reviewed by both the defendant and the court. Once the letter is written, you can fill in court forms and register the claim (which normally costs money).

Set A Date With Court

Next, the defendant will be served with the demand letter and a date to appear in court, and then they have some time to decide how they want to proceed. For instance, they may want to build a defense, but they may also decide to settle out of court.