Improving Health and Safety Within Your Business Environment

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Health and safety|Improving Health and Safety Within Your Business EnvironmentWhen running a business, it is crucial to ensure everything and everyone is as safe as possible. If health and safety within your business are not a high priority, then it is time to change this. When you actively improve and maintain health and safety within your business environment, you create a much nicer place to work for all employees. You create a warm and welcoming environment that helps contribute to the productivity of your employees.

Being Proactive about Safety and Health

You can always make improvements to the health and safety protocols applied within your business. Seeing where you can make improvements and taking a fresh look at your business regularly will help ensure you are as proactive as possible. Keeping up to date with your industry’s health and safety guidelines and guidance is also a proactive move you should make. When you are proactive, you maintain a focused approach and ensure standards never slip. If standards get the opportunity to drop, you will start to encounter bigger issues and costly problems.

Talking to Employees – Finding Out Their Concerns

As well as being proactive, you also need to prioritize talking to (and communicating with) your employees. Those who work every day within the business environment will know where health and safety dangers exist. This may be in an area you had not considered before, or their knowledge may help you make improvements you wouldn’t have entertained before. Valuing your employees, taking time to listen to them, and then acting on their feedback will help you maintain a healthier and safer working environment for all.


Providing the Right Clothing and Equipment

When talking to employees, you may well have found out that not enough safety equipment is being provided. From wide fitting safety trainers to safety goggles and hi-vis jackets, it is your responsibility to provide the right equipment for staff and employees. When all staff and employees wear the correct clothing and equipment, their exposure to risk is instantly limited and halted.

Monitoring Business Operations and Premises

To make improvements, you will need to understand where you are going wrong in the first place. For this to happen, you must regularly monitor your business operations and processes. Through monitoring, you will find out where improvements are needed and why. Taking a bird’s eye view will allow you to get a good idea of what is working well and what needs improvement. Through monitoring, you may find that employees are not wearing safety equipment when they should be. Or, they may not be following the safety protocols you have put into place.

Focus on Training and Preparation

You will find that one of the best improvements you can make is to start investing in your staff or employees. Providing regular training and preparation for everyday protocols, as well as emergency situations is going to help you guarantee that health and safety risks are kept to the bare minimum.

By being proactive about health and safety measures in your business, you are carrying out your duty as an employer.

The Hazards Every Workplace Has To Be Mindful Of

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Workplace Hazards|The Hazards Every Workplace Has To Be Mindful OfThere’s no responsibility more important to an employer than their responsibility to the health and safety of their business. A crucial part of ensuring that safety is being mindful and aware of the potential hazards in the workplace that can affect here. Here, we’re going to review some of those hazards and why it’s essential to audit the workplace for any you might otherwise miss.

Can you prevent falls?

Statistically, the most frequent type of injury across all workplaces is the fact that people can slip, trip, and fall, in a wide manner of ways. Take a look at some of the methods of preventing trip and slip hazards in your workplace, such as hiring a professional cleaner to ensure the best standards of floor cleanliness, preventing items from being stored on frequently trafficked walkways, and improving visibility in dark areas.

The risk of fire

Most workplaces have a number of connections to electrical supplies, as well as electrical appliances, combustible materials, and the like. Where any of these exist, there is always the risk for fire. Performing a complete fire risk assessment in your workplace can help you find and mitigate these risks, as well as ensure that you have the right equipment installed to deal with fires that break out. You may also need to ensure that you have a fire escape route at the ready at any moment.


Don’t be shocked by electrical hazards

Many of the causes of fire hazards, as mentioned above, can also be dangerous when it comes to the electrics. Ensuring the right electrical protections in your wiring, such as an IP rated junction box wherever two connections meet is crucial. Training employees to be careful around any manner of electrical feature or appliance is essential, too, such as making sure they don’t transport or carry liquids around them.

Be mindful of any chemicals

Not all workplaces are going to feature ready access to chemicals but those that do should make sure that they are always handled to the utmost standards of safety. Most industrial chemicals can be majorly harmful when people are exposed to them. To that end, you should make sure that your workplace invests in safe chemical storage, transport, and cleanup tools so that your team is ready and able to handle them in any situation.

Work well with your equipment

In warehouses, construction sites, manufacturing floors and more, it’s the machinery and vehicles that your team works with that can potentially be the most dangerous. Preventing machinery injuries requires a multi-pronged strategy. Training in the correct use of the equipment is vital, as is making sure that you have all of the personal protective equipment that you need and, most importantly, that it’s used when necessary. Of course, you should invest in the routine maintenance of each machine, as well.
The above list of potential hazards in the workplace is far from comprehensive. As mentioned, you should carry out a thorough safety audit of the workplace to ensure that you miss nothing that could pose a danger if left alone.

How Secure Is VoIP Compared to Landline Phone?

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article | How Secure Is VoIP Compared to Landline Phone?When it comes to communication over long distances, there is no such thing as a system that is hacker-proof. Almost every form is at some risk of being hacked into or compromised. However, because more and more people are turning to VoIP systems, it has become much easier to install specific security features that can improve the experience. So is a VoIP actually more secure than a landline phone?

Are Landlines More Secure Than VoIPs?

Landlines alone are considered to be the most secure form of communication, although no one really uses them anymore. There is the ability to wiretap a landline, but the same thing can be performed on a VoIP line too. Hackers are also less likely to eavesdrop on a landline because there’s not as much information to acquire.

With a VoIP system or sip trunk, however, there is a lot more security features that are being developed and installed to combat hackers. The main reason is that once a VoIP line is hacked, there is a lot more information that a hacker could obtain.

Why Are VoIPs Easier To Hack?

Landline phones connect to each other through circuit switching. The sound from one phone is transmitted to the other once a circuit is created. Then, once the call has ended, there is no longer the transmission of any data.

With a VoIP, information is being transmitted over broadband Internet. The information is broken down into packets and bundles, transmitted to the other side, and then reassembled like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The moment that any of these packets are intercepted by hackers, then the information is lost.

Are Any VoIPs Secure?

There are some systems that are closed in nature that only connect one party to another with end-to-end encryption. However some of these systems can still be hacked in order to intercept the data before it has been encrypted. Even with this knowledge, however, it is not impossible to make secure calls with VoIP.


Encrypt Everything

It isn’t difficult to have a system that uses as much encryption as possible to keep information safe, especially if sensitive information is being shared between end-to-end users. Passwords should be strong and not shared with other people, and shouldn’t be a common word that would make it easy for people to guess.

Testing The Network

The network should be tested on a regular basis to ensure that there are no holes in the security and, if there are, that they are repaired as quickly as possible. Penetration testing serves the purpose of seeing how vulnerable the network really is.

Enabling Network Address Translation

Also called NAT, it is a feature on routers that provides a private IP address to phones, computers, and other Internet devices. By having a private IP, the network cannot be identified by a hacker and it cannot then be manipulated.

Despite the fact that there’s no such thing as an absolutely perfect VoIP system, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t security measures in place to make it as difficult as possible for hackers to get in. If you’re interested in having a VoIP system working for you, then contact your nearest provider immediately.

Is There A Grace Period For Car Insurance When Buying A Used Car?

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article|Car Insurance|Is There A Grace Period For Car Insurance When Buying A Used Car?Car insurance policies are necessary to have if you want to legally drive a car. Every state has its law on car insurance policies. Some states require you to only have liability insurance to drive a car. Some states require you to get a personal injury protection plan as well, while some require you to get uninsured motorist coverage as well.

When it comes to new cars that you buy from dealerships, you cannot skip the mandatory auto insurance policies in this case. You’ll have to show the dealership proof of insurance (that you own liability insurance, personal injury protection, etc) to get the keys to the car.

But what about used cars? Cars that you buy from private sellers who are not at all enthusiastic about checking your auto insurance policies? Do you need auto insurance policies in that case? Is there a grace period for car insurance when buying a used car? We’ll describe in detail everything you need to know about it, along with ways you can save money on auto insurance policies.

Car Insurance for Used Cars

While new cars when bought directly from dealerships require you to have all the necessary auto insurance policies before they let you take the car. Driving any vehicle without the proper insurance is illegal and will get you both legal and financial issues.

The same goes for used cars. No matter how you buy the car, either from the dealership or from a private seller, you’ll need to have all the mandatory auto insurance policies to drive the car. The only difference when buying a used car is that you do not need any proof of insurance.

Is there a Grace Period for a Used Car’s Auto Insurance?

There are two cases to consider when someone buys a used car. The first is when the used car is the first and only car the person owns. The second case is when the person already has a car and buys a second, used car. Let’s see what is to be done in both cases.

If the used car is going to be the first car, then make sure you buy all the important car insurance policies before you get the car. While you can get and drive the car without the policies, if you get in a car accident, you might face legal action, as well as pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for the cost of the accident.

There is no difference in the requirement and process of getting car insurance between used cars and new cars. There might be some differences in the cost of the policies, but the other process remains the same.

There is no grace period for insurance for buying your first car, be it a new car or a used one. But that’s not the case for buying a second, used car when you already have an auto insurance policy.

When you already have auto insurance and you buy a used car, you’ll have to add the car to your auto insurance policy. This is where grace periods come in. Depending on the state you live in and your car insurance company, the grace period could be anywhere between 7 days to a month.


No matter how many days your car insurance provider allows you to have before registering the car to the policy, it is never safe to drive a car without liability insurance, collision insurance, and other important auto insurance policies.

So the first thing you should do after getting the keys to your used car is add it to your car insurance policy. You’ll need to submit some information about the car and its usage to the car insurance company. This includes:

  • Price of the car
  • Vehicle Identification Number
  • Make and model of the car
  • Safety features such as ABS, ESP, etc
  • Mileage of the car

Price Hike

Depending on the car insurance company, the type and model of the used car, and the state you live in, the price hike after adding the used car to your policy can vary. Adding another car to your policy will increase the rates, no matter what.

Looking at the average, you can expect the price hike to be somewhere around $1,000 to $1,500 per annum. This means that you’ll need to pay an extra $100 for the added car. If you want to save money while getting the security of auto insurance policies, there are some ways you can reduce this damage to your wallet.

Firstly, make sure you choose the right car insurance company. Based on the state you live in, find the most affordable and best-rated auto insurance provider. For example, if you live in Nevada, look for the best Nevada car insurance company that has great coverage options.

Another great option that must be considered is pay-per-mile or usage-based auto insurance policies. These car insurance policies are great for secondary cars that are not driven too much. If you intend to use the second car only occasionally, then get a usage-based car insurance policy.

In usage-based car insurance, which includes all the mandatory insurance policies such as liability coverage, personal injury protection plan, etc, your premium rates are calculated based on how many miles you drive your car.

A base rate is first calculated by factoring in your driving record, age, gender, make and model of the car, etc. This base rate is then multiplied by your monthly mileage and you get your premium rates.

As you can guess, usage-based insurance is great only if your monthly mileage is low. If you drive a lot, usage-based insurance can be very expensive, more expensive than general car insurance policies. So first calculate the estimated monthly mileage of your before you buy this policy.

That was all about the grace period given by the car insurance company for adding used cars. Contact your insurer to find out their grace period. Even though you have a grace period, we recommend adding your car to the policy as soon as possible.

How To Protect Your Brand And Assets

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Protect your brand|How To Protect Your Brand And AssetsCompanies face a variety of risks: legal, financial, intellectual and asset-related. When these risks combine, they can put brands in jeopardy.

Fortunately, there are numerous ways to manage risks and secure your business for the long term. Here’s what you need to do.

Create Agreements With Employees

Writing employee agreements is essential for preventing damage to your business from the inside. Staff who must abide by contracts are far less likely to harm your enterprise.

There are several reasons for this. First, contractual agreements prevent employees from using your firm’s private records for their own gain. Either, they cannot access your files, or they cannot use them for personal benefit without facing legal consequences.

Second, contractual agreements prevent staff from sharing secret formulas or recipes or using them themselves.

And, lastly, and perhaps most importantly, agreements stop staff from stealing your intellectual property. They can’t, for instance, take your ideas and then set up their own business doing the same thing, stealing customers from you in the process.

Build Relationships With Facilities Security Partners

Brands also need to consider physical premises security. In today’s environment, it is essential for every firm to consider its security arrangements on its premises, including companies that don’t hold stock on-site.

Facilities security partners can provide a suite of services to protect your property and keep it safe. These include CCTV monitoring, RFID sensor installation, and perimeter fencing. You may also want to work with a graffiti removal company if you operate in an area prone to vandalism. Partners can ensure that your property remains attractive at all times while deterring criminals from causing damage.


Incorporate

Incorporating your business is another great way to protect your personal assets. You don’t want to put your car, home or savings on the line when you start a business. Forming an LLC or similar provides you with tremendous protection and lets you keep your business separate.

Secure Your Data

Firms that fail to secure their data are asking for trouble. Today, hackers perform millions of hacking attempts every hour against businesses, looking for weaknesses in their defences. If there are any issues with your IT security, they will find it and take advantage of it.

There are several things you need to do to secure your data and network. These include:

  • Backing up all your raw data and files at a third-party location
  • Hiring managed IT services to take care of your security requirements, including updates and monitoring
  • Training your employees on how to spot the signs of phishing and other attempts to steal your private data

Apply For Trademarks And Patents

Lastly, applying for trademarks and patents is one of the best ways to protect your business and secure it for the long term.

But what does that mean, precisely? Essentially, it means working with various government departments to protect both your name and idea. Trademarks, for instance, mean that nobody else can use your name. Patents, on the other hand, mean that people can’t steal your ideas and then pass them off as their own products.