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John McMalcolm

John McMalcolm is a freelance writer who writes on a wide range of subjects, from social media marketing to running a small business.

John McMalcolm has written 28 articles for SB Informer.
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Is Your Office Building a Potential Liability?

John McMalcolm

February 24, 2015


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Accidents can occur in your small business premises anytime, and they cannot be completely prevented.

While some of them result from unawareness, carelessness or bad luck, others may be caused by negligent building design, construction or maintenance.

Accidents that lead to severe injuries or death can really hurt your business, and therefore, you have to take effective measures to reduce accident risks in your business premises.

Here is a look at how you can make your office building a safer place….

 

Importance of Keeping Your Office Building Safe

If you are found guilty of an act of negligence that causes an employee or visitor to sustain a serious injury, it can cost you more than you think.

For instance, the direct and indirect costs associated with an amputation can easily amount to more than $120,000. If your small business has a three-percent bottom-line profit, you have to make an extra $4 million in sales in order to recover the amount you lost.

By making the necessary effort to enhance safety in your business premises, you can significantly lower the chances of accidents happening and save substantially on workers' compensation.

If you can maintain a zero-injury rate for three years, your workers' compensation premiums may drop by more than 50 percent.

Additionally, a safe office building can help you maintain a high level of productivity and prevent reputational damage.

 

How to Improve Safety in Your Business Premises

Undergo an Inspection

Before you take any measures to make your office building safer, you have to identify all the safety hazards that are present.

The best way to do this is to undergo a building safety inspection.

Through an inspection, you will get important information such as the building's ability to withstand wear and tear, extreme weather and natural disasters; the safety of the wiring and piping systems; the effectiveness of floors, stairs and railings in preventing slips, trips and falls; the building's handicap-accessibility and others.

As the following article shows, to ensure that your office building will be inspected comprehensively and accurately, you should engage the service of an experienced inspector who has undergone extensive building inspection training.

 

Prevent Fire and Burglary

A fire is potentially very costly. It can cause serious damage to your office building, equipment and furniture, as well as result in severe injuries or death.

As such, you need to have the necessary measures in place to prevent and extinguish fire, and facilitate efficient escape from fire, including safe electrical wiring, sprinkler system, fire extinguishers, fire alarms, smoke detectors, properly identified and lighted exits, self-closing fire doors and others.

It is also important that your office building is properly equipped to prevent burglary and invasion. It should have security features such as access controls, CCTV system, alarm system and security lighting.

Making your office building safe requires considerable investment of time, effort and money, and you should not cut corners when it comes to safety.

You can create a safer environment for your employees and visitors by following the tips above.


                   



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