Workplace Safety

KC Workplace Safety Experts

As a leading workplace safety consultant in Kansas City, Axcet HR Solutions' workplace safety and health consultants help small and mid-sized Kansas and Missouri employers comply with federal, state and industry-specific requirements so that employees go home safely at the end of each workday.

Axcet’s safety experts draw on years of experience, an advantage for small and mid-sized companies that often don’t know where to turn for thorough, reliable safety advice.

Some safety consultants review worksites, point out the problems and leave the employer to figure out how to fix them. Axcet, on the other hand, works alongside smaller employers to develop and implement comprehensive safety policies and procedures that help clients establish a safe and compliant workplace – and clients never pay extra for these services.

Risk assessment

Without a risk assessment, it’s hard to know which safety measures to take. And taking the wrong ones, even with the best of intentions, may not protect your company from regulatory fines. For those reasons, Axcet’s process starts with a thorough risk assessment.

Maintaining a safe workplace is more complicated than just applying common sense. When Axcet conducts a risk assessment at your small or mid-sized business, we’ll identify areas where your company may be deficient according to regulatory standards and clarify where you may unintentionally be putting people in harm’s way. Then we’ll develop a workplace safety plan to address a client’s exposures.

Even problems that are relatively simple to fix could result in massive fines if OSHA were to find them. Our approach is to make sure your company is compliant, addressing the easiest and most cost-efficient fixes first.

In some cases, your company may need to bring in other experts, such as an industrial hygienist who measures air quality or noise. Axcet can tell you when outside experts are needed and coordinate the right professional for the need.

Mock OSHA audit and job-site safety inspections and recommendations

As part of a risk assessment, Axcet conducts a mock audit to find the deficiencies for which OSHA tends to issue citations, including life code safety, electrical issues, unmarked hazardous chemicals, and machine safety. If OSHA were to find such problems at your worksite, you would be required to fix them in a limited time frame. Better to have Axcet, as a trustworthy workplace safety management consultant, identify the issues so you can fix them on your company’s own timetable and budget.

More broadly, Axcet reviews job sites from an operator’s perspective, considering possible improvements to ergonomics, housekeeping practices, and other areas.

Our goal is to help your business comply with OSHA regulations and to make sure your employees go home safely at the end of each workday.

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Safety program development

After conducting risk assessments at clients’ worksites, Axcet designs customized, practical and actionable safety programs to mitigate any identified hazards. To provide maximum protection against risk, we recommend that this document become a living, breathing plan that we review and update jointly with clients each year.

Safety policies and procedure development and implementation

Policies and procedures establish safety guidelines for workers to follow. Maintained and reviewed regularly with your employees, these policies communicate your company’s commitment to a safe workplace and reduce the risk of on-the-job injuries. As a workplace safety consultant in Kansas, Axcet develops and helps you implement policies and procedures customized to your business, making sure they include critical information like evacuation plans that often are overlooked in standard plans.

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Emergency preparedness

Emergencies can come in many forms – fire, tornadoes or other severe weather, flooding, extreme heat or cold, utility outages, workplace violence, robberies, bomb threats, and more. Your small business not only needs an emergency plan but also needs preparation so the plan can be executed effectively during a crisis. Axcet’s workplace safety consultant identifies and assesses the risk potential of possible emergencies your company may face, helps you develop a contingency plan to deal with each one, and conducts training so management and employees know how to respond and what actions to take under each scenario.

Industry-specific safety training

Safety concerns in the workplace vary by industry. A plumbing company, for example, may have employees working in confined spaces or digging ditches in extreme heat, while a manufacturing facility’s employees may run the risk of being exposed to flammable chemicals or being injured by conveyors or other machinery. Applying the specific regulations that apply to your company’s industry, Axcet can recommend changes in practices and provide training to keep workers safe.

Safety committee development, implementation, and facilitation

A safety committee demonstrates that your company desires a strong safety culture and engages employees in achieving it. Workers who are on the front lines of your business every day often will be the first to see a problem. A committee gives them a clear process for sharing concerns, offering ideas for safety improvements, and refining suggestions so that initial thoughts become great ideas. Axcet can help your small business set up a solutions-oriented safety committee. Axcet’s workplace safety management consultant attends meetings, facilitating as needed to engage employees in identifying solutions and coaching leaders to be open to employee input. A safety committee, which tends to lead to positive safety outcomes, also gets employees and management on the same page if an OSHA question arises.

First aid and CPR training

Providing first aid and CPR training in your workplace is just one of the many ways your company can show it cares for employees’ health and well-being. Axcet’s training, which is cost-effective and can be done in your environment, may ultimately save a life at your worksite.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) assessments

You may be providing your employees with PPE with every intention of doing the right thing. But the issues that require protective gear vary, and only an assessment will assure that the PPE being used is appropriate for your workplace. OSHA can and has cited companies for not having conducted an assessment. Your small businesses can avoid that risk by having Axcet’s workplace safety specialist assess the hazards at your site, such as chemical vapors, dust, rough edges, noise, and others, and pinpoint the PPE mitigation needed.

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Ergonomic assessments

What starts as minor soreness in the workplace can turn into major musculoskeletal problems that could lead to an employee requiring medical treatment, missing work, or filing a workers’ compensation claim. Ergonomic evaluations identify health risks before potential ergonomic problems escalate. Axcet’s workplace safety specialist can even work individually with your employees who have a need, helping them make small adjustments that positively affect ergonomic outcomes.

Injury investigation and consulting

If a worker is hurt on the job, an injury investigation can determine the cause of the accident and identify unsafe conditions or actions that need to be changed so a similar incident doesn’t happen again. An injury investigation also helps protect your company against fraudulent workers’ compensation claims. Axcet’s workplace safety consultant teaches clients how to correctly conduct an injury investigation, ideally when an incident is fresh – how to respond, what to look for, and how to interview witnesses and gather evidence.

OSHA inspection, citation, abatement, and response assistance

Workplace injuries have declined significantly since OSHA was established in 1971. The agency’s work is important, yet no company wants to receive a surprise visit from an OSHA inspector.

Clients often work with Axcet to prepare well before OSHA comes to the door, so that leaders know what steps to follow and what to say and not say. When OSHA calls, an Axcet safety team member can be on-site to help shape responses to questions and clarify specific concerns before the inspector leaves.

If OSHA issues a citation, Axcet helps your company understand its rights, responsibilities, and options to minimize financial penalties. Our workplace safety specialist can help write a response; advise whether to contest the citation, determine whether it’s better for your company to request an informal conference with OSHA to negotiate a settlement or simply pay the fine; and recommend an attorney if needed. In an informal conference, Axcet can assist with or fully handle the presentation.

Beyond addressing the citation itself, abating the problem is critical to avoiding future, even larger, fines. Axcet provides direction for correcting violations in your workplace, whether the remedy requires implementing a program, updating equipment, conducting training, or putting guards or other safety measures in place.

OSHA record keeping

Most employers are subject to OSHA’s recordkeeping standard, commonly known as the OSHA 300 log. There are exceptions – organizations with fewer than 10 employees or those that operate in low-risk industries, for example – but many companies simply aren’t aware of this compliance mandate; nor do they understand what does or doesn’t qualify as an OSHA-recordable injury.

Axcet actively manages/maintains OSHA 300 record-keeping for our workers’ compensation clients.