5 Important Ways To Ensure Employee Safety

Julie Starr • March 17, 2022



How safe are your company employees? It’s a question worth asking as you could face the consequences of legal claims, negative media mentions, and a bad reputation if an accident happens within your workplace.

Of course, you don’t only have to consider the consequences to your business. If an employee is injured, there could be dire consequences for them and their families. 

So, how can you improve employee safety? The following should be advised.

#1: Run a greener business

A greener business is good for your reputation and your profits and it’s also good for your employees. If you can reduce the number of toxic contaminants in your workplace, you will protect the health of the people who work for you. As such, consider the benefits of green cleaning to improve indoor air quality and take further measures to create an environmentally friendly business. 

#2: Follow industry guidelines

No matter what type of industry you are in, there will be health and safety guidelines. It’s your responsibility to find out what these are and then apply them to your business. Manufacturing businesses will need to consider the rules that apply to personal safety equipment, for example, and office-based businesses will need to consider guidelines related to eye safety for computer users.

#3: Risk assess with the help of experts

 

There will be some aspects of your business that you can risk assess yourself. However, you may need to bring in safety consultants if there is anything that you aren’t able to handle alone. Businesses that use electrical equipment, for example, especially in areas where electrical arcs are a danger, should enlist specialists in hazardous area classification . Consider the people that can serve your business, bring them in, and then follow the safety measures they advise.


To help protect your employees, you should look at installing a safety laser sensor around both mobile and stationary equipment. That way, you reduce and mitigate the risk within your workplace.

 

#4: Maintain equipment and machinery

Despite the expense, you will need to maintain any piece of equipment or machinery that is faulty. You should also pre-empt any faults by carrying out the appropriate tests at regular intervals. In many cases, your employees will be the people who notice any equipment problems before you do, so encourage them to report any faults and then take the appropriate action. 

#5: Carry out spot checks

To ensure the safety of your employees, you should periodically walk around your workplace to make sure everybody is behaving sensibly. You could also ask a supervising manager to do the same. However, the responsibility should also fall to a highly trained health and safety inspector, be that somebody from within your business or from an outside agency. They will look for any breaches to rules and regulations and will advise you accordingly to reduce the risk to your business and your employees.

Finally

A safe employee is both a happy employee and a well employee. 

To protect all of their needs within your workplace, make sure safety is a priority. When you do, productivity will rise, your business will make more of a profit and you won’t run the risk of anything that could hinder the future of your business.

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.