The legal requirements of a business to their employees, with regard to health and safety on work premises, are well-understood by now. Employers have a legally-enshrined duty of care to staff and contractors and must deploy robust health and safety measures to ensure that duty is upheld.
But health and safety is important for more than the essential legal and moral reasons. This is especially evident within the field of project management, where poor health and safety can be the weak link that costs dearly. What are some of the leading ways in which health and safety is crucial to project management?
Productivity
A project manager’s chief concern is the productivity of their team. Their role is to ensure a product or service is rolled out smoothly, through the proper management of disparate links in the overall chain.
Health and safety issues are preventable barriers to productivity, and if they arise can cause serious declines in the efficacy of a given department. This can have knock-on effects on client retention and project budgets, with dire overall consequences for the business.
Costs
Another significant factor in the administration of project health and safety is that of cost. Projects often come with tight and largely immovable budgets, which can be seriously impacted by unexpected changes and issues even with emergency cash pools built in.
While logistical issues and schedule clashes have their own cost burden attached, it is health and safety failure that can have the biggest financial impact on a project. There are immediate costs in relation to lost man-hours, project slowdown, and, if necessary, emergency repairs.
But there are also potential future costs relating to the condition of injured workers. Head injury claims arising from unsecured or falling objects can see a holding company responsible for significant legal and civil costs.
Client Satisfaction
Client satisfaction is arguably the most important metric for a project. A client will be satisfied if they receive their deliverable on time, in-budget, and to a high degree of quality (more on which shortly). A project with poor health and safety management is one that suggests overall mismanagement, and one that risks coming in over budget, past deadline, and non-representative of the desired deliverable – with long-term costs in the form of client loss.
Quality of Work
Client satisfaction is a natural by-product of high-quality work, but not the only reason for focusing on the provision of such high quality. The above is an example of positive customer service and is essential to the retention of long-term customers. But a focus on the quality of your work can also contribute to your business’ wider reputation, forming a vital aspect of your brand and marketing strategy.
From a project management perspective – and as demonstrated above – safe working environments are productive working environments. If your staff have the physical and mental space in which to give their task their all, then the overall quality of your end product or service will naturally improve. Accidents or injuries are roadblocks to your already-narrow timeline and can cause bottlenecks or crunch closer to deadlines.
