As the owner of a business, it’s your responsibility to protect both your staff and customers as well as you possibly can. Health and safety regulations stipulate that you must take certain measures to prevent accidents and illnesses wherever you’re able to and if you’re found to be negligent in providing the right protection, you’re at risk of prosecution.
Whilst most businesses recognise the importance of health and safety within the workplace, some forget that this also applies to outside of your office or workplace too. In short, if an accident takes place on your premises, it’s potentially your responsibility, both inside and out.
How Can a Business Entrance be a Danger?
It might not be immediately obvious how a simple entrance could be a danger hot-spot. After all, it’s just a door, right? Regrettably, this isn’t the case. In fact, a lot of accidents in the workplace occur in the entrance area and as a result, it’s important to ensure that you make the environment as safe as possible.
There are a number of hazards that could cause accidents in this area. These include:
- Damp, wet conditions inevitably make the ground wet, which can be hazardous, particularly for those who struggle with walking, such as the elderly, or the very young.
- Even worse, icy conditions can instantly transform your entrance into a slippery, dangerous area; and can result in a serious accident.
- If you have stairs leading up to your entrance, this can pose a health and safety risk, especially if they are prone to getting slippery in bad weather.
- If you have bins outside your premises, these can occasionally cause a hygiene problem and stray rubbish can cause a problem if it gets on to the path.
- Anti-social behaviour can cause problems, especially if there is no CCTV camera in place.
Making it Safer with a Covered Walkway, Railings and More
As a business owner, it’s likely that you’ll want to try to make your entrance as safe as possible for your staff and clients. Fortunately, making it an accident-free zone isn’t too complicated. Here’s a few things you can do to improve the safety of your entrance area.
- Anti-slip stairs. If your stairs are prone to slipperiness in bad weather, invest in some anti-slip covering for the edges, which will help people to maintain their grip and avoid falling over.
- Covered walkway. A covered walkway is one of the most effective ways of ensuring that accidents are kept to a minimum outside your property. Once fitted, they’ll protect the entire area outside your door, keeping it free from rain, snow and any other accident-causing weather conditions.
- Providing staff and customers with railings, particularly for stairs or ramps, immediately helps to improve levels of safety; providing users with something to grasp, should they lose their balance.
- Security cameras. Placing a security camera close to the entrance will not only enable you to monitor who enters and leaves your establishment, but will also help you to identify any ‘problem’ areas and address them accordingly.
- Safer doors. Automatic or soft-close doors are a far safer option than doors that slam shut, potentially causing an unpleasant injury.
Bespoke Covered Walkways for Your Business Premises
Walkway canopies provide excellent protection for your business entrance and can also provide an attractive, professional façade. Canopies by Acer create tailor-made covered walkways, which can be customised to match your existing building. Select from completely or partially enclosed designs depending on your requirements; and add CCTV, doors, lighting and even advertising areas if needed.
If you’re interested in a covered walkway for your business, you can learn more about how to choose the correct solution by reading our free guide here.