As a business owner, it can often feel like you’re faced with a hundred so-called essential tasks every single day. Part of running a business consists of sifting out the unnecessary from the necessary, and prioritising what’s actually essential for your business so that you can get those things done.
Water safety is one of those things – most business owners will have come across the concept, but if you’re reading this, it’s likely that you’re not entirely sold on the concept. It turns out that water safety isn’t just good for business, it’s a legal necessity in almost all situations. Let’s explore the matter in a little more detail.
Regulatory requirement
Under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, it is a legal requirement for all employers (and other organisations who run premises such as schools) to provide access to safe drinking water. This water needs to be accessible at all times, and there either needs to be cups to drink that water from or it needs to be drinkable from a jet.
This means that failure to provide access to potable water isn’t just bad for business – it can result in severe legal repercussions, with the business in question likely needing to close until it can ensure that access to safe water is achieved.
Brand management
No matter what your business does or sells, ensuring water safety is an important part of brand management. Aside from the regulatory repercussions, if a business failed to provide safe water, to the extent that there was an outbreak of a waterborne disease such as Legionnaires’ disease, the implications on the perception of the brand could be catastrophic.
This is perhaps especially relevant for businesses such as hotels and other hospitality establishments, but it’s a principle that extends to all businesses. If you fail to provide a safe environment for customers and staff alike, you will struggle to continue operating in the long run.
Moral responsibility
Besides the legal and brand related aspects, if you run a business or operate any kind of organisation, you have a moral responsibility to look after people who spend time on your premises. Ensuring water safety plays a significant part in this process – it’s necessary to ensure that people don’t fall ill, or at the very worst, die.
How to ensure water safety
There are a number of steps you can take to ensure water safety in your business. You’ll need to conduct water risk assessments, create a water safety plan, and ensure that the people responsible for water safety in your business receive adequate training. This will generally mean seeking the assistance of an external provider.
So, there we have the basic elements of why water safety is so important when it comes to running a business. From the regulatory necessity of providing access to safe water to your moral responsibility to ensure that no one comes to harm under your watch, water safety is absolutely not something to overlook the importance of.
Images courtesy of unsplash.com and pexels.com
