INDUSTRO Solutions has further embedded its commitment to the mental health of its workforce through an innovation to its workplace risk assessments.
The Middlesbrough-based engineering company has developed its own daily risk assessment document, which is used to ensure its team are aware of the risks around them, to also include a prompt to consider their mental health.
The first question on the ‘Take 2’ form asks how employees are feeling, because the company believes that a poor state of mind can equally lead to accidents as much as any other workplace risk.
Any employee who does not give a positive answer are encouraged to speak to one of INDUSTRO’s appointed Mental Health First Aiders.
INDUSTRO has created a team, which have been trained to standards set by Mental Health First Aid England, that can identify signs of mental illness, when someone is experiencing an episode and where to get additional support.
The company has placed mental health awareness at the heart of its workplace culture recognising it is integral to ensuring the highest levels of health and safety as well as encouraging a productive and positive working environment.
Joanne Bell, Director of INDUSTRO Solutions, said: “We work exceptionally hard to mitigate any risks that can cause workplace accidents, which includes being aware of the impact poor mental health can have on safety. Including mental health within our risk assessments gets our team thinking about how they are feeling and how that might affect them, their work and their colleagues.
“We encourage being open and honest with colleagues about mental health, which is quite a different approach to many businesses in the engineering sector, particularly SMEs, but we would encourage others to follow our lead.
“In fact, we believe that a commitment to mental wellbeing should be included in all contract tenders, which will help change industry culture and also contribute to greater levels of safety.”
