In 1996, the National Safety Council established June as National Safety Month to increase public awareness of safety and health risks in workplaces, homes and communities. This month is a prime opportunity to bring safety to the forefront of your organization and establish its value to a great workplace.

June is an excellent time to refresh your workforce on company safety procedures. Begin Safety Month with a reminder of your identification policy. Going over the policy is certain to get everyone on the same page when it comes to proper use and display of their ID badges.

Don’t have an identification policy? Make a resolution to create one. Identification in the workplace improves safety by providing a visual identifier of individuals in the building. This makes it easier to identify who does and does not belong in the building. Thanks to identification software and easy-to-use systems, you can create the identification policy that will have the greatest impact on safety for your organization. 

Safety Month is a great opportunity to update staff ID pictures, too. At staff meetings, have your digital camera ready and offer “picture-retakes” for anyone interested. Employees will be more likely to wear their ID when they are happy with their picture. Hand out new lanyards or badge reels to everyone to encourage them to regularly sport their new IDs.

Conal Mcbride, Environmental Health and Safety Technician at SABIC Innovative Plastics in Exton, Pennsylvania, understands how crucial employee involvement is in creating a safe work environment. His organization has 21 different sub-elements in their Health and Safety program.

The programs were lacking active employee involvement – a vital element of keeping the workplace safe. Mcbride acknowledged the importance of safety programs in keeping productivity levels high and preventing employees from having to use disability time, and he took actions to make improvements.

To encourage greater employee ownership of the programs and to prevent injuries on-site, employees are “caught” being safe and rewarded with lapel pins. Lapel pins are a great incentive for employees as different style pins can identify specific behaviors or training levels. Mcbride has given lapel pins to individuals who have had fire prevention training as well as members of the safety team. Lapel pins can easily be displayed and worn with ID badges or on lanyards to both incent the employee and comply with your identification policy.