What is OSHA Safe and Sound Week?

While June may be national safety month, August is historically the month that the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hosts their annual Safe + Sound Week campaign. This year’s campaign runs from August 10th-16th 2020, and even despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, 1,400+ organizations in all 50 states will be participating.

Safe + Sound is a year-round campaign backed by the United States Department of Labor that encourages workplaces large and small to implement and recognize the benefits of a strong workplace safety and health program. Every year, a national Safe + Sound Week is held around mid-August to help bring awareness to the campaign and provide information and ideas on how to keep America’s workers safe.

OSHA supports participation from US-based organizations of any size in any industry. The week is designed to help organizations develop successful safety and health programs that can diagnose and prevent potential hazards in the workplace, and in 2019 alone, 1.7 million workers were provided additional health and safety resources from the campaign.

How to Participate in Safe and Sound Week During COVID-19

Any organization can take part in OSHA’s Safe + Sound Week activities, even during this ambiguous time brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic where many are still working remotely and offices are only open at limited capacities.

To get started, register your organization to participate in the event and take a look at all of the other companies that are participating simultaneously across the country.

Next, it’s time to get creative with planning and promoting your facility’s events. There are many ways that businesses can get involved in Safe + Sound Week, whether it’s in person or virtually. Below is a list of ideas for inspiration:

- Create a community bulletin board for employees to display suggestions to help and fix workplace hazards they may face

- Offer a training on safety and health in your workplace

- Host a virtual “lunch and learn” on one element of your company’s safety program

- Ask workers to share “what safety means to me” in the workplace

- Host a trivia session on how well workers know health and safety best practices

- Recognize safety milestones and worker contributions that help improve safety procedures within your workplace

Finally, don’t forget to share your creative activities on social media using the hashtag #SafeAndSoundAtWork, and be sure to check out how others are participating throughout the week.