Be in the KNOW to Prevent Workplace Accidents

 

The Top Five Ways to Prevent Workplace Accidents

 

Workplace accidents can be costly, particularly if employees require time off for recovery. They may also negatively impact productivity if other employees must pick up the slack from those injured employees.

Preventing workplace accidents from occurring is the best way to fight them head on, here are the five key strategies: 1. Prevent Slips and Trips.

1. Know Your Job

As part of its efforts to minimize workplace accidents, employers should first ensure that employees understand their jobs sufficiently to complete them safely. This requires providing employees with clear job duties and requirements outlined in writing as well as ongoing training sessions that refresh skills and knowledge.

Undertaking tasks beyond an employee's physical capacity may result in injuries. To safeguard employees against this risk, employers can conduct pre-placement physicals and pair new hires with jobs that complement their capabilities.

Cluttered and disorganized work areas increase the risk of trips and falls, so employers can help prevent these hazards by providing clear lighting and making sure equipment is stored securely. Employees should also be encouraged to report potential dangers without fear of reprisals from management.

Workplace injuries can result in lost productivity and costly workers' compensation insurance claims. To limit these costs, managers should encourage healthy work-life balance among their employees by discouraging overwork. This includes encouraging water breaks for staff as well as setting eating locations within designated areas. Furthermore, healthcare professionals are available for consultation regarding ways to alleviate stress or manage physical injuries.

2. Know Your Equipment

Business owners must ensure their staff has access to all of the equipment necessary for performing their duties safely, including proper training on any machinery they utilize as well as reviewing and practicing protocols prior to actual usage.

Employees should understand what kinds of safety precautions to take and how to identify and report hazards in the workplace, which will significantly decrease risk and potentially avoid injuries that would necessitate sick pay or compensation claims. These steps can reduce workplace accidents dramatically.

Implementing check-in/check-out procedures like biometric scanning or badge-swipe systems to ensure only employees authorized to be present can actually enter areas containing heavy machinery or hazardous chemicals is key to avoiding accidental damage or injury due to understaffed operations. Employees should also be encouraged to take frequent breaks throughout their shift and drink enough water so as not to become dehydrated and hamper concentration levels.

3. Know the Rules

Employees need to understand the rules of their workplace. Workplace safety rules typically result from risk assessments and employee feedback, with regular updates to keep everyone up to date. A manager may spend hours meticulously keeping records on when each employee received an SSC or first aid training certification - however an employee might arrive at work one morning only to discover that their certificate or training has expired!

Encourage employees, particularly new hires, to ask questions about workplace policies and procedures. Provide safe means of communication such as an anonymous suggestion box so employees can safely voice any concerns that might be identified as potential safety risks that managers might otherwise miss. By encouraging their input, managers could find potential risks they had overlooked before.

Maintaining an orderly workspace can help prevent accidents. By eliminating tripping hazards and providing plenty of lighting throughout, work areas should be free from tripping hazards and organized with coats/bags not hanging on wires/cluttered walkways as well as offering stations for cleaning up spillages promptly, this will reduce injuries from slippery or wet surfaces and decrease injuries associated with slipperiness.

4. Know the Rules of the Road

Accidents often happen because employees fail to follow established safety protocols, often because they become familiar with their jobs and feel pressured to cut corners or take shortcuts in order to save time or avoid pressure from supervisors.

Regularly review the risks involved with your workers' work and take measures to mitigate them, such as PPE, administrative measures, and substitutions. For example, if an employee is at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive typing, offering them PPE is likely the least effective solution; more effective control measures include short breaks between typing sessions or rotating keyboards so as to prevent problems before they arise (administrative and substitutional controls).

Make sure all employees receive comprehensive health and safety training related to the risks of their specific work, as well as provide equipment, training, guidelines, and safety instructions needed for them to do their jobs safely. Display rules and warnings clearly within the workplace, regularly review policies and procedures, and encourage employees to report incidents immediately.

5. Know the Rules of the Workplace

Workplace accidents are costly for business owners, from lost productivity to workers' compensation claims. While accidents cannot always be prevented completely, adopting some simple safety practices may drastically lower their likelihood in your organization.

Employees should receive proper training on how to perform their jobs safely, including any specific hazards they might face. PPE such as gloves and eye protection may play an integral role here, as does providing frequent break times or encouraging employees to switch jobs that involve less physically demanding tasks (substitution).

Protecting areas where serious hazards exist, such as heavy machinery or chemicals, from unauthorized personnel can significantly decrease the chance of accidents. This could be achieved through check-in/check-out procedures or biometric scanning technology that verifies whether an employee is on site before entering hazardous zones.

Encourage employees to keep their workplaces clean and orderly to reduce the risk of accidents due to tripping over obstacles. Cable ties should also be used to secure wires across walkways. Spillages must also be addressed promptly with warnings posted around them as a reminder.