As a business owner, you’re legally required to protect your employees and maintain safety in the workplace. If someone has an accident at work requiring time off, this inevitably costs your company more having to hire and train new staff.
However, workplace injuries can occur in any working environment. Although you can’t stop incidents completely, there are measures you can take to aid in accident prevention and overall job site safety.
If you want to learn more about the different ways to reduce accidents in the workplace, keep reading to find out more about on-site safety.
- Organized Work Environment
It may seem like common sense, but having any debris or obstructions in the working area needs to be removed. The more cluttered an area is, the harder it is to work in. Clear stations mean better staff efficiency.
Over 2 million people every year experience accidents in the workplace. With unorganized work areas, on-site safety is rapidly reduced. If any spills go unnoticed due to a disorganized work environment, this could result in slips and falls.
Always allow enough room for employees to walk through or past with ease. Furthermore, depending on the type of job position, make sure all equipment and machinery are put away after use.
- Safety Training
Educating employees on the types of safety procedures in the workplace is key. If staff are not adequately trained, they become just as much of a danger to themselves as they do to their colleagues.
Each member of staff should be aware of the different types of hazards they may encounter, and the risks involved within their job role. Knowing how to react to any kind of emergency is crucial.
Introduce risk assessments to further help employees identify and control hazards and maintain workplace safety. Talk to your staff, they work in that environment every day. They’ll be able to inform you of potential hazards that you may not have considered prior.
- Safety Equipment and PPE
Personal Protection Equipment prevents physical harm to employees and is a critical part of on-site safety. By equipping staff with the correct safety equipment, it helps with efficiency as well as reducing the risk of injury.
With each piece of equipment, from eye and face protection to respiratory protection, training on how to correctly use various equipment to prevent injury.
In most instances, making sure to increase your visibility is crucial to preventing workplace injury. If you can’t be seen you’re at a much higher risk of injury.
- Employee Physicals
For most businesses, it’s beneficial to hold physical and mental screenings. By conducting these beforehand, it can determine if a potential candidate is physically and mentally able to take on the role. Especially in roles where heavy machinery is being operated.
Make sure potential employees have previous experience in more advanced roles, such as positions that involve operating heavy machinery.
Ready to Improve Your On-Site Safety?
No matter how many rules are in place, there’s always going to be a risk of injury. It’s up to the employer to make sure if that happens, the right level of care is available quickly.
Employees should be on the lookout for potential hazards at all times, but the company is equally responsible to provide adequate training. Applying these safety rules to the workplace will drastically improve the risk of injury to staff and on-site safety.
For more articles related to the workplace, check out our other blog posts.