The High Cost of common Safety Mishaps

Workplace Safety is imperative for reducing accidents and injuries, but many of your skilled managers and staff often ignore the common safety hazards that lead to devastating consequences. Those employees have been performing their duties for so long, they could do their job in their sleep. While many safety precautions become innate at that level of know-how, it can also be far too easy to overlook obvious safety concerns. Mastery workers develop an overconfidence that leads directly to workplace injuries. To avoid tragic outcomes from your highest skilled workers, make sure you avoid these common safety mistakes.

Periodic Training & Safety Updates

Does it seem silly to train your most experienced employees? While those seasoned employees are certain to have safety protocols memorized, having witnessed many cautionary tales of on-the-job accidents, periodic reminders will keep your staff’s focus on safety. Ongoing training programs regarding disciplinary action policies for violations will recapture a workers’ attentiveness to possible workplace hazards. In addition, safety protocols change over time. What was considered safe yesterday, might be one of today’s most common mistakes. Keep your employees and policies up to date with industry best practices, as well as state and federal regulations.

Always Wear Safety Equipment Properly

Just because you have issued every worker the appropriate PPE doesn’t guarantee an employee’s safety. Employees, especially those with years or decades of experience, may believe that the safety equipment is unnecessary and cumbersome to get the job done. The extra time and effort to properly affix all necessary equipment and protective gear, however, might save life and limb. It is also common for employees to wear their PPE incorrectly due to discomfort. Always make sure that the PPE you have provided is well-fitted and in good condition. Take into consideration the size, stature or sensory issues of employees in order to provide the PPE option that enhances their performance rather than hinder it.

Clear Out the Clutter

Whether at work or at home, we all have a tendency to absentmindedly put things down or to store something out in the open, certain that it will be of use to us at some point. Before we know what has happened, our homes and offices become a cluttered mess. We usually convince ourselves that the disaster areas we create are, in reality, ordered chaos and that we prefer the disorder to organization. The truth is, those stacked items in the corner, the haphazard arrangement of items atop surfaces and the hindrance to proper visibility can quickly lead to slips, stumbles, sprains and more.

Perform Regular Maintenance on All Machinery and Equipment

When employees need to finish out the workday or complete a large project, it’s easy to postpone repairs hoping to “just get this one done.” Maintaining equipment is overlooked to a greater degree, since scheduled maintenance comes and goes when equipment seems to be running just fine. Machinery that is not operating as it should can abruptly stop working, become jammed or create fire hazards, as well as perform eradictly. These sudden malfunctions can lead to serious and permanent injuries, even death. The short periods of evaluation can prevent costly outcomes. As the employer, faulty equipment on your watch can become a case of negligence, so cover your bases with regularly scheduled maintenance and repairs.

Assessment Risks & Controls Hazards with Occupational Health Management

As your employees come to work each day, it is habit to casually overlook or avoid safety concerns that, at first glance, do not appear serious. However, when employees compromise safety protocols out of routine, the consequences can be disastrous and deadly. Workplace Safety Screenings can evaluate your workspace to identify areas of neglect, create a plan for how to address safety issues, and implement fair and upfront disciplinary procedures for noncompliance. We make it our mission to keep your worksite safe!