The Three Es of Workplace Injury Prevention

• Education
• Engineering
• Enforcement of Policy

Experts have long relied on the three Es of workplace injury prevention to guide businesses in protecting their workers. The pursuit of the three Es should be constant and built into the structure of your safety and occupational health plans for every department.

Education

• Educate employees and management staff
• Research safety vulnerabilities
• Incorporate a safety and wellness plan

The importance of policy cannot be overstated here. It all begins with a policy and a purposeful decision to educate the employees. One of the leading causes of workplace injury is overexertion, and this happens often when an employee does not know how to use the equipment or what the parameters are for a job at a particular station (e.g., how much weight per load). The HR and safety team, or those responsible for the policy, must be educated, and they must then purposefully and regularly pass this information on to team members.

In addition to a safety policy for various positions, employers must also have a wellness plan in place for their employees. This will often include regular physicals and fit testing that is job-specific.

Engineering

• Provide protection equipment
• Inspect and maintain company vehicles
• Keep an orderly workplace
  
  

Engineering, or safety be design, is the next step in the process, and it must also be a continuous process. Each employee must be provided the necessary safety equipment, and that equipment must be maintained and checked regularly. All vehicles for company use must be current on inspections and well maintained. Finally, the importance of keeping an orderly workplace cannot be overstated. Trips are one of the major causes of workplace injury, and also the main cause of accidental death for older Americans. As your mother used to say, “a place for everything, and everything in its place.”

Enforcement

• Conduct pre-employment physicals
• Have adequate staffing levels
• Don’t take shortcuts
• Monitor safety measures

Once the policies are in place, and all the members are equipped with the appropriate equipment and training, enforcement must be regular and occur throughout the organization. It’s not enough for HR to enforce—managers must also be on the lookout for safety violations and report.

A safe workplace is possible, and the three Es of safety can make it achievable for your workplace.