Maintaining a safe workplace is imperative for the well-being of your employees and may also help you, as the employer, comply with OSHA regulations.
General Tips for Preventing Workplace Injuries
- Maintain a clean work area. A clean work environment accomplishes two things. First, obvious hazards are removed by keeping the place clean. This includes the floor and elevated work areas. Secondly, employees are more productive in clean work areas.
- Do not rely entirely upon PPE to keep workers safe. PPE can be uncomfortable to wear and may be hot or cumbersome. Not to mention, a hard hat will not completely protect a worker from falling objects. Use innovation, guards, and engineering solutions to eliminate hazards.
- Workers want to work safely. They have families and lives at home. Workers want the opportunity to work safely. Use safety incentive programs designed to enlist the help of your workers. Encourage safety suggestions and bonuses for prolonged periods without incident
- Make your policies and procedure clear. Include safety tips and requirements in every policy that is written.
- Start simple with safety. Start by focusing on preventing the most common incidents. Move on from there. Keep accurate OSHA incident logs. Use these to help develop safety policies designed to prevent known hazards.
- Maintain your equipment. If a machine needs maintenance, take it out of service and perform the repairs before someone gets hurt. Also, stick to a regular preventative maintenance program for your equipment and machines. Fix the problem before a real problem occurs.
- Stay abreast of safety innovations. There may be new equipment or methods that reduce hazards. A proactive safety man or program can help prevent injuries, as opposed to simply responding to them.
OSHA requires that employers provide a safe work environment. Taking a proactive approach to workplace safety may prevent workplace injuries and increase worker productivity.
Workplace Safety Tips to Prevent COVID Spread
- Make sure everyone who enters the building wears a mask and uses hand sanitizer immediately upon entry.
- Have someone stand at each entrance to ensure that people use sanitizer and are wearing a mask, and to take their temperature.
- Place hand sanitizer in multiple areas throughout the building.
- Hold a meeting with workers and managers to go over COVID 19 safety guidelines, which should include frequent use of hand sanitizer, wearing a mask, staying home if they notice any COVID symptoms, avoiding crowds (such as in elevators and break rooms), washing clothes every day when they return from work, limiting communication, and social distancing. These guidelines should be listed on signage throughout the building.
- Encourage workers to carpool rather than using public transportation.
Chelsie King Garza has handled workplace injury cases recovering settlements for families who’ve lost their loved ones to preventable workplace accidents. Contact Chelsie King Garza if you or a loved one has been injured in an industrial accident.
