In any work environment, you can be presented with danger which can lead to accidents. While it is not the case that an organisation can protect itself from all potential danger, there are certain steps a company can take to ensure that they mitigate against and lower their exposure to accidents, hazards, and risks.
Workplace safety procedures are essential in preparing your organisation for a complication – before it arises. Here are a few tips to keep yourself and fellow employees safe on the job.
Your seven point checklist
Do you understand the risks involved with the job?
Some people accept a job without knowing what is involved. How can you prepare yourself for safety concerns when you do not know what the concerns are?
Stress is a heavyweight in the workplace
Employees can suffer from many things such as conflicts with the boss or a heavy workload. These things become added stress in their life which can sometimes lead to a lack of sleep and concentration, ultimately, putting them at risk of a work-related accident. This is why many experts suggest that you consider your stress levels before working, especially when it concerns job insecurity.
Failure to put things back where they belong is another casualty of workplace safety
With an “I will deal with it tomorrow” attitude accidents seem to arise more frequently and things are easily forgotten. Not only is this unprofessional but it’s also especially an issue when regarding safety.
Did you know that job burnout can also lead to safety concerns?
This is why you should take regular breaks. Companies are required to allow their employees one to two breaks a day in accordance with their schedules and accommodate a balanced workday. Take advantage of these allotted times – they allow you to pause and refresh while also preventing burnout.
Use the resources you have for heavy lifting
Extra bending, twisting, and lifting will cause injuries to happen. Don’t see the resources needed to complete a task? Ask for them. Bringing the missing items to attention will ensure that you are not putting yourself or others at risk of injuries as well as keeping your boss up to date on the status of materials needed.
Wear protective gear
During heavy lifting and strenuous activity, use a back brace and bend at the knees. Improper lifting techniques is a major leader in workplace injuries. The best way to stop hazards in the workplace is to take preventative measures to avoid them from the beginning. Use eye safety goggles, gloves, shoes, hard hats, and other protective gear that is meant to keep you safe. The consequences of not using these items can result in major injuries or death.
Ensure you received accurate safety training
This includes CPR, Forklift safety, warehouse safety, chemical handling, and safety measures, etc. Whatever your job might entail, it is essential that you are properly trained for it for your benefit as well as those around you.
Multiple solutions
Monitoring your efforts towards a healthy and safe work environment usually comes with the goal of reducing risks, limiting exposure to hazards, and enabling your workforce to productively operate in a safe environment.
The ability to efficiently record associated tasks, actions, results, findings, events, incidents, inspections, and audits is an integral part of not only ensuring compliance yet also keeping yourself and your team in check; are you keeping up with safety standards and ensuring your workforce is healthy?
There are multiple options you can consider to document these workplace observations, rules, and regulations; this is where a platform becomes very useful (and no, Excel spreadsheets don’t count).
Software, in particular, is serving as an advanced tool and is now being tailored made and therefore will enable you to specify what data you need to help make sound logical business decisions regarding corporations or specific projects.
There is a great variety of software systems to capture and manage data for environmental, compliance, health and safety, and risk needs. A platform solution can make your work a lot easier, save you from spending too much time on documentation and reporting, streamline and simplify your processes. Having a platform to assist you in managing these, such as INX Software, can also help in providing greater visibility and monitoring capabilities. This way you have all your data, all your observations, and information all in one place – a single source of truth.
