When it comes to your company’s performance, it’s not always about how your employees are performing with their current skill set. Sometimes, the environment, and its safety, has got a lot to contribute to their performance as well. As such, keeping your company safe from construction accidents remains an integral part of company safety.

In fact, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 991 of 4,693 fatalities in the workplace for 2016 were from the construction industry. This means one of every five deaths in the workplace for that year were from the industry alone. As per specifics, OSHA numbers indicate being caught in/between, being struck by an object, being electrocuted, and falling as the “Fatal Four” causes of construction accidents. Knowing these, however, how exactly do we keep our company safe from construction accidents?

• Awareness is something that should be observed constantly. Always make sure your staff and your workers know what they should be aware of before they step in the construction zone, while they’re working, and after they exit the construction site. Being aware of all the hazards that can be present in the workplace can help workers know what measures should be taken in order to protect them from risks. Understanding is the key to victory in terms of construction accident prevention, and this makes training much easier.
• Training should be something that is pursued actively by everyone in the workplace. Aside from making sure your workers and staff are aware of the dangers they may suffer in the workplace, adequate training to avoid and deal with them should be provided as well. Try to make sure there are worksheets, training supplements, pamphlets, and even onsite training available for your workers to take to make sure they remain aware of things they have to do should accidents occur.
• Communication should be a constant, especially between workers and between managers and staff. Aside from training, it’s helpful to make sure there’s a constant communication that’s established within your chain of command, so people know who to report to when unforeseen situations happen. This allows “surprises” to be avoided as everyone will be aware of what the others’ activities and goals will be. Devices such as headsets, smartphones, and radio communicators can greatly help in this endeavor.
• Documentation should be a constant in your company, from training modules, to activity reports, and accident reports. Consult a lawyer and a safety professional on how best to do these things, but it’s recommended that your firm have methods of documenting workplace risks, training modules, and accident reports properly to help make sure there’s a way for the company to provide workers with the adequate protection and training they may need to avoid these accidents. Proper documentation, such as in accident reports, can also help ensure workers have a means to report injuries that may need compensation, and that the company has a reference to look at in terms of risks that have to be mitigated to avoid these injuries.

Conclusion

Regardless of whether or not your business is related to construction or is involved with the construction industry, keeping your company safe from construction accidents is an integral part of making sure anything related to renovation and/or making a new office won’t cause any inconvenience. Seeking the help of a construction worker accident attorney may also be able to provide you with adequate assistance on the matter.

Safety in the workplace remains an integral part of ensuring your company processes and operations remain smooth. As such, knowing how to keep your workplace safe from accidents can spell the difference between a good workday, and a hurtful sales record.

As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, slips and falls are in fact the reason for 54,450 of the 218,400 injury cases, or 24.93 percent, that occured in 2017. While the number may seem small, these cases still cost companies a lot of money. In fact, it’s estimated that around $40,000 are spent by companies for every slip and fall accident that occur in their jurisdiction. As such it appears wise to invest in workplace safety to avoid additional costs. Here are a few tips:

• Cleanliness goes a long way. It is perhaps ironic to find this advice in an article about workplace safety, but cleanliness does go a long way in terms of keeping your offices safe from accidents. Keeping your workplace orderly and neat can in fact be a way to avoid injuries. Consider that a cluttered workspace can be sources of injury due to unnecessary stuff lying around that can be the cause of tripping, slips, and falls. Unmanaged computer cables, cupboards and drawers left open, and spills left unclean make it likelier for your coworkers to experience injuries.
• Let everyone know of risk areas. It’s unavoidable for different departments of the workplace to do something to their offices that may increase the risk of injuries. Maintenance and renovations to a particular department may leave the workplace prone to injuries, but this can be avoided by proper dissemination of information. Make sure everyone is aware of these ongoing repairs, and make sure there are proper signages posted so people are aware of ongoing renovations or wet surfaces.
• Make sure your workplace is up to date with repairs and maintenance. In speaking of proper signages for renovations, make sure you conduct routine inspections to make sure your electronic devices and machines are up to date. Constantly ask for employee feedback and ask a safety professional to check your office for potential risk situations that are in need of maintenance and repairs.
• Protocols and proper training matter. Make sure your safety measures and regulations are up to date, and that staff are aware of what to do in particular situations. How are they supposed to report accidents, and who is in charge of making sure these reports are properly arranged? Do you have adequate equipment for your staff if they are supposed to be doing work that can potentially injure them? Making sure that these needs are met can go a long way in terms of ensuring your workplace is safe from accidents.
• Make sure there are drills and safety is encourage to staff. While there might be protocols that exist to ensure workplace safety, you have to instill the mentality to your staff that they should always be on the lookout for danger. Announce quarterly drills to your staff to make sure they are aware of proper safety habits, and try to conduct tests whenever possible to test their awareness. Encourage your staff to report places and areas that need improvement in terms of safety to make their workplace, their potential second home, a better place to be in.

Conclusio

The workplace is almost like everyone’s home “away from home,” and as such it’s just as important to keep it safe from accidents for the convenience of everyone working in there. As a business owner, being aware of the hiccups your workplace health and safety measures have in order to make proper improvements for the future of your workplace safety. The tips above, with the help of a workplace injury lawyer, may be able to keep your workplace in tip top shape.