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.