When it comes to workplace injuries, even employers take a toll. This is why there’s much effort placed in making sure workplaces are safe for employees. In fact, according to the International Labour Organization, there’s an estimated 2.78 million fatalities that are related to workplace illnesses and accidents every year. This is on top of an estimated annual 374 million people suffering from workplace illnesses and injuries. These instances tend to lead to extended absences, which can mean huge hits on the productivity and the efficiency of the workplace. This also poses a grave risk to the lives of employees both inside and outside the company.
For companies with a sizable number of employees, it’s important to ensure that everyone is aware as to how avoid work injuries. This ensures that safety across all departments is consistent and methods in ensuring such are well maintained.
Establish Workplace Rules, Regulations
When company safety is put in perspective, it’s important to understand how important it is to establish protocol among members of all departments properly. This is best done through the employee manual or a separate safety manual that entails everything one needs to know about company regulations on safety and maintaining them consistently.
- Companies tend to have different policies and requirements when it comes to safety, but the basics are more or less the same. It’s best you consult a lawyer and/or a safety professional on the matter to ensure things you’re about to put in your manual or handbook are based on industry standards and state laws.
- There’s something called an accident book or a similar report that should exist on your end. Its purpose is to keep track of all accident reports employees file whenever they experience injuries. These reports contain relevant details about the accident such as when and where it occurred, and other details for accuracy.
Provide Facilities, Equipment for Safety
Aside from establishing proper guidelines and protocol for safety, it’s also important to make sure there is adequate equipment and facilities to provide a means of safety in the first place.
For instance, there should be places like clinics in the workspace to ensure there are people available who can provide immediate assistance to those who need them.
- There should also be proper equipment for employees to use to ensure safety. These can be in the form of equipment for them to use such as safety gear, vests, gloves, and helmets. Other forms can be proper signages and other safety mechanisms to warn each other and pedestrians of dangers in places such as construction sites.
Conducting Training, Feedback, Maintenance
Another integral part of ensuring safety in the workplace is to ensure there’s a way of following through with the above methods. It’s not enough to have a handbook or a guide, and equipment and facilities for your workers to avoid injury in the workplace. They have to be able to understand how these guides work for their benefit as well.
- This can be done by making sure staff are trained on how to use the equipment they have and how these relate to the protocols they have to follow. If there are tests to be provided to ensure their understanding of workplace regulations and equipment usage, do so with proper consultation.
- Make sure everyone is aware of what their duties are and what these duties entail in times of emergency. Make sure these chains of command remain intact all throughout the time people are working.
- Conduct regular maintenance not just on the equipment and the working environment, but on policies as well. If there are too many changes in industry and safety standards that you think there might be in need of a change, then perhaps it’s time to update your guidelines.
Conclusion
Remember, when it comes to keeping everything in your workplace safe and sound, it’s important not just to try to keep everything safe through providing equipment and a suitable environment, but to make sure everyone knows how to move around them as well. Do click here if you feel as though you’ll need further legal assistance on the matter.
