Workplace accidents happen often. You might own a company or operate one, and you deal with far too many workplace accidents that cause injuries. If you own a larger company, you might have a higher accident rate. Maybe your niche also has high workplace fatality or injury stats.
Preventing workplace accidents makes sure employees get home safe. You must do what you can to ensure your employees don’t seriously injure themselves.
Let’s talk about some tips that should increase worker safety and cut back on injuries and fatalities in the workplace.
Clean Up Around the Job Site
Cleaning up around the job site is one way to reduce accidents. You might work in an office setting. You should clean up any cords that jut out where employees might trip over them. Instead, you can stow the cords anywhere they’re not sticking out and in the way.
If you work on a construction site, you can demand your workers put away their tools after using them. If they leave them out where people can trip over them, that might cause injuries or even deaths.
Any job site functions better when you enforce cleanliness standards. Doing a sitewide trash pickup and general cleanup when the workday concludes can help your company in this area.
Follow All OSHA Safety Requirements
OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It exists to watch over workers and job sites.
OSHA has rules in place that apply when you work in certain niches. You must follow their rules. If you don’t, they can visit the job site and fine your company or even close you down.
Some companies don’t like OSHA because they feel this entity has rigid standards the business can’t meet. OSHA only exists to protect workers and keep them safe, though.
When OSHA shows up, you don’t have acceptable cleanliness or safety standards. You shouldn’t fight the OSHA inspectors. Instead, make sure you comply with all their rules. If you do, your employees should respect you and like working at that job site.
If you don’t follow OSHA protocols, they can shut you down, and if that happens, you’ll deserve it. They didn’t dream up their regulations out of nowhere. They conducted research determining the best job site conduct for safety.
Train Your Workers Properly
Training your new workers properly can help you avoid accidents and injuries. When you conduct the onboarding process, you can tell your new employees what you expect when they come to work every day. You can show them the rules and conduct policies so they won’t harm themselves or others.
Worker safety comes from training. You should not expect your employees to show up and know what you expect from them. You must demonstrate proper safety techniques and lead by example.
If a worker won’t follow the rules, discipline them. You might take them off the schedule and send them home at first. If they still won’t learn, you might fire them for cause. Safety means too much to ignore or take lightly.
Hire Only Qualified Individuals
Some positions require particular training before you hire someone. You must make sure this person had that training. If they say they did, but they can’t prove it, don’t hire them.
Often, if someone receives safety training, they’ll have paperwork or licenses proving it. Look for those. If you must train someone before they can work for you, and they’ll willingly go through that training,
you might still hire them. You can’t let them work till they learn the ropes, though.
Set Up Refresher Safety Courses
You must train your workers properly, but you can also conduct refresher safety courses. You can have them once every year or even every six months.
You can hire companies that come in and do safety refresher courses. You might also conduct them yourself if you know the safety rules and can explain them succinctly.
Some office jobs don’t need much safety training, and you can do just the basics. You can do fire or smoke training. You’ll show everyone the fire alarm pull stations on your floor and the fire extinguisher locations.
You can also conduct active shooter drills, earthquake drills, or anything else you think makes sense. Look at the job’s possible dangers and make sure your workers can respond if they arise.
All these strategies should help you reduce employee injuries and fatalities. You can run a safe company with an excellent industry reputation.
