How To Keep Your Manual Laborers Safe

What kind of business do you run? If it’s one that relies on manual labor, then it’s absolutely crucial that you take care of your employees – they’re literally the backbone of your business, and if they’re not able to carry out the hard work, then how are you going to make any profits? 

Ensuring your manual laborers are safe and sound is vital if you want to be productive, have high morale, and reduce workplace injuries – and you definitely do want to do all those things. With that in mind, here are some ways you can ensure everyone stays safe. 

Provide Proper Training

One of the best ways to ensure that everyone stays safe when they’re doing manual labor tasks for you in your business is to check that they really know what they’re doing by giving them the training they need to do everything the right way. 

Not only does training mean that everyone knows where the dangers lie and how to get past those particular obstacles by being safe and working in the proper way, but it also gives them control over what they’re doing – knowledge is power, after all – which can help them feel happier and more satisfied, and that should help them work harder. 

Give Regular Checkups 

Something else that can help keep everyone safe in a manual labor position is regular medicals; they’re actually critical for the health and wellbeing of your team. These medicals, and especially something specific to your industry, like a railway medical, can point to various health issues early on, ensuring that workers stay fit and healthy, get the help they need, and don’t run the risk of workplace accidents and injuries – once again, knowledge is power. 

There are various different medicals you can choose from (or choose all of them), including pre-employment medicals, periodic health checks, and fitness-for-duty evaluations, and it’s all going to depend on what you need, the work you do, and the people you want to do it for you, so you’ll need to investigate further to determine exactly what it is you want to put in place. 

Give PPE

PPE (which stands for personal protective equipment) is generally going to be crucial when it comes to a manual labor job, and it’s one of the best ways to protect your workers from injuries, which is why employers have to provide the right PPE for the specific tasks that need doing. 

Not only do employers have to provide the PPE, but they need to make sure that people know how to use it and that they do actually use it. Some of that can come under the training we mentioned earlier, but make sure it’s specific training so that nothing is missed. 
PPE consists of a variety of different items, and it’s going to vary from job to job, but some of the most common are hard hats, gloves, goggles or safety glasses, safety shoes, and hearing protection. If you can give your team high-quality PPE and ensure they know how and when to use it (and do), you’ll be giving them a great path to head down that keeps them safe.

This is a contributed post.