How to Prevent Common Workplace Mishaps

Accidents at work are a fact of business and will happen at some point or another so protecting your company is also a necessary fact. While you might have the correct insurance policies in place, someone being hurt on your watch isn’t exactly pleasant and could have a negative impact on your business.

As an employer, you have a responsibility to protect your employees from any and all danger that could befall them while working for you. Danger lurks around every corner and will strike given the opportunity, so you should take reasonable steps to reduce incidents to your staff by implementing some small changes.

Some of the most common accidents at work include:

• Eye injury
• RSI
• Slips and trips

Being struck in the eyes is a very real danger in most industrial settings while RSI is prevalent in the office. Slips and trips can happen anywhere and are among the most common injuries at work.

Provide Adequate Eye Protection

While damage to the eyes can theoretically happen anywhere, the most prevalent causes of eye injury come from industrial settings. The dangers of an industrial environment are everywhere and strong precautions must be taken to ensure a safe workplace when it comes to industry.

Because of the high risk involved, industrial sites of all kinds are prone to inspection at any time from regulating bodies who carry out health and safety checks, ensure policies are enacted and procedures are followed. 

This can include staff safety but also extends to environmental concerns, licenses and permits, and waste management among others. Staff safety should be a priority in industrial premises and an internal risk assessment should also be performed.

While it is partly down to individual personnel to ensure their own safety and follow necessary procedures, the employer is also responsible for making sure safety guidelines are followed. In most countries, breach of health and safety regulations is a criminal act and can result in fines and prosecution.

The vast amount of dangerous components and moving objects means that eye injuries are a common issue in production environments. Over 800,000 people per year sustain some kind of eye injury while at work and most are preventable with simple solutions such as wearing the correct eye safety gear, eyewash stations, and using obstructions where possible.

While there are all types of protective eyewear available, eye protection should be of the highest standard available so you should click here for more information on the ANSI Z87 standard which is the only authorized eye gear standard for use everywhere that can include prescription lenses. The fact that ANSI Z87 eyewear can include prescription lenses means that anyone with vision issues can safely carry out their job, as opposed to when using generic plastic goggles.

Issuing eye washing stations in the most high-risk areas will help prevent incidents from becoming long term issues. In production environments that use a lot of chemicals, for example, eyewash stations should be placed in each chemical area. If chemicals are not rinsed from the eyes immediately on contact, they could result in impaired vision. 

Another solution to helping to prevent eye injury is incorporating obstructions and guards where necessary. Metal grinders and welders might need extra protection from flying sparks and debris while falling materials on a building site is a common cause of injury. Installing protective barriers between hazards and personnel should be part of your health and safety regimen.

One of the most effective solutions to reducing injury that stems from health and safety issues is to discipline staff members who do not follow the guidelines and regulations set before them. You may go out of your way to install necessary safety features but they are pointless if not used correctly and could cost you and your business as well as the injured party.

Environment Should Not Be Overlooked

Commonly found in an office setting, repetitive strain injury can occur to anyone at any time if they are performing the same task over and over or are required to stay in the same position. While RSI has always been around, the late 1990s and early 2000s saw a boom in RSI awareness as companies in the tech sector that employed many office workers found themselves being sued by employees.

The issue was those office workers who constantly used computers or sat at desks were developing debilitating pain issues in the neck, shoulders, hands, legs, feet, and wrists from all the typing and using mice they had to do while sitting at their desks.

RSI is caused by having to extend and stress the same muscles over and over which eventually causes a strain if the problem isn’t rectified. Over an extended period of time, RSI can cause joint problems, stiffened muscles, and cramps which left untreated can become permanent.

As an employer, you have a legal obligation to ensure a healthy and hazard-free work environment for all of your employees. RSI compensation claims can be made against you which can result in being sued for large amounts of money or held criminally liable for the injuries sustained.

Good RSI practices should, at the very least, allow staff to take regular breaks, especially if they work at a computer. More advanced practices have been designed that ensures RSI for employees is greatly reduced.

The philosophy of ergonomics has been built around making a safer workplace by studying the relationship between people and the environment in which they work. Specially designed furniture and accessories can be purchased that account for prolonged use, maximize space, and encourage good posture. Adjustable desks and chairs are a good start as it is advised that computer users maintain eye level with display devices while both feet are firmly on the ground with the knees bent at a 90 degree angle.

Expanding upon this, specially designed keyboards and mice accommodate the shape of the hands and the position of arms while keyboard stands and footrests allow for further adjustment of an employee’s work station.

Ergonomic solutions are an initial expense but the health of your workers is an expense that is well worth the cost vs. reward. Healthy staff are happy staff and happy staff are productive staff.  A recent study found that employees who are treated well and are therefore happy at work are on average 31% more productive than workers who feel unhappy.

Standing workstations are becoming more common among computer workers as they have been shown to relieve the back pain and sores associated with sitting in office chairs for long periods, although these also have their own associated issues such as foot pain and leg cramps if not used properly.

Most Common, Most Avoidable

Perhaps the most common injuries at work are slips, trips, and falls which account for 37% of all hazardous workplace incidents, and while the majority might be complete accidents, a rather large percentage are avoidable.

There are many causes of these types of injuries including exposed or protruding objects, slippery surfaces, and unsafe practices. For example, an office employee might leave a bag sticking out from under their desk, a recently mopped floor isn’t always obvious and it isn’t uncommon for people to overextend themselves when using a ladder.

To avoid a big part of work injuries caused by hazardous objects, use heat shrink tubing; it’s used in various applications, from electrical insulation to packaging. Heat shrink tubing can provide a protective barrier between workers and potential hazards when appropriately used. For example, if electrical wires need to be repaired, heat shrink tubing can be used to cover the exposed wires and prevent shock. In addition, heat shrink tubing can be used to insulate workers from hot surfaces or chemicals. Using heat shrink tubing, employers can help create a safer work environment and avoid costly workplace accidents.

Health and safety in the workplace is a priority when it comes to safeguarding your employees and your company therefore it is necessary to implement strict policies and procedures across the entire business with scrutiny. 

Procuring a health and safety team to analyze and identify areas of risk for slips, trips, and falls will have a large impact on the reduction of injuries at work. In addition, employees should be regularly trained and updated on any and all dangers in their working environment which includes identifying risk, avoiding risk, and managing risk.

Staff members need to be aware of their immediate dangers such as working with slippery chemicals, what safety gear they would need such as high grip protective boots, and what to do should somebody fall over such as basic first aid, raising alarm, and who to contact.

As an employer, you should provide staff with reasonable options for safety gear and hold classes on first aid for particularly vulnerable staff. Crisis management equipment should always be clearly labeled and staff should be aware of where it is and how to use it while any on-site medics or doctors should always be on-call with contact details readily available.

Employees who consistently fail to adhere to their necessary safety precautions in order to avoid falls should be disciplined accordingly. The unsafe use of ladders for example is often the cause of a fall at work. Ladders should only be climbed three-quarters of the way up else they become unstable should someone climb further and this is a common mistake by staff members and indeed private individuals.

As of 2020, slips, trips, and falls at work are costing businesses in the hundreds of millions because of claims against them, being sued or covering medical expenses, and loss of staff members. An initial investment in even the most basic health and safety procedures can have a lasting legacy over the safety of your employees and should always take priority over profits.

This is a contributed post.