Workplace accidents occur yearly, as Australia recorded 194 fatal work injuries in 2020 alone. This can be financially burdensome on your business as you lose workforce, employee motivation and satisfaction and possible lawsuits. Workplace safety can be a complicated process, but you can save lives and equipment in the workplace by implementing the right strategies. Here are some workplace safety tips you should consider to prevent injuries and ensure your tools and equipment work effectively and efficiently.
1. Keep a tidy, organised workplace
It is typical to attempt to race the clock during work hours. However, accidents happen when several people work on large machines and everybody is trying to work as quickly as possible to keep up with the busy schedules. Empty boxes obstructing a lane, spilled liquid that will be cleaned later, wires and tape that you will put away as soon as you fill the next day are accidents waiting to happen. Working hurriedly causes such issues, posing a threat to safety. It is better to encourage a tidy and well-organised space, where caution is taken to avoid injuries.
2. Ensure regular maintenance
Routine maintenance is one of the simplest methods to improve workplace safety and equipment. However, many business owners are guilty of conducting maintenance only when their equipment breaks down or does not work properly. Pushing equipment to the point of failure is not good for its health or longevity. It can also expose your employees to danger. Regular equipment inspections can help you avoid costly maintenance and protect your personnel. When team members operate equipment that isn’t functioning at ideal capacity, they put themselves in grave danger.
3. Maintain proper access control
Everyone seems to be paying more attention to security, which is understandable. In the light of recent data breaches, data security is a top priority for most businesses. However, access control and physical security shouldn’t be an afterthought if you want to eliminate any safety and security concerns in the workplace. Unauthorised physical access could result in data or property theft, destruction, vandalism, and harm to employees. You don’t want to have to purchase new keys every time you misplace a key, so you can use the benefits of added security and flexibility of master keys if you have industrial machines like bulldozers, excavators, graders, and the like.
4. Give your staff regular, thorough training
Allowing unqualified workers to use unfamiliar equipment can result in equipment damage and injuries to employees. Training is a good strategy to mitigate this and increase the value of your staff. Although training courses may take some time from your regular work, they can provide significant investment returns. Meanwhile, properly trained staff on equipment use can operate them safely and efficiently. This way, you have a useful list of backup staff to cover for your equipment specialists when necessary.
Minimising the risk of injuries in the workplace can be hard, so knowing where to begin can be useful. Implementing one or a few safety measures can help protect your working teams and the equipment you use daily.
