Preventing workplace injuries serve to a company’s advantage in many different ways. The most obvious disadvantage of neglecting workplace safety is that if a company has many on-the-job employee injuries, employee compensation claims will rise and this can cost a business a significant amount of money.
By taking preventive action and utilizing effective safety measures, a business can combine productivity with providing its employees with safety knowledge and a safe environment to work in.
Accident Awareness Reduces Potential Hazards and Injuries
When company owners take a look at the most common types of injuries that occur in the workplace, this information provides them with the awareness that will help them start taking preventive action to reduce accidents at their company. Workplace injuries can occur when a customer slips and falls on an unsafe flooring surface, and they can also occur when an employee is injured while performing a work-related task.
Being able to identify common problems that are sources for injuries is a great first step in taking proactive measures to make a place of business safer for everyone who enters the building. If you’re working with abrasives, it’s important to wear a sandblasting clothing and a helmet to protect you at work. For painting jobs, make sure to wear a painter’s hood especially with long chemical exposure. This also applies to companies that have employees who work in various service fields, such as electricians, carpenters, and roofers.
Types of Common Workplace Accidents to Be On the Look-Out For
Conventional injuries at a place of business include:
- slips and falls on wet and slippery surfaces,
- falls that take place due to uneven flooring or broken sidewalks,
- back, leg or neck injuries due to a person lifting an item incorrectly, and
- injuries that are a result of items falling from a high place.
Other common accidents that occur on a regular basis in places of business include:
- construction accidents,
- machinery accidents while an employee is working on a production assembly line, and
- office accidents when a person trips over improperly stored office equipment or cords.
These types of typical workplace injuries can be greatly reduced when proper safety training is provided to all employees and when a safe environment is set for employees. These safety procedures need to be rigorously enforced to prevent problems that would cost you much more than the effort to set up workplace safety measures.
Preventive Safety Measures in Hospitality Work Environments
Hospitality is one of the world’s largest industries. There are numerous restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, bistros, and hotels in every part of the world. Each of these types of workplaces is prone to employees having slip and fall accidents in kitchen areas, prep areas, and dining rooms. A mopped floor, a spilt beverage, or a piece of food fallen on a hard surface floor can all lead to a simple slip and fall accident that can easily result in severe back, neck, or head injuries.
In fast-paced hospitality businesses, falls are extremely common and often happen on a weekly basis. This is because servers and kitchen staff rush through prep and cooking areas trying to perform their tasks as efficiently as possible to meet several customer requests and orders in a speedy manner. Placing down rubber mats on hard surfaces is an effective and affordable way to greatly reduce the number of falls that cause injuries in hospitality work environments. Providing safety training videos and instruction will also help to educate employees on how to move swiftly and safely at the same time in a busy and fast-paced workplace.
Simple Office Safety Protocol Reduces Work-related Accidents
An office may seem like one of the safest places to work when it comes to considering work-related accidents. However, every week, work-related injuries occur in offices across the country. These accidents are commonly due to multiple cords from standard office equipment being left out in the open. Phone cards, computer cords, fan cords, printer cords, and more all add up to a significant amount of electrical cords running across office floors. If these cords are not properly tucked away from foot traffic, an injury is bound to occur.
Another common office-related injury is due to employees lifting boxes of inventory, office supplies or heavy file boxes without the proper lifting techniques or support. Many times, these boxes are stored on shelves and it only takes one time for an employee to lift or pull down a box the wrong way for a major bodily injury to occur. These injuries are usually pulled backs or a slipped disc. Making sure all office equipment is properly stored away and giving employees regular briefings on how to handle heavy items safely will go a long way in reducing standard accidents that happen in an office work environment.
Protect Customers from Accidents in Your Place of Business
Placing down rubber mats at entryways and sidewalks to a storefront is a great step to take to help prevent customer accidents. During inclement weather conditions, every additional safety step a business owner takes will pay off dramatically. The old adage it is better to be safe than sorry is the best motto to adapt when it comes to customer and employee safety.
Patrick Barnes is a writer and blogger who enjoys sharing his knowledge on a variety of topics. He is a contributor to several websites related to technology, business and workplace safety.
