Handy Tips for Workplace Safety
One of the common misconceptions employers have is that workplace safety can be maintained solely through posting guidelines and policies for their employees. However, if your employees are not familiar with their surroundings, then safety standards will be difficult to uphold. For workplace safety to be upheld, your employees need to identify potential risks and steer clean from unsafe behaviours. If they do not know how to determine this, then they will not be able to make well-informed safety decisions that cannot be taught. Here are some handy tips for workplace safety that you could employ.
Ensure potential hazards are established
All employees should be aware of the different hazards in the work place. This could include equipment, machinery, risky office spaces and more. This is especially important in a factory setting, as you cannot enumerate all the potential hazards on paper. Instead, your employees need to familiarize themselves with their surroundings so as to ensure they avoid any hazardous situations at all costs.
Be mindful of posture
Posture is an important aspect of workplace safety, whether working behind a desk or performing manual tasks. For office workers, you could invest in ergonomic furniture to reduce the incidences of posture related ailments such as backaches, neck cramps, sciatic pain and more. For factory workers, ensure they know that all heavy lifting should be done in correct form. Rather than lifting items using the strength from their back, they should propel the weight with the strength from their thighs. Factory workers should also avoid instances of stooping and twisting while lifting heavy items as this increases the risk of back injuries.
Do not be stingy with breaks
Your employees are not robots. As humans, they are susceptible to burning out or simply not being alert due to fatigue. It is pertinent that regular breaks are scheduled to ensure that your employees are working while alert and responsive. One tip to helping your employees stay alert is scheduling their most intensive tasks when they have just reported to work, thus ensuring that their minds will be fresh. Even though they have a long shift ahead of them, it is best to ensure they can take regular breaks to stretch and clear the minds so as to avoid instances of workers sleeping on the job or simply not being productive.
Ban the use of shortcuts
Some employees may take shortcuts with their work to finish their project faster. For instance, factory workers may opt to use scaffolding to get to hard to reach places rather than using a ladder. Not only does this put them at risk of injuring themselves, but you are also being put at risk of being liable. Put measures in place such as docking of pay in the event that workers opt for shortcuts rather than perform the task at hand appropriately.
For more information or a workplace safety assessment, contact companies like Robson Environmental Pty Ltd.