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Safety is at the forefront of everyone’s mind lately, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. While keeping your employees safe from the ongoing virus is important, it doesn’t mean other safety measures in the workplace should suddenly be ignored.
In the U.S. alone, there were more than 5,000 workplace fatalities due to injuries in 2018. The most common types of injuries in the workplace are slips and falls. Many of them happen in manufacturing or factory settings, but no industry is immune.
Whether you currently own your own company or you’re an aspiring business owner trying to cover all your bases, it’s important to know how to keep your employees safe.
There are endless resources, suggestions, and tips to keep in mind, but we’ll start out with three that you can use as preventative measures for employee safety.
1. Train Your Workers Well
One of the best things you can do to keep your employees safe is to train them for the exact job(s) they’ll be doing. That includes making sure they know the equipment they’ll be handling, as well as every component of that equipment.
For example, if an employee is working with an air compressor unit, do they know what a condensate drain does, or about Tameson products? If they are operating heavy machinery, do they know any overrides that may need to be performed, or how to handle an emergency situation?
Training can prevent injury, and even save lives.
2. Put Signs Everywhere
Even the most well-trained employees aren’t perfect. Human error is a very real thing, and everyone makes mistakes.
In order to reduce the chance of those mistakes, put your safety policies in as many places as possible. Signs are a great way to remind your workers about certain procedures that are in place for their wellbeing.
It might seem redundant to keep reminding everyone, but it is well worth it if those simple reminders can be a ‘lightbulb moment’ for a worker, and help them to do the right thing if they find themselves in a dangerous situation.
3. Encourage a Healthy Work-Life Balance
Keeping your employees safe actually goes far beyond what you can control within the workplace. Stress is a huge problem for employees, and it can lead to a lack of focus and energy. That is a recipe for disaster that can increase the risk of accidents (as well as sickness).
It’s important to make sure your employees don’t burn out on the job and risk their wellbeing. In order to do that, give them adequate time off, encourage breaks, and make sure they aren’t feeling overwhelmed and overworked. Some employees may be reluctant to take time off. But, by making it a workplace policy, you will ensure that everyone gets the rest and relaxation they need.
Keeping your employees safe and healthy should be a top priority. It’s much easier to take preventative measures for safety rather than deal with injuries after they happen. Your employees will appreciate the attention and care, and your business will benefit from it.