Employee safety should be a top priority at every business. Improve your workplace safety and minimize hazards with these 4 workplace safety tips.
Roughly 4.5 million workplace accidents occur annually in the United States. If you are the owner of a business, finding ways to prevent these accidents should be one of your top concerns. Not only do workplace accidents cause injuries to your team members, they can also reduce productivity levels.
If you are noticing a higher rate of on-the-job accidents in recent months, now is the time to take action. The longer you wait to get a handle on this problem, the worse it will get.
The following are some workplace safety tips you need to learn and implement.
1. Using Lockout Tagout on Equipment is Crucial
Maintaining and repairing large pieces of machinery and equipment is pretty standard for most businesses. If a machine is being repaired, workers may be confused about whether or not they can turn it on if there is no signage in place.
One of the best ways to remedy this problem is by adopting a comprehensive lockout tagout process. This process allows members of your maintenance team to completely disable a machine when working on it. By doing this, you can prevent accidents and minimize the amount of damage done to your machinery.
2. Provide Employees with Regular Breaks
Do your employees perform the same tasks over and over again throughout the course of a workday? If so, providing them with plenty of breaks is a good idea. Repetitive motion injuries are extremely common, but preventable.
Letting your team know about the risks of these injuries is the first step. Once they are aware of repetitive motion injuries, you need to let them know how to prevent them. Providing them with breaks and teaching employees various stretching exercises is a great idea.
These stretches can help alleviate strain on the muscles used to perform repetitive tasks. Consulting with an occupational therapist is essential when trying to learn what stretches can help your team.
3. Focus on Keeping Your Workspace Clean
Slip and fall accidents are also common in commercial buildings. In most cases, these accidents are caused by clutter. Instead of waiting until an employee is injured to declutter your workspace, you need to work on accomplishing this task now.
Once you have a clean workspace, delegate tasks to your team to keep it that way. Putting different team members in charge of these tasks will help ensure no one gets too overwhelmed.
4. Listen to Employee Feedback
Most business owners have very busy schedules. This means that they won’t always be able to tell when a safety issue is present in their commercial building. The best way to solve this problem is by asking for and listening to feedback from your team.
The people who work in a particular environment everyday will have a unique insight into what is wrong. With their help, you can make your workspace safer and more productive.
Implementing The Workplace Safety Tips
Instead of letting these workplace safety tips go in one ear and out the other, find ways to use them. While increasing safety won’t happen overnight, it is an achievable goal.
If you are looking for more business advice, be sure to check out the rest of our blogs.
