The 21st century has witnessed impressive reductions in the number of occupational fatalities and injuries. This represents good news and reason to celebrate. There are fewer workplace accidents than in the year before. Steady improvements have been made across all industries in the last years. There is nothing wrong with taking satisfaction in the numbers. Nevertheless, it is essential not to ignore the fact that preventable injuries still take place from time to time. Ideally, there should be no accident in the workplace. It is impossible to have zero occupational accidents. Why? This is due to the fact that some things cannot be predicted. Advanced analytics are indeed helpful, but attention needs to be paid to the fact that they have a 97% precision rate.
The likelihood of workplace accidents can be significantly diminished, which is reason enough for trying. Injuries occur over the course of an individual’s employment activities can be prevented through advanced planning and communication. There is nothing more important than making sure your workers are completely safe. Take action and protect the wellbeing of the members of your team. These are the steps that you need to take in order to avoid injury. Make sure to implement measures that actually work.
Inform workers about the importance of safety when they start
While virtually anyone can be injured on the job, there is no denying the fact that some sectors of activity are more dangerous than others. Construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation are just a few examples. It is recommendable, when hiring, to tell people about the importance of safety. People that are more aware of safety and the way in which they do their jobs are more likely to concentrate their efforts on making the work environment a better place. If your organisation is deploying perilous equipment and the employees are exposed to serious illnesses, you might even want to implement a safety training program. The moment that people join the workplace, they need to know for sure a high priority is placed on safety. The employees will be able to identify safety hazards and correct them, of course.
Research safety vulnerabilities
These days, entrepreneurs actively research vulnerabilities in offices and factories. It has become clear for them that there are certain risk levels and it is necessary to control and even eliminate hazards. More than half of safety vulnerabilities can be addressed through procedures that are in compliance with the laws and regulations in force. If you do not take the necessary safety measures, one of your employees could get hurt and you risk getting involved in a lawsuit. This is a situation that every business is required to deal with at one point or another – in other words, a personal injury lawsuit. A lawsuit between you and your worker can take several years to settle. During this time, you cannot do business as in the old days. Lawyers can help with a claim on no win no fee basis, so there is no need for the person to pay the contingency fee. This means that individuals are able to make a compensation claim without taking any financial risk. Your business is unique, which translates into the fact that you do not have the same safety concerns as others. Do some research and get a good understanding of the possible scenarios linked to hazards. Take into consideration common accidents and come up with solutions. The last thing that you want is to experience setbacks.
Do not rush the employees
It is not a good idea to rush in the workplace. Unfortunately, workers move with urgent haste, believing that this is the best way to get things done. When a person is in a hurry, they risk injuring themselves and those around them. If you take a close look at statistics, you will see that most occupational injuries are the direct result of employees not carrying out their tasks properly. Perhaps you have a warehousing business. In addition to investing in workplace health and safety, you will want to teach your employees that there is no reason to rush. Workers may feel they have to rush to get the job done on time or to complete the tasks that they should have done earlier. Let people know that rushing impedes productivity and it is not required to do their work as fast as possible.
Examine injuries
To identify and asses’ hazards, that is something that you can easily do. Gather data relating to occupational injuries and figure out what the underlying causes are. If there are any injuries at all, it is paramount to determine what went wrong. Accidents may or may not result in an injury. You may want to implement a system for the collection, analysis, and interpretation of occupational injuries. After all, you are committed to offering the people who work for you a safe and healthy environment, so why not do it? As mentioned in the beginning, analytics are 97% accurate, meaning that you can use predictive software systems.
Take the time to change the working methods
Certain physical actions are employed when it comes down to performing a task. The way in which a task is carried out has a great impact on the risk associated with the job. The number of occupational fatalities and injuries can be dramatically reduced if the working methods are changed. Sure, this takes a great deal of time, but what could be more important than the safety of the people within your organisation? Take the initiative and prevent accidents like falls from ever happening. Stringent rules can be applied, not to mention that restrictive measures can be applied. Introducing change in the work environment may not be the easiest thing in the world, but neither is it extremely difficult. Working methods are already changing. To be more precise, workers are adopting strategies for change, such as not working overtime, and so should you, as the head of the company.