According to the United States Department of Labor, an average of 13 Americans dies a work related death every day. That may be a surprising statistic as we believe that many work related deaths only occur in other countries such as Columbia or Bangladesh. But many Americans wake up every day and end up being harmed. Every year 4 million workers are seriously injured on the job as well.
This presents big problems and possible law suits for companies who fail to practice proper safety measures. Many of these injuries and deaths occur in factories and places where moving heavy equipment and doing high amounts of manual labor is common. For these types of companies you try to squeeze the most out of every employee but the numbers they push every day.
There is a fine line between production and how prone you make your employees to injury though. And sometimes situations turn for the worst. Making the possible risks your employees take every day known to them is not just a large part of protecting them and keeping them safe but it is also to protect you and your company.
The List
Here are three tips you can use to improve worker safety and help to protect your company.
1) When moving materials make sure your employees are all aware of what they are actually moving. You do not want all of the materials to be a mystery to your workers and them not wear proper protection. Even though your company may provide facemasks, gloves or any other protection it still puts the company in a high risk situation if the worker does not follow protocol. 20 years down the road when they fall ill from possible after effects of the material could prove costly to both them and you.
2) Make sure your employees are aware of how to move heavy loads. Whether these heavy loads are by hand or with a forklift or some other way to move things around, make sure they are aware of the safety risks. Back injuries are some of the most common among employees because many of them are unaware of how to properly lift a heavy load. Forklifts tipping over in the middle of a warehouse are never an ideal situation either.
3) Make sure anything stored in your warehouse or factory is stored correctly. Often times forklift pallets are not put into place properly or chemicals are not stored at the correct temperature. Materials’ falling on employees is one of the main causes of workplace injuries and it is also one of the most avoidable.
Keeping the Flow Going
Workplace accidents are a nightmare for both parties involved. Employees can go for months without going to work while they heal from their injury and companies can be liable for the injured employee. To keep the company to employee street comfortably flowing two ways it is best for both parties to be aware of all the possible safety issues.