Workplace safety is a top priority in the light industrial and skilled trade industries. Injuries on the job not only disrupt workflow and project timelines but also have serious repercussions for the injured person, their family, and sometimes their career. Over the years there have been many ideas and processes shared on how best to enforce workplace safety policies. Today, we want to tell you how employee responsibility is one of the most crucial steps in improving safe workplace conditions.
According to OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2023 had over 24,000 avoidable workplace incidents take place caused by safety violations. The top safety violations among them were:
While some incidents truly are accidents and unavoidable, there are many things you can do in warehouses and on job sites to begin improving safe workplace conditions.
To ensure your own safety, the use of PPE is one of the easiest steps you can take to ensure safety in your workplace. Abiding by your organization’s PPE policies also encourages others to do so, keeping you all safe from potential workplace hazards.
Clutter creates a fall risk when present on the ground, potentially hiding other hazards. It also creates falling objects that could lead to head trauma if proper PPE is not used. Making sure to clear clutter from your workspace assists in increasing the organization’s overall satisfaction in improving safe workplace environments.
Communication with your supervisor or the rest of your team is key when an unsafe working condition is uncovered. By alerting others, you lessen the risk of someone becoming injured because they did not notice. This also allows management to address any shortcomings in existing safety policies to ensure the condition does not occur again.
Workplace safety will continue to evolve for each industry. What does not change is our ability to have a positive impact on our working environments by setting an example.
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