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Sadly, on-the-job accidents are all too common. On average, more than 2 million employees are injured each year to the point they cannot come back to work and need ongoing medical care.

Because it’s a company’s responsibility to provide staff members with a safe environment, consider the following steps to avoid common workplace accidents.

Discourage Shortcuts

Many accidents happen because employees are looking to cut corners, possibly by not putting on proper safety gear or using the right safety measures. These corner-cutters cite production demands as the reason behind their unsafe actions, and therefore, it’s important for a company to always put safety above productivity.

If production demands cannot be met with the current system, managers must look for ways to boost efficiency or production that don’t involve reducing employee safety.

Maintain All Vehicles

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), vehicle accidents cost companies across the U.S. around $60 billion annually. To help minimize vehicle accidents, ensure all business vehicles are regularly inspected and maintained. Necessary repairs should be made as soon as possible. Have drivers check all lights, tire pressure and amount of gas in the tank.

Address Working Conditions

Extreme heat or cold can not only have direct physical effects, temperature extremes can also affect workers’ decision-making and thought processes.

If employees are working in the cold, make sure they have clothing that covers their head, hands, feet, and face, as these body areas are prone to frostbite. Also, have extra clothes available should employees tear their clothes or get them wet.

If employees are working in the heat, make sure they are wearing loose-fitting clothes and get regular breaks for fluids. Also, try to provide these employees with a cool, shaded area for breaks and lunch.

Be sure employees working in extreme temperatures don’t have a medical condition that prevents them from doing so.

Cleanliness Is Safety-ness

Many employees don’t fully appreciate the safety risk associate with poor housekeeping. If an unkempt workplace becomes the norm – paper, debris, clutter and spills are acceptable – then more substantial hazards are ignored and injuries become more possible.

Good housekeeping includes keeping work areas organized, attending to any slip-trip-fall hazards, removing waste regularly, and strong personal hygiene. Evaluate your work ecosystem with an eye toward safety and take note of the layout of the work area, storage availability, and routine maintenance schedule. Encourage staff to report dangers or any deficiencies immediately.

Review Staffing Levels with an Eye to Safety

Think about the amount of overtime that your employees work. If these staff members are doing strenuous or repetitive work, a lot of overtime hours can result in overexertion injuries and accident due to fatigue.

Raising staffing levels can significantly reduce injuries caused by overtime. Furthermore, when a big job calls for many employees, insufficient staffing can push employees to cut corners and over exert themselves; causing injuries.

 

At Cornerstone, we support all the safety endeavors of our client companies and help them reduce accident risk by bolstering staff to their proper levels. Please contact us today to find out how we can make your company safer and more productive.


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