Thu, Oct 20, 2022

Working on updating your safety procedures and reinforcing your commitment to a zero-harm work environment?

While implementing a solid safety and risk management software platform like Damstra’s Enterprise Protection Platform (EPP) optimally prepares and protects your workers and worksites, sometimes it’s also the little things that – when taken together – help create a productive safety environment for all.

Here are 10 tips that will keep your workers safe and your business running smoothly:

1. Respect Machinery and Tools. Operating heavy equipment should be specialized skill – not a given that every worker should be expected to know a little about. You need to ensure that only those workers who are trained and certified to operate heavy tools or machinery are the only ones touching the equipment – and reinforce that throughout the organization.
   
   
2. Focus on Ergonomics. No matter if some of your workers are at desks or out in the field lifting heavy objects – maintaining safe ergonomic practices is a must to ensure your workers are safe and protected. Take a look at workstations throughout the organization and invest in a professional evaluation on how to make your environment ergonomically correct for all types of workers.
   
   
3. Be Alert and Aware. For your workers to stay safe on the job, ensure they know their surroundings and are aware of machinery and the potential hazards it poses. While this seems basic, ensure they’re aware of potential risks will significantly lower avoidable work incidents.
   
   
4. Leverage Mechanical Help. Provide wheelbarrows, conveyor belts, forklifts, and dollies to help workers lift or carry heavy loads. Make these available and accessible at all stations and encourage your workers to use them and avoid hurting their backs or having other injuries.
   
   
5. Encourage/Enforce Regular Breaks. Being over-tired leads to mistakes that lead to injuries. Help your workers prevent them by building breaks into their schedules. It’s hard to stay alert during repetitive tasks, but it’s crucial to do so. One tip to consider: schedule the most potentially dangerous jobs when workers are fresh, such as the beginning of a shift or just after a break.
   
   
6. Report Hazardous Conditions. Communications is key to workplace safety. If you or your workers see something that looks risky or see someone doing something unsafe, create an open-door policy to report it.
   
   
7. Know Your Exit Strategy. In an office or other building, identify where the closest exit is in case of an emergency. In construction, make sure your workers are familiar with the exit most easily accessible from every area and clearly identify it as an “Exit.”
   
   
8. Ensure Worker Sobriety. Using alcohol or drugs – even some prescription drugs – lowers inhibitions and fosters risky behavior in the workplace. When your entire site is compromised by impaired workers, everyone is a risk for injuries or even death. Have tools in place to check for sobriety as workers enter the workplace and throughout the day.
   
   
9. Wear the Gear. Provide your workers with earplugs to prevent hearing loss in noisy environments, as well as mandate goggle usage to protect their eyes from potential flying debris. Make sure they always take advantage of personal protection equipment.
   
   
10. Lower Workplace Stress. Everyone has stress to some degree in their lives, including your workers. Stress can interfere with their concentration and ability to perform their jobs safety. This means it can also lead to injuries that not only impact the stressed worker, but the entire team. Create an environment where workers suffering with stress feel comfortable to share that information with their supervisor and help prevent undue workplace safety risk.

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