Workplace safety will be a topic of discussion in the coming month as June is recognized as National Safety Month. It’s more important now than ever to keep our workers safe and healthy.
Workplace injuries can be quite expensive with medical costs, lost productivity and decreased employee morale. As an organization, you must take preventive measures to minimize injuries and the costs associated with them. Following are 6 tips that can help.
Minimize Ergonomic Risk Factors
Ergonomic risk factors are those problems that cause unnecessary physical fatigue in employees. These risk factors are commonly found in manufacturing environments. Three primary factors include stressful postures like bending or twisting, highly repetitive motions such as frequent reaching and lifting, and forceful exertions like carrying or lifting heavy loads. Identify all such ergonomic risk factors and minimize them by putting control measures in place to limit the exposure of employees to all possible risks.
Provide Personal Protective Equipment
Offering protective equipment to workers will greatly minimize injuries and increase workplace safety. Basic protective equipment includes eye and ear protection, helmets, gloves and steel-toed safety boots.
Use the Right Equipment
You can minimize workplace safety risks with the proper equipment. By choosing the right equipment, you can make the process safer, faster and efficient. Use conveyor systems, forklifts and other forms of automation to move materials rather than carrying them manually. Machinery and automation will not only help to reduce employee safety risks but also increase productivity and profitability.
Reduce Noise and Vibration
Noise and vibration are widespread in many plants, making it imperative to protect your employees’ hearing. Vibration causes noise, but it can also lead to work-related musculoskeletal disorders and general employee fatigue. Whenever possible, use quiet running machinery that keeps the overall manufacturing decibel level at 85 dB or below.
Respond to Reports of Employee Fatigue
Physical weariness and fatigue are common occurrences in manufacturing plants. Regardless of whether you have an excellent ergonomic process that caters to the workers’ capabilities, daily manual work can take a toll on your employees’ health. Cumulative fatigue eventually will give way to a musculoskeletal disorder. Therefore, you must encourage employees to report any signs of discomfort and fatigue so you can respond quickly and put control measures in place to prevent fatigue from developing into serious injuries.
Training
Workplace training should aim to provide your workforce with knowledge and skills to perform their work in a way that is safe for them and their co-workers. Train your workers on the correct operating procedures for their job duties and verify that they always follow the workplace safety rules. Regardless of the size of the equipment and the simplicity of using it, ensure that only authorized and trained individuals operate it. In addition, effective safety training plans should include instructions and guidelines to identify hazards, report them and deal with incidents.
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