Every year workplace accidents lawyers are busy with litigation stemming from workplace injuries that could have all been avoided in the first place by maintaining proper safety precautions. Once an accident happens, it is already too late to react. The key is to take precautionary steps to prevent the workplace accidents from happening in the first place. In this article, we will address the most fundamental procedural steps to be taken to improve safety in the industrial workplace. We will not be dealing with specific safety steps as in specific respirators, fire protection devices and the like which is a topic for another discussion.
First of all, develop a safety procedures manual that details the safety policy for your company. Every employee must then be trained in the instructions in the manual and should then be required to sign off on a training sheet. This safety manual should outline all of the MUST DO and MUST AVOID actions in the workplace. This manual must be revised as necessary as additional processes are added or altered. Newer employees must be trained and current employees must be re-trained periodically. One person as a minimum must be allocated to oversee the safety operations of your company. This safety officer should report directly to the President of the company at least as far as the safety portion of his or her duties. This ensures everyone that safety practices are taken seriously right from the very top of the organizational ladder.
Penalties for violating safety practices should be fairly strict. For example, if an employee chooses not to wear safety glasses at the manufacturing areas, he should be sent home without pay. It is cheaper to lose a day in pay than to lose ones vision because of negligence in wearing safety glasses. The same is applicable in wearing proper safety gloves. Areas where there is a high level of noise must have clear signs requiring the use of hearing protection devices such as ear muffs and if one chooses to violate the policy then the penalties must be fairly strict. The safety officer should be required to maintain a log of workplace injuries and accidents and should be given a goal of reducing and potentially eliminating all workplace accidents and injuries. One could provide incentives to keep the workplace free of all injuries and accidents. Safety signs and placards form a constant reminder to employees of the importance of adhering to safety practices. Such signs should be evaluated periodically. Once I came across a manufacturing facility that had a sign that denoted the presence of flammable liquids in one area where there were nothing but sand blasting booths and another sign in an area denoting the requirement of the use of dust masks and the area had nothing but drums of acetone. As you can guess, the company had done some moving around of departments namely the flammable storage area was swapped with the sand blasting area but no one thought of removing and relocating the safety signs also. Changing the signs periodically also ensures that employees are not becoming blind to the safety signs. Remember, the goal is to prevent work place accidents, work place injuries and associated lawsuits. Simple procedures can go a long way in accomplishing this task.
By: Raj Krishnaswamy
About the Author:
First of all, develop a safety procedures manual that details the safety policy for your company. Every employee must then be trained in the instructions in the manual and should then be required to sign off on a training sheet. This safety manual should outline all of the MUST DO and MUST AVOID actions in the workplace. This manual must be revised as necessary as additional processes are added or altered. Newer employees must be trained and current employees must be re-trained periodically. One person as a minimum must be allocated to oversee the safety operations of your company. This safety officer should report directly to the President of the company at least as far as the safety portion of his or her duties. This ensures everyone that safety practices are taken seriously right from the very top of the organizational ladder.
Penalties for violating safety practices should be fairly strict. For example, if an employee chooses not to wear safety glasses at the manufacturing areas, he should be sent home without pay. It is cheaper to lose a day in pay than to lose ones vision because of negligence in wearing safety glasses. The same is applicable in wearing proper safety gloves. Areas where there is a high level of noise must have clear signs requiring the use of hearing protection devices such as ear muffs and if one chooses to violate the policy then the penalties must be fairly strict. The safety officer should be required to maintain a log of workplace injuries and accidents and should be given a goal of reducing and potentially eliminating all workplace accidents and injuries. One could provide incentives to keep the workplace free of all injuries and accidents. Safety signs and placards form a constant reminder to employees of the importance of adhering to safety practices. Such signs should be evaluated periodically. Once I came across a manufacturing facility that had a sign that denoted the presence of flammable liquids in one area where there were nothing but sand blasting booths and another sign in an area denoting the requirement of the use of dust masks and the area had nothing but drums of acetone. As you can guess, the company had done some moving around of departments namely the flammable storage area was swapped with the sand blasting area but no one thought of removing and relocating the safety signs also. Changing the signs periodically also ensures that employees are not becoming blind to the safety signs. Remember, the goal is to prevent work place accidents, work place injuries and associated lawsuits. Simple procedures can go a long way in accomplishing this task.
By: Raj Krishnaswamy
About the Author:
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