9 Tips to Prevent Workplace Injuries

Workplace accidents are unavoidable. There are all sorts of reasons why they happen and all sorts of ways that they can occur.

From a puddle of water to an electrical hazard to an icy parking lot, workplace injuries can take a toll on your employees’ health and have a negative impact on your business revenue.

Ready to make your workplace a safe, more productive environment?

Here are nine tips to prevent workplace injuries at your business.

1. Remove All Safety Hazards

Dangling wires. Slippery floors. Wall shelves that aren’t properly anchored and mounted …

In a workplace setting, anything and everything can be a safety hazard.

Do a clean sweep of your workplace from top to bottom to ensure that there are no obvious safety hazards that pose a threat to your employees.

2. Create a Safety Plan

Every work environment can benefit from having an accident prevention plan in place. This includes having safety tools on hand (such as fire extinguishers) and designating specific employees to monitor safety issues.

Part of your safety plan should be to encourage all employees to report any hazardous behaviors or problems they see.

3. Perform Routine Maintenance

Removing safety hazards is not a one-time job. It’s important to do regular inspections and routine maintenance checks to ensure that the workplace remains free and clear of hazards and potential threats.

Visit the OSHA website for a complete list of OSHA standards and put measures in place to make sure you’re adhering to those standards at all times.

4. Keep Your Workplace Clean

Cluttered spaces can lead to trips and falls. Leaks can create slippery puddles of water. In an industrial environment, small oil drips can create dangerous walkways.

No matter what your workplace environment is, it’s essential that you keep it clean, neat, and organized at all times.

5. Provide Protective Equipment

Most workplace injuries are accidents, so the more hazardous the job, the more important it is to provide employees with protective equipment. Steel toe shoes, safety goggles, hard hats, and earplugs are just a few examples of the type of safety equipment your employees may need access to.

6. Educate Employees on Safety Measure

Scheduling regular meetings on safety measures is a great way to remind employees of your safety procedures and protocols. Make safety meetings mandatory and have them on a consistent basis so that new and existing employees are always up to date on best practices.

7. Educate Employees on Healthy Living and Self-Care

What your employees do outside of work can result in injuries on the job.

For example, an employee with poor eating habits may suffer from a lack of energy or reduced physical capability. An employee that abuses alcohol may suffer from a lack of sleep. Employees that don’t have a reasonable work-life balance may be overstressed or unproductive.

All of these issues can lead to poor mental and physical health, which can increase the likelihood of workplace injuries.

By providing health and wellness education and resources you can improve the safety of your workplace and improve the quality of your employees’ lives.

8. Staff Your Business Properly

When employees are stressed out, accidents can happen. Keeping your business properly staffed can minimize stress and prevent employees from feeling overworked or mentally exhausted.

Have a hard time finding the right employees for your business?

You can attract top talent by providing your employees with additional benefits, such as life insurance or disability insurance. Check out this article to learn more about what disability insurance is and why it’s such a great perk.

9. Conduct Physicals for Physical Jobs

If your employees have to stand for long periods of time or are required to do any sort of heavy lifting, make sure that they are physically capable of doing the job.

Requiring a simple medical exam or health evaluation will help you weed out the employees that could cause accidents due to their inability to perform as needed.

In Conclusion

Even with proper preparation and ongoing education, accidents and injuries in the workplace can happen from time to time. But if you take the steps to prevent them, you can create a safer, healthier, and more productive work environment for everyone on your staff.