Health & Safety in the workplace: 3 things to keep in mind

health & safety

Health and safety in the workplace is a serious matter for all businesses.

The risk of employees or visitors to the office getting injured could lead to a loss of a key member of the team, or a client or supplier sustaining an injury.

That’s bad for them and difficult for the business to deal with appropriately too.

Problems relating to health and safety are best avoided. To do this, there’s a few things to bear in mind.

The Need to Keep Everything Neat and Tidy

It’s the most surprising things that cause accidents. Something as simple as a cabinet door left open when it didn’t need to be can cause injury; it might not be seen soon enough by an employee walking around the corner towards it.

A drink spill that doesn’t get cleaned up or neglecting to put up a yellow warning sign to highlight that the area nearby is slippery are both equal offenders. Not noticing the wet floor until it’s too late could cause someone to lose their footing, fall backwards and hit their head on the edge of a desk or the floor below. Either injury could potentially be fatal or cause ongoing problems from the effects of a concussion.

Staff should be made aware of the need to be vigilant, not just with themselves keeping things tidy with doors or desk drawers not left open, but also other people failing in their duty to keep a safe workplace for all.

Covering Over Problem Areas

When using equipment that has exposed screws, sharp surfaces or drive shafts that could cut the hand or arm of someone unaware of it, it’s important to use guards. Guards and screw covers go over the top of these troublesome areas to avoid accidental injury to workers or people touring the facility.

There’s also a risk of part of a piece of clothing or long hair getting caught in exposed machinery and pulling the person ever closer towards the machine. Using covers helps to avoid the risk of catching things inside active machinery that could be hazardous.

The Proper Way to Carry or Move Heavy Objects

There are times when it is necessary to lift a printer to a new spot or reposition a desk. Lifting heavy objects isn’t something people expect to do in an office job, but sometimes it’s necessary.

The employee and their manager should confer to see whether they’re capable of lifting the item or if it will be too much for them to handle. A back brace should be worn to avoid injury. If the employee has previous issues with their back, another person should move the item instead.

When the object is deemed too heavy to comfortably lift, either several people can share the load, or an outside mover might be able to assist; they have people who are used to lifting heavy items every day, wear protective gear, and know their limits.

Health and safety should always be at the forefront of employees’ minds to avoid issues. It’s when people get absentminded that accidents occur.