As an employer it is your duty to keep your employees safe and to minimise the risk of accidents at work. While accidents can’t be prevented 100% of the time because some things can’t be foreseen, that doesn’t mean you can’t minimise their risk substantially. While many of us associate accidents at work with high risk industries like construction, accidents can happen in any workplace. Unfortunately, when accidents do occur, they can impact your business by having people off work as a result or a potential legal claim by the injured employee. So, what should you do to minimise the risk? Here is some key advice form personal injury firm First4Lawyers:
Keep workplaces uncluttered and clean
Having a bit of order and cleanliness in the workplace greatly minimises the risk of accidents at work. A cluttered and unclean area is more difficult to move around and can lead to falls. Make sure computer cables are attached to walls and carpet isn’t a tripping hazard.
Provide proper training
This is crucial to avoid accidents. All employees need to be fully trained for their position and know how to use equipment and follow safety procedures.
Provide the correct equipment
Again, this is of fundamental importance and under no circumstances should employees be required to do their jobs without the proper equipment. This could range from suitable workstations in offices to harnesses or gloves on building sites.
Keep vehicles maintained
If your employees use vehicles as part of their job, you should ensure that they maintained to minimise the risk of accidents.
Report dangers and accidents
While many employees know that they should report accidents or dangers in the workplace you should further encourage your staff to bring any dangers to the attention of their manager.
Post proper signage
It’s a good idea to remind your employees regularly about safety procedures and one easy way of doing this is to put signs up around the workplace. Signs should be posted in noticeable places and where those specific procedures should be carried out.
Make sure your staff don’t take shortcuts
A lot of the time accidents don’t happen because safety procedures aren’t in place or employees haven’t been trained, but because individuals take short cuts. An accident at work often happens when an individual is familiar with their job and they want to do something quickly. As a result, they don’t follow the necessary safety procedures or don’t use a piece of safety equipment to save time. Make sure your staff know that they should not take short cuts under any circumstances.
If you follow these simple steps you will be taking a big step forward in protecting your staff and your business from accidents at work.
