It should go without saying that injury prevention in the workplace needs to be at the top of your list of priorities, and for a number of key reasons. Not only does injury prevention eliminate legal liabilities that can ruin your brand’s reputation, it also eliminates the subsequent medical and legal bills that your company will have to pay. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
When an employee get injured in the workplace, you will not only have to pay for the costs of treatment and recovery, and not only will you have to tend to rigorous damage control to save your brand, but you will also need to invest in a substitute employee, which will put even more financial strain on your company. Now that you understand the risks involved, let’s take a look at a few tips to help you prevent workplace injuries.
Create a Workplace Safety Policy
First things first, every company needs a strict workplace safety policy. This policy should outline all of the risk factors involved in working in your specific conditions, it should map out all of the potential workplace hazards that employees should be aware of, and outline the proper codes of conduct in the workplace that all employees must adhere to. Having a safety policy will provide your business with some much-needed legal protection, so make sure not to skip this step.
Understand the Risks with Workplace Risk Assessments
There are many potential hazards in the workplace that can go unnoticed, especially when the biggest hazard are the employees themselves. Your employees can get injured if they are not exactly suited for the role and strain themselves, but they can also get injured over time because their workstations are not tailored to their needs. These are the types of problems that business leaders in Australia have been tackling proactively in recent years.
In the land down under, managers will frequently conduct programs for injury management in Brisbane and other business hubs across the continent, in order to better understand their employees, their work environment, and to ultimately pinpoint every potential risk. This helps them to eliminate risks well in advance, keep their employees safe and happy, and conduct employee training effectively.
Effectuate the Policy with Employee Training
Once you have assessed all possible risks and have created your safety policy, it’s time to put things into perspective for your employees. You can’t expect your team members to understand risks and follow a code of conduct without context, so make sure you have conduct workshops that will help them better understand these risks, how to avoid them. Take an individualized approach to training, and make sure that every employee is on board with the new policy.
Display the Necessary Warning Signs
You need to display the proper warning signage in and around your facility for two key reasons: to ensure employee safety, and to comply with the government rules and regulations. Remember to check if every employee understands what every sign means, and check if all signs are clearly visible from all angles.
Provide All Government-Mandated PPE
Finally, you need to provide all of your employees with the necessary personal protection equipment for the same reasons. Not only is it mandatory for employees to wear the appropriate protection gear while on the job, but it is the duty of the employer to supply the equipment. To avoid legal liabilities and prevent employees from trying to take advantage of you, be sure to create a checkout system for every piece of equipment to make sure that the employee received their protective gear at the start of their shift.
Wrapping Up
Injury prevention should be one of your top priorities if you are to safeguard your brand’s reputation and avoid legal problems down the road. With these tips in mind, you should have no problem creating a safer work environment for your employees.
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