Free Workplace Safety Tips
From LoveToKnow Safety
These free workplace safety tips can help your work team to maintain a less stressful and injury-free working environment.
Each year, safety issues or emergencies in the workplace cause physical injuries, illnesses, extra financial expenses, and even fatalities to businesses. The most current statistics from The Bureau of Labor Statistics show that in 2005 there were 1,234,680 cases of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in major industries. That’s a huge amount; especially when you note that these results only tabulate certain industries, and no fatalities are included in these statistics.
Your workplace can beat the odds with some simple safety planning and know-how. Brush up now with some basic and important free workplace safety tips.
Common Safety Definitions
Workplace Safety: Control and elimination of recognizable workplace hazards to attain an acceptable level of risk
Unsafe acts: Action or behavior that you or a co-worker carries out that may be potentially harmful
Unsafe conditions: Anything you or a co-worker finds that is potentially harmful
For example, if you work at a day care and you purposely or un-purposely leave a bottle of toxic cleaning solution out where children can find it then you have just committed an unsafe act. If you work in a hospital and you happen to come upon a large slippery pool of water on the floor then you have just found an unsafe condition.
Common Safety Issues
Although workplaces differ from industry to industry there are some commonalities when it comes to typical safety issues that arise. In this section let’s look at two common safety issues and tips to solve them.
Free Workplace Safety Tips for Common Problems
Slips, trips, and falls: Falls are the number one leading cause of injury in the workplace. A major cause of falls in the workplace is the use of improper lifting techniques. You may work with patients who need help getting around or at a factory where you’re lifting boxes on a continual basis. No matter who or what you may be lifting there are some key points to consider.
- Proper Lifting Tips
- Assess the situation and plan the lift.
- Make sure you have nonskid shoes and firm footing.
- Bend your knees, tighten your stomach, and keep your back straight.
- Make sure you have a good grip on the item or person you’re lifting (this isn’t a good time for hand lotion).
- Lift smoothly. A smooth lift means that you avoid twisting your body, point your feet in the direction you want to go, and push if possible rather than pull.
- A good workplace fire drill will combine the following:
- How to get everyone safely out of a burning and smoky building.
- A review of where to meet when everyone is out of the building.
- How to properly use a fire extinguisher.
Ideally, during your workplace fire drills, a trained safety expert should run the fire extinguisher portion of the drill. Everyone should have a turn using a real fire extinguisher to put out a real fire – trained safety experts will know how to run a drill like this and will be able to teach you about other important issues such as fire safety monitoring. If you don’t have a trained professional you can run a fire extinguisher training but without the real fire.
Planning for a Safe Workplace
Falls and fires are dangerous and common in the workplace, but that’s just the beginning. There are many possible safety issues that can occur at your workplace. Sometimes the best workplace safety arises out of simple good planning and smart thinking.
Every single workplace should have a safety committee and safety plan in place. If you don’t have safety committees at your workplace then propose one. If you work at home, guess what; you are the safety committee. Working at home or for a very small business isn’t a reason to get out of safety planning.
If you don’t have a safety plan in place yet, follow these steps when you recognize a workplace safety issue.
When a potential hazard is discovered…
- Make sure that everyone else in your workplace is aware of the problem.
- Notify your supervisor. Unless you are the supervisor; then get going on that safety committee plan.
- File any reports or documents about the problem.
- Follow up. Telling someone there’s a problem is not a guarantee that the problem will be resolved satisfactorily. Report it and later follow up to make sure the problem was addressed.
Learn More
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) is your number one stop for timely and useful workplace safety information. Got a question about safety? OSHA can answer these questions and more. Visit OSHA for free workplace safety tips regarding toxicity levels of common chemicals, blood pathogen safety, workplace violence and just about every other occupational safety question you may have.
A good place to go for free statistics about occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities across many industries is the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can view graphs, data, and learn more about the economical impact of workplace injury, record keeping, and safety news.
Learn More
Comments
i was following your advice and i sliped with a saw and now i have only 3 fingers!
you will be hearing from my lawer
-- Contributed by: fred/builderWhere can I get free daily or weekly workplace safety tips e-mailed to me???
-- Contributed by: TipsHi Mickey C., Check out OSHA's website for lots of free information that you can use in your safety meetings. You can also search their website for specific information on your particular industry - many of which offer free newsletters and other materials to use.
-- Contributed by: Charlotte Gerber