Workplace accidents are quite common, and safety protocols exist to either reduce the severity of the accident as much as possible or prevent it from happening in the first place. However, safety is also sometimes overlooked, or outright ignored, leading to severe accidents and injuries.
In the US, there were 2.2 million cases of non-fatal injuries or illnesses in 2021 in the private sector alone. The industry handling the most manual handling work and heavy materials—logistics—experiences the highest injury rate per 10,000 workers.
In this content piece, we will look at workplace safety and how poor workplace practices can lead to accidents, injuries, and more.
Safety Practices at Work
For both managers and workers, it can sometimes feel like safety is too much of a hassle. There are so many health and safety requirements, policies, risk assessments, and other processes to handle that it feels like it is useless to do them and get straight to the task itself.
However, even a slight disregard for safety, from delaying the scheduled maintenance to missing one or a few safety inspections, can often lead to drastic accidents with serious consequences. These safety practices should not be considered as a delay in the task itself, but part of the job as a whole. Neither managers nor the workers should disregard or dismiss safety protocols over getting done with the tasks.
Poor Workplace Practices
Some examples of poor safety practices in the workplace include:
- Not following proper procedures for handling hazardous materials. Not following proper procedures for handling hazardous materials can lead to chemical spills, explosions, or toxic exposure.
- Failing to provide proper personal protective equipment can cause injuries such as falling objects, exposure to harmful substances, or electrical hazards.
- Not properly maintaining equipment or machinery is a huge cause of injuries, as faults within equipment with this practice are not discovered until after the fact. It also leads to other problems as it can lead to breakdowns, malfunctions, or equipment failure, which can lead to more injuries and accidents.
- Ignoring safety warnings or instructions, especially labels and danger signs, can lead to a litany of safety code violations and accidents. It can also lead to employees performing tasks in an unsafe manner.
- Failing to properly train employees on safety procedures can make existing safety policies and procedures worthless, regardless of how effective they might have been. It can lead to employees not knowing how to safely perform their job duties as well.
- Not conducting regular safety inspections or audits can lead to improper safety considerations. These inspections can potentially reveal a safety issue previously unaccounted for, and ignoring them can lead to dire consequences.
- Not addressing potential safety hazards on time is not just a safety issue, but can land a manager or even the company in serious legal and public trouble.
- Failing to have an emergency response plan in place can make a bad situation even worse. A fire that goes on uncontrolled in a single room can potentially cause an entire building to be put in flames.
- Allowing employees to work while fatigued or under the influence of drugs or alcohol can increase the risk of accidents, and injuries, and can lead to plenty of legal repercussions for both the employee and the organization. Employees under such duress can make mistakes, become easily distracted, or not be able to respond quickly to emergencies.
Preventing Injuries Through Better Workplace Practices, Training, and Policies
Keeping up with safety procedures and conducting work in a risk-free manner can be hectic, but it is necessary to work safely and prevent injuries, accidents, and loss of life. These poor practices have a monetary cost to them too and can make the work of everyone else more and more difficult in the process.
Safe and effective workplace practices stem from the employer or the organization. The employer has to ensure that strict safety policies that conform to the laws and regulations are put in place, and enforced by managers, officers, inspection officers, and other managerial staff. (Ambien Generic) These policies should also be reinforced through regular training for both existing and new employees.
Providing training is not a complete solution, but it provides the necessary guidance and awareness to make existing safe practices and procedures work more effectively. It also reduces the likelihood that new employees will be unfamiliar with safety policies, even if working remotely. In certain cases, such as when working with grinding wheels, it might be necessary to provide additional hands-on training on top of an abrasive wheel course to ensure safe practices at work and prevent injuries.
Conclusion
Workplace safety is a necessity that can be difficult to achieve, and if some workplaces do not follow these procedures, it leads to poor and unsafe practices that can cause accidents. Here, we looked at how and why these practices lead to accidents, and what can be done to prevent them.
