June every year has been designated as National Safety Month. It may be hard to believe, but statistics indicate that a staggering 13,000 American workers are injured daily, and these injuries are preventable. Employers should not consider injuries to be one of costs of running a business. Safety of workers should be given top priority in every organization.
Some of the issues related to workplace safety which the National Safety Council (NSC) has focused on are discussed below. Staffing agencies also provide formal training and informal guidance for employees to prevent these problems.
7 of the Most Common workplace safety causes are:
Fatigue
Adults usually require seven to nine hours sleep daily for optimal performance, yet approximately one third of workers sleep for six hours or less. This results in fatigue which adversely affects almost all aspects of our life. The tired employees do not have a good safety record. Fatigued individuals are thrice as likely to be involved in a car crash. Chronically sleep deprived individuals suffer from obesity, cardiovascular disease, depression and other illnesses.
Workplace Drug Usage
Using drugs at work adversely affects safety. Employers find that drug users may waste time, change jobs, require training and have more healthcare expenses. Workers with substance use disorders take 10.8 days more leave due to injury, illness and also miss work for 50% more days. When the disorder is caused due to pain medication, the worker will miss work for twenty nine days typically, which is nearly 3x the time other workers miss work. Recovering workers receiving treatment are likely to miss work for only 9.5 days.
Distracted Driving
To prevent accidents, NSC has developed a Kit for safe driving, so that business leaders formulate their policy for cell phone usage and inform their employees about it. Many businesses for greater safety ask or require their employees not to use their cell phone at the work place or driving.
Workplace Violence
Two million workers in the United States are victims of violence at the workplace every year. The violence can be categorized into criminal intent, worker-on-worker, client or customer and due to personal relationship usually involving women. The most dangerous situation is when an active shooter is involved. To prevent workplace violence and minimize its impact, employers should formulate its policy, train its employees and create a plan to deal with an emergency. While it may not be possible to predict an attack, there may be warning signs which could indicate violence in future.
Slips, Falls
Accidental deaths caused by slips, falls and trips are the third highest cause of unintentional deaths in the United States, only exceeded by poisoning, overdoes and vehicle accidents. Preventing falls should be a priority. While construction workers are most likely to suffer fatal falls while working at heights, these falls can take place in any work environment. Hence potential hazards should be identified so that the work can be planned properly, and the right equipment is used.
Overexertion,and Ergonomics
Overexertion is the main reason why people are unable to work, and also causes more than one-third of the injuries related to the workplace. Strength training, stretching and other exercises can prevent some injuries. Ergonomic injuries caused by excess stretching, pulling, pushing, lifting or similar reasons, can be reduced using ergonomic assessments of tasks.
Hit by Objects
While the employer is responsible for ensuring that the work environment is safe, the employees should also take measures to protect themselves. Workers operating machinery, motor vehicles and power tools should concentrate on their work and not get distracted since attention focused on the task is vital.
Guidance
Flexicrew conducts a workplace safety inspection with each new assignment and periodically thereafter. If you would like us to provide some guidance on your safety situation, contact one of our professionals Today.