Importance of safety

A serious workplace injury or death changes lives forever for families, friends,
communities, and coworkers too. Human loss and suffering is immeasurable. Occupational
injuries and illnesses can provoke major crises for the families in which they occur. In
addition to major financial burdens, they can impose substantial time demands on uninjured
family members.

Ensuring the safety of the people we love that is the most important reason to create a safe
and healthy work environment. But it isn't only the reason. The following are the other
reasons on why safety is essential:

REDUCING INJURIES REDUCES COSTS TO YOUR BUSINESS: If a worker is injured on the job,
it costs the company in lost work hours, increased insurance rates, workers' compensation
premiums and possible litigation. Productivity is lost when other workers have to stop work
to deal with the injury. Even a single injury can have far-reaching and debilitating effects on
your business.

SAFE WORKERS ARE LOYAL WORKERS: Any business knows that employee attrition and
absenteeism can be major obstacles. When you create a healthy and safe workplace, you
reduce those issues in several ways. By budgeting for safety improvements and making
safety part of your operational plan, you engender trust. By following through on their input
and improving safety, you prove quite tangibly that you care about their well-being. Workers
typically respond by working harder, showing more pride in their jobs and remaining loyal.

SAFETY IMPROVES QUALITY: Time and again, companies that put safety first turn out higher
quality products. In some cases, thats because a safe workplace tends to be a more efficient
one, free of debris and tangles of cords. By working in a clean, efficient environment,
workers are able to reduce distractions and truly focus on the quality of what they do. The
results? Better products that create customer loyalty, bigger margins and increased sales. In
these ways and others workplace safety is about much more than legislation. Its about
creating the kind of productive, efficient, happy and inspiring workplace we all want to be
part of. Its about creating a highly profitable company. And thats why its important.

Top 10 Workplace Safety Tips Every Employee Should Know

Workplace safety cannot exist on best practice guidelines and policies alone. A safe working
environment is based on how well the people, in both management and on the factory floor,
adhere to -- and communicate about -- safety standards.

The foundation of any successful workplace safety effort is one that encourages employees
to identify unsafe behaviors and opportunities for improvement while also making well-
informed safety decisions during daily routine tasks.
Top 10 Workplace Safety Tips Every Employee Should Know to help you inform your own
workers and create a workplace safety environment based on shared responsibility:

1. Be Aware Of Your Surroundings

This step requires knowing the particular hazards of your job or workplace. Once youve
learned these risks, you are able to keep clear of potential hazardous areas, and potential
hazardous situations. Also, always be alert of machinery.

2. Keep Correct Posture To Protect Your Back

If you work at a desk, keep your shoulders in line with your hips to avoid back problems. If
youre picking things up, use correct form so your back doesnt get hurt. Avoid stooping and
twisting. If possible, always use ergonomic designed furniture and safety equipment so
everything you need is within easy reach.

3. Take Regular Breaks

So many work-related injuries and illnesses occur because a worker is tired, burned out and
not alert to their surroundings. Taking regular breaks helps you stay fresh on the job. One
trick to staying alert is to schedule the most difficult tasks when your concentration is best,
like first thing in the morning.

4. Use Tools And Machines Properly

Take the proper precautions when using tools, and never take shortcuts. Taking shortcuts is
the leading cause of workplace injury. Its a huge safety risk to use scaffolding as a ladder or
one tool in place of another for a specific job. Using tools the right way greatly reduces the
chance of workplace injury.

5. Keep Emergency Exits Easily Accessible

In case of an emergency, youll need quick, easy access to the exits. Its also recommended to
keep clear access to equipment shutoffs in case you need to quickly stop them from
functioning.

6. Report Unsafe Conditions To Your Supervisor

Your supervisor needs to be informed about any workplace safety hazards or risks. They are
legally obligated to ensure their employees have a safe working environment and will take
care of the unsafe conditions and make them safe for you and your coworkers.

7. Use Mechanical Aids Whenever Possible

Instead of attempting to carry or lift something thats really heavy in an attempt to save a
sliver of time during your workday, take the extra minute to use a wheelbarrow, conveyor
belt, crank or forklift. Too many injury risks are involved with trying to lift something that
weighs too much.

8. Stay Sober

Around three percent of workplace fatalities occur due to alcohol and drugs. When a
workers ability to exercise judgment, coordination, motor control, concentration or
alertness is compromised, this leads to any number of risks for workplace injury and
fatalities.

9. Reduce Workplace Stress

Stress can lead to depression and concentration problems. Common causes of workplace
stress include long hours, heavy workload, job insecurity and conflicts with coworkers or
managers. Take your concerns about workplace stress to your supervisor to see how they
might help you address them.

10. Wear The Correct Safety Equipment

If youre not wearing the correct safety equipment for a task, you may get injured. Depending
on the job, equipment like earplugs, earmuffs, hard hats, safety goggles, gloves or a full-face
mask greatly reduce the risk of workplace injury.

Workplace hazards

Employers have a responsibility to protect workers against health and safety hazards at
work. Workers have the right to know about potential hazards and to refuse work that they
believe is dangerous. Workers also have a responsibility to work safely with hazardous
materials.

Health and safety hazards exist in every workplace. Some are easily identified and corrected,
while others create extremely dangerous situations that could be a threat to your life or long-
term health. The best way to protect yourself is to learn to recognize and prevent hazards in
your workplace.

Types of workplace hazards

Physical hazards are the most common hazards and are present in most workplaces at some
time. Examples: frayed electrical cords, unguarded machinery, exposed moving parts,
constant loud noise, vibrations, working from ladders, scaffolding or heights, spills, tripping
hazards.
Ergonomic hazards occur when the type of work you do, your body position and/or your
working conditions put a strain on your body. They are difficult to identify because you dont
immediately recognize the harm they are doing to your health. Examples: poor lighting,
improperly adjusted workstations and chairs, frequent lifting, repetitive or awkward
movements.

Chemical hazards are present when you are exposed to any chemical preparation (solid,
liquid or gas) in the workplace. Examples: cleaning products and solvents, vapors and fumes,
carbon monoxide or other gases, gasoline or other flammable materials.

Biological hazards come from working with people, animals or infectious plant material.
Examples: blood or other bodily fluids, bacteria and viruses, insect bites, animal and bird
droppings.

Poor work practices create hazards examples of unsafe work practices commonly found
in the workplace include:
using machinery or tools without authority
operating at unsafe speeds or in violation of safe work practices
removing or disabling guards or other safety devices on machinery or equipment
using defective tools or equipment or using tools or equipment in unsafe ways
using hands or body instead of tools or push sticks
overloading, crowding or failing to balance materials or handling materials in other
unsafe ways, including improper lifting
repairing or adjusting equipment that is in motion, under pressure, or electrically
charged
failing to use and/or maintain, or improperly using personal protective equipment or
safety devices
creating unsafe, unsanitary or unhealthy conditions by improper personal hygiene, poor
workplace maintenance or by smoking in unauthorized areas.
standing or working under suspended loads, scaffolds, shafts, or open hatches

Report hazards immediately

Everyone in a workplace shares responsibility for ensuring that their work environment is
safe and healthy. Some hazards pose an immediate danger and others take a longer time to
become apparent. But both types of hazards must be fixed. If you are aware of a hazard in
your workplace, you should report it promptly to your supervisor, employer or health and
safety representative. Once a hazard has been identified, your employer and/or supervisor
has a duty to assess the problem and eliminate any hazard that could injure worker

Workplace inspections prevent hazards

Regular workplace inspections are another important factor in preventing injuries and
illnesses. By critically examining all aspects of the workplace, inspections identify and record
hazards that must be addressed and corrected.

A workplace inspection should include:

listening to the concerns of workers and supervisors
gaining further understanding of jobs and tasks
identifying existing and potential hazards
determining underlying causes of hazards
monitoring hazard controls (personal protective equipment, engineering controls,
policies, procedures)
recommending corrective action

What is WHMIS?
The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) is a Canadian hazard
communication system that provides employers and workers with information about many
hazardous materials (referred to as controlled products) that are produced, handled, stored,
used or disposed of in the workplace. The goal of WHMIS is to reduce accidents and prevent
health hazards.

WHMIS addresses three important areas of workplace safety:

1. Labels All hazardous or controlled products must carry labels that clearly identify the
product and provide hazard information about it. The label must indicate whether a
workplace MSDS is available in the workplace.

2. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) An MSDS must be provided for every controlled
product in your workplace. The MSDS provides much more detailed information than a label.

3. Worker education Every employer is expected to develop and implement an up-to-date

education program to enable workers to understand and use the information that is
provided on the labels and MSDS. This program should be reviewed at least once a year, and
whenever there is a change in conditions or new hazard information concerning any
hazardous substances in the workplace. Employers must keep written records of employee
education.

An effective program for controlling hazardous substances includes the

following elements:
developing a written policy to show commitment and assign responsibility at every level
identifying and evaluating all hazardous substances in the workplace
labeling all hazardous substances and providing up-to-date MSDS for them
implementing safe work procedures and appropriate administrative and engineering
controls
 educating workers about labels, MSDS, safe handling, storage, disposal and emergency
response
identifying required personal protective equipment and educating workers in its care
and use
promoting the purchase of the safest substances possible
identifying the qualified persons responsible for carrying out the program

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A 'HAZARD' AND A 'RISK'?

Hazard
Something that can cause harm, e.g. electricity, chemicals, working up a ladder, noise,
a keyboard, a bully at work, stress, etc.
When we refer to hazards in relation to occupational safety and health the most
commonly used definition is A Hazard is a potential source of harm or adverse health
effect on a person or persons.
Risk
is the chance, high or low, that any hazard will actually cause somebody harm.
When we refer to risk in relation to occupational safety and health the most
commonly used definition is risk is the likelihood that a person may be harmed or
suffers adverse health effects if exposed to a hazard.

The terms Hazard and Risk are often used interchangeably but this simple example explains
the difference between the two.

If there was a spill of water in a room then that water would present a slipping hazard to
persons passing through it. If access to that area was prevented by a physical barrier then
the hazard would remain though the risk would be minimised.

Categorising Risk

The level of risk is often categorised upon the potential harm or adverse health effect that
the hazard may cause, the number of times persons are exposed and the number of persons
exposed. For example exposure to airborne asbestos fibres will always be classified as high
because a single exposure may cause potentially fatal lung disease, whereas the risk
associated with using a display screen for a short period could be considered to be very low
as the potential harm or adverse health effects are minimal.

What are Control Measures?

Control measures include actions that can be taken to reduce the potential of
exposure to the hazard, or the control measure could be to remove the hazard or to reduce
the likelihood of the risk of the exposure to that hazard being realised. A simple control
measure would be the secure guarding of moving parts of machinery eliminating the
potential for contact. When we look at control measures we often refer to the hierarchy of
control measures.

1. Eliminate the hazard

Elimination of the hazard is not always achievable though it does totally
remove the hazard and thereby eliminates the risk of exposure.
Example: A petrol station attendants in Ireland are no longer exposed to the
risk of chronic lead poisoning following the removal of lead from petrol products sold
at forecourts.
2. Substitute the hazard with a lesser risk
Substituting the hazard may not remove all of the hazards associated with the
process or activity and may introduce different hazards but the overall harm or health
effects will be lessened.
Example: In laboratory research, toluene is now often used as a substitute for
benzene. The solvent-properties of the two are similar but toluene is less toxic and is
not categorized as a carcinogen although toluene can cause severe neurological harm.
3. Isolate the hazard
Isolating the hazard is achieved by restricting access to plant and equipment
or in the case of substances locking them away under strict controls.
Example: When using certain chemicals then a fume cupboard can isolate the
hazard from the person, similarly placing noisy equipment in a non-accessible
enclosure or room isolates the hazard from the person(s).
4. Use engineering controls
Engineering Controls involve redesigning a process to place a barrier between
the person and the hazard or remove the hazard from the person, such as machinery
guarding, proximity guarding, extraction systems or removing the operator to a
remote location away from the hazard.
5. Use administrative controls
Administrative controls include adopting standard operating procedures or
safe work practices or providing appropriate training, instruction or information to
reduce the potential for harm and/or adverse health effects to person(s). Isolation
and permit to work procedures are examples of administrative controls.
6. Use personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) include gloves, glasses, earmuffs,
aprons, safety footwear, dust masks which are designed to reduce exposure to the
hazard. PPE is usually seen as the last line of defence and is usually used in
conjunction with one or more of the other control measures. An example of the
weakness of this control measure is that it is widely recognised that single-use dust
masks cannot consistently achieve and maintain an effective facepiece-to-face seal,
and cannot be adequately fit-tested and do not offer much, if any real protection
against small particulates and may lead to a false sense of security and increase risk.
In such instances an extraction system with fitted respirators may be preferable
 where the hazard may have significant health effects from low levels of exposure such
as using isocyante containing chemicals.

Reporting an accident at work

Your employer must report serious work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous
incidents to the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) or the Health and
Safety department at your local authority. They must report:

Death
major injuries,
dangerous incidents
any other injury that stops an employee from doing their normal work for more than
three days
disease
The reporting must be done by your employer, but if you're involved it's a good idea to make
sure it's been reported.

Who is responsible for health and safety at work?

Your employer has to carry out a risk assessment and do what's needed to take care
of the health and safety of employees and visitors. This includes deciding how many first
aiders are needed and what kind of first aid equipment and facilities should be provided.

First aiders have no statutory right to extra pay, but some employers do offer this. Employees
must also take reasonable care over their own health and safety.

Recording accidents
Any injury at work - including minor injuries - should be recorded in your employer's
'accident book'.
All employers (except for very small companies) must keep an accident book. It's
mainly for the benefit of employees, as it provides a useful record of what happened in case
you need time off work or need to claim compensation later on. But recording accidents also
helps your employer to see what's going wrong and take action to stop accidents in future.

Sick pay
In most cases, if you need time off because of an accident at work, you'll only have the
right to Statutory Sick Pay. Your employer may have a scheme for paying more for time off
caused by accidents, or may decide to pay extra depending on what has happened.
Making an injury claim
If you've been injured in an accident at work and you think your employer is at fault,
you may want to make a claim for compensation.
By law, your employer must be insured to cover a successful claim and should place
a certificate with the name of their employer's insurance company where it can be seen at
work. If not, they must give you the details if you need them.
If you're considering suing your employer, remember that the aim of legal damages
is to put you in the position you would be in had the accident not happened - it's not about
getting hold of some 'free' money.

Most common accidents and injuries in the workplace

Of course, even the best prepared among us can still fall victim to accidents at work.
But to be forewarned is to be forearmed, as the saying goes, so here are ten of the most
common accidents and injuries in the workplace;

1. Slips, trips and falls

Whatever your particular work setting is whether you work in a shop, a factory or an office
youre likely to encounter slippery surfaces at some point, so its not a totally remote
possibility that you might come a cropper on one.

Another big risk for many is falling while working at height; falls from ladders are most
common, but falls from scaffolding and other platforms can also be dangerous.

2. Muscle strains

Strained muscles are another commonplace work-related injury, as anyone who regularly
lifts heavy items at work will probably know already. Back and neck strains, in particular,
are all too frequently sustained while working.

These injuries can be avoided easily some basic training on proper lifting techniques can
make a big difference.

3. Being hit by falling objects

Plenty of workers find themselves on the receiving end of falling objects and whats more,
this isnt just a problem in warehouse-type environments. Objects which fall from shelves or
out of cupboards can cause some nasty injuries, particularly if the individual who ends up
feeling the full force doesnt see it coming.
Providing adequate storage cages and reminding employees of how to store items safely can
go a long way to reducing this risk.

4. Repetitive strain injury

RSI is another problem thats become increasingly commonplace at work over the years,
though even now some employers dont seem to take it entirely seriously. Employers can
help prevent RSI by encouraging and reminding workers to take appropriate breaks.
Likewise, ergonomic equipment, like hand trucks can help to alleviate the strain.

5. Crashes and collisions

Accidents resulting in crash or impact injuries are also quite frequent at work. Whether they
involve cars, lorries or even smaller vehicles such as forklift trucks, they can have seriously
nasty consequences. Its therefore up to employers to ensure that seatbelts and other safety
precautions are both in place and in use where appropriate.

6. Cuts and lacerations

All sorts of office implements can end up leaving their user nursing a painful cut. From power
saws to paper trimmers, its easy to do yourself a mischief at work. The most common causes
of these lacerations include poor training, inadequate safety procedures and failing to wear
the proper protection.

7. Inhaling toxic fumes

While most of us dont work with hazardous chemicals, those of us who do may be at risk of
skin or eye reactions as well as potentially more serious injuries when exposed to them
without protection.

8. Exposure to loud noise

You might think that industrial deafness is a thing of the past and went out with all those old
heavy industries, but thats not the case not least because many industrial workers
continue to be exposed to loud noises while at work.

Industrial deafness can also result in major compensation payouts further along the line, so
its very much in employers interest to nip this particular problem in the bud. Safety
measures such as ear protection can do much to prevent it.
9. Walking into objects

Its probably safe to say weve all done this at some point. Maybe youre chatting absent-
mindedly or maybe youre feeling a little under the weather, when you suddenly find yourself
on the sharp end of a door, table, wall or cabinet. Needless to say, these injuries can sting a
bit.

10. Fights at work

These arent quite as rare as we might like to think. Simmering workplace tensions can
bubble under for months or even years before spilling over into physical confrontation.
Fights in the workplace can, unsurprisingly, result in nasty injuries.