Maintaining a safe work environment requires a lot of work and dedication. But above all, it requires vigilance.
Both workers and supervisors need to be on the lookout for potential safety hazards and mistakes that can potentially lead to accidents. Naturally, this is easier to do when you know what you’re trying to find. Therefore, we wanted to provide some safety observation examples to help you and your workers recognize some of the most common safety mistakes found in the workplace that can be easy to correct if you’re able to spot them.
Not Wearing PPE
This is one of the most fundamental safety mistakes an employee can make. Fortunately, it should also be one of the easiest to recognize. Ideally, employers will have a specific list of safety equipment that employees must wear during specific tasks. This should make it easy for workers to know what they should be wearing while also making it easy for supervisors and other employees to recognize when someone doesn’t have the right PPE.
Equipment Not Stored Properly
This may not seem like a serious safety problem, but it can be. If equipment or machines aren’t in the proper location, it can disrupt normal workflows. Employees may not recognize their surroundings or have access to something they need exactly when they need it. Again, this should be easy enough to spot if employees are trained to pay attention to detail.
Slippery Floors
In any workplace, slippery floors are an invitation to an accident. Slips and falls are usually the most common type of injury in the workplace with wet or slick floors often being a contributing factor. If somebody notices a floor that looks slippery and unsafe, it’s important to address that problem before employees are allowed to walk there or perform any work in the vicinity. It’s a simple observation but one that can help protect employees from preventable accidents.
Improper Use of Machinery
Everything in a workplace should have its place and its purpose. It’s never a good idea to forget that or stray away from it. In other words, equipment and machinery should only be used as intended. When employees go rogue and use machines for new and different purposes, it can be impossible to predict the results. Therefore, the risk of an accident happening increases because employees haven’t been trained to use that piece of machinery in a specific way.
Poor Lighting
Believe it or not, poor lighting is a factor that can often contribute to safety mishaps in the workplace. In an environment where there are a lot of hazards, it’s critical for employees to be able to see clearly so they don’t miss something. Even one lightbulb being out changes the lighting that employees might be accustomed to having while they work. This can have an adverse effect on employee safety. Luckily, poor lighting should be something that’s easy to recognize and amend.
Blocked Exits
It’s difficult to predict when there might be an emergency that requires employees to exit the facility. But if it happens, all exits need to be cleared. This sounds simple enough but can often not be the case. Blocked exits can potentially put everyone at risk. Nobody should be working without a clear path to the door, just in case something happens. This is a safety issue that should be easy to identify; it’s just a matter of addressing the problem in a timely manner.
Not Utilizing a Safety System
One of the biggest safety mistakes companies make is not having a formal workplace safety system in place. This is where the software solutions from EHS Insight can become invaluable. Our system will connect every element of occupational health and safety, allowing any business to manage employee safety more effectively. With our system, nothing gets left to chance when it comes to workplace safety.
If your business is looking for the best safety system available, get in touch with us and we can have our software up and running before you know it.
