Mitigating industrial workplace health and safety risks

Running an industrial business often means facing multiple challenges. The workplace risks related to safety and health are more extensive within industrial spaces than the ones in office environments. Various accidents or complications can arise if proper means of precaution aren’t taken, that’s why employers are advised to implement an action plan that can ensure better and safer working conditions.

If you’ve recently decided to give more attention to the matter, you might be wondering how to handle things correctly here. You should acknowledge several important factors, but the tips highlighted bellow remain most relevant for industrial workplace health and safety, so look them over with care:

Build a company culture around safety

Even if you put in all the necessary effort, workplace safety is often about teamwork. Every member of your team, regardless of job position, should promote safety practices. Build a health and safety policy and make sure to communicate it across all departments. Hold safety training programs periodically to help employees keep themselves updated on specific procedures.

Find the right way of distributing the policy. One suggestion would be to print out and post key info in commonly-visited areas, such as break rooms, bathrooms, or on the hallway. If you want to strengthen your safety culture even more, creating and distributing a health and safety handbook is also a great idea. Your employees can, thus, better educate themselves on the topic. If you have a mobile technology available, use it to send reminders and notifications out on the most relevant safety matters.

It’s important to remind your workers of core guidelines, just to keep your policy fresh in everyone’s minds.

Air pollution control – solving fume extraction problems

One issue a variety of industrial companies deal with is air pollution. Whether you’re part of the chemical processing industry, welding or spray-painting, the odds are that fume extraction problems exist. Improving ventilation is an action that you should be taking immediately. If you don’t already have an advanced Local Exhaust Ventilation system installed, it’s certainly time to invest in one.

Uncontained, clean air should be an essential component of your work environment. If any issues arise here, the health of your employees will have to suffer, and so will your company’s reputation. Workers should b exposed to fumes, toxic vapours and dust, so you are recommended to tackle these types of occupational hazards by relying on the right LEV products.

Industrial ventilation and exhaust fume extraction systems that are designed and operated to meet applicable requirements will solve any issues that might have been previously raising health concerns. Start searching for the right options and compare the LEV suppliers on the market. Search for a system that covers the extent of your industrial business’ needs.

By handling this aspect, you will deal with fewer emergencies related to air pollution, and your employees won’t experience negative health effects.

Reconcile current risk immediately

Any hazards that you are currently aware of should be dealt with as soon as possible. Whether it’s a slippery floor, clutter or any other issue that might seem minor, these could cause unpleasant incidents that will lead to multiple other complications. As soon as a potential hazard is signalled, give it your immediate attention. Preventable dangers are often the ones to cause work-related injuries, so try to not neglect any situation that could put your employees’ safety at risk – acting on time can make a significant difference, and this should be part of your company’s culture.

Adopt a plan designed around hazard identification and assessment

If you’ve been having troubles with workplace risks management until now, perhaps you should create an improved plan that focuses on the identification and assessment of hazards. This plan should look like a step-by-step process, created with the purpose of spotting any risks. When you are designing it, try to focus on these few segments:

• Collecting and going over the current info you have on workplace environment hazards – Look over the records you already have on incidents that have happened in the past and what has caused them. With this information in mind, you can pursue more effective further investigations.
• Pursue an extensive workplace inspection – Even doing as little as just moving certain equipment from point A to point B can trigger a safety hazard you might not have acknowledged. Assign a team of professions to pursue a proper inspection of the workplace, and try to spot any issues that could potentially trigger accidents or health complications. If your business brings regularly new employees, machineries and equipment, inspecting the premises should be something you do regularly.
• Create reports on all incidents –Every accident that happens on company grounds should be reported and recorded. Keeping track of incidents, even minor slip and fall cases, will help you better mitigate future risks. Never let an accident go undocumented and use the reports created to obtain better insights.
• Hazard severity evaluation – it’s obviously important to deal with the more severe hazards first, and leave minor risks at the end. Prioritize the solving of hazards with higher risks.

Upgrade employee equipment

For every person in the company working in a hazardous environment you should ensure proper equipment. Review the tools and supplies currently available to workers and decide whether an upgrade is demanded. If your team is properly equipped for tasks with higher-risk, the odds of actually facing unpleasant scenarios will decrease. Discuss with your employees and ask them for their own suggestions in this department.

As someone in charge of offering employees an optimal industrial work environment, it’s important to acknowledge the health and safety risks present and to implement proper solutions. While the specifics of your situation can vary, depending on what your company actually does, the factors above mentioned remain standardized in the majority of cases. Happy and healthy employees stand at the base of any successful company, so make sure to take the right course of action here and provide your workers with the workplace conditions they need to provide maximum productivity.

Cynthia Madison is a young blogger and economics and marketing graduate. She writes about home, lifestyle and family topics and is a senior contributor to popular niche publications.