A variety of different risks are presented to both employers and employees on a regular basis. Proper guidelines and insurance of safe conditions generally falls under the responsibility of the employer. Managers, owners, and human resources professionals should always be involved in the development of appropriate workplace safety protocols and conditions to minimize the chances of serious injuries.
When an employer is responsible for ensuring safe conditions in the workplace, he or she will do everything possible to minimize the instances of property damage, violence or danger presented to employees in the form of:
Workplace violence.
Workplace harassment, including sexual harassment.
General workplace injury risks, such as slip and fall accidents.
Hostile workplace environment.
The development of workplace illnesses tied to materials used in the workplace.
A safe workplace ensures maximum productivity, protects the employer from liability tied to lawsuits and enables the company to grow effectively. Any workplace can be a dangerous place, so an employer who is mindful about enhancing safe conditions in the workplace has the responsibility to do so for their own purposes and for employees.
The responsibility for creating rules and guidelines to prevent problems and to deal with them should not fall to one person alone. Rather, a past review of any safety issues should be incorporated into the strategy and this should include relevant stakeholders.
The right team members might include managers, a safety officer who serves in this role in addition to other job duties, and the human resources department. This helps to ensure a broad range of viewpoints with the best chance to comprehensively cover all the issues.
Recognizing Hazards
It is important that a workplace always remains safe. Any possible hazards should be recognized promptly and measures should be put in place to deal with these hazards. One such example includes cracked tile or torn carpeting. This can present a trip and fall injury risk to anyone visiting the premises, including customers and employees directly. Furthermore, fire extinguisher should be accessible and the correct extinguisher should always be deployed depending on the fire. Employees may even receive training about how to use a fire extinguisher.
Make sure that employees know they are encouraged to report any problems in the facility that could lead to a potential accident. Sometimes employees may work in a different physical location or be more privy to the day-to-day problems that emerge. Employees should be told that they need to report any concerns so that the appropriate supervisor can respond with an action plan.
If employees do come forward with concerns and those hazards remain on the premises, someone else who gets hurt could have grounds for legal action. An employee who gets hurt could file a workers’ comp claim, but an injured customer or visitor may initiate a personal injury lawsuit. All of these represent risks for the company and should be avoided where possible.
Every employee should be aware of the safe exits in the event of a sudden fire. At the height of winter or summer, small workplaces can be very uncomfortable to work in. Suitable clothing should always be worn by employees but professional standard air-conditioning units or space warmers should also be considered by the employer. It is also valuable to look into the energy efficiency of any doors or windows which would help to provide a solid barrier from the cold.
Regular workplace safety can be enhanced by annual review of any appliances and risk factors. An appliance professional should be brought in to verify whether or not an appliance is functioning properly and whether any maintenance is required before the coming year. This can help to identify problems early on and to decrease the chances of injuries tied to defective or malfunctioning equipment. Furthermore, the workplace should always be clearly organized to remove any clutter.
Clutter can lead to an obstructive walkway and trip and fall accidents or falling items from overly loaded shelves. This can lead to valuable working time being lost as people suffer serious injuries or have to dodge around bulky items. A regular review of the workplace can help to identify these problems early on.
The Role of Human Resources to Maintain a Safe Environment at The Workplace
It is not the responsibility of owners and managers alone to decrease the chances of serious accidents. Since workers spend the majority of their daily life at their workplace, it is critical to have a friendly and safe working environment there. The human resources department in conjunction with overall company representatives should be involved in the development of a safe working environment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends that a safety policy be established at every workplace.
Workplace injury cases represent more than $170 million spent by businesses every year. When these recommended policies are followed, that amount can be reduced by as much as 40%. Maintaining a safe workplace environment should include human resources for the following steps:
Maintaining an accident book.
Communicating with employees.
Proper monitoring of situations.
Explaining that workplace safety has to do with responsibility of employees as well as employers.
Communicating the organization’s authority to employees.
A health and safety supervisor or consultant based on safety and health.
Policies should be structured for a safe occupational environment that clearly describes the responsibilities of employee, the human resources department, the supervisor, and the authority. Human resources may also be responsible for the development and deployment of the initiatives to assess hazards and implement control measures on proactive basis. When this information is documented, it can be extremely helpful when the company has to defend against a lawsuit due to an injured employee or customer.
If any employer doesn’t take any precautionary steps to enhance workplace safety, a claim of an accident on the workplace could lead to workers’ compensation benefits for the injured party. If third parties were involved, this might also lead to personal injury lawsuits.