Top 10 safety tips from OSHA
A safe workplace is more productive, happy, and healthy. That’s exactly what business owners like you want to foster. To promote workplace safety and constant improvement, we’re sharing 10 OSHA safety tips that you can review and implement starting now. In addition, our safety services team can come to policyholders’ workplaces and help with OSHA audits and mock inspections.
Ready to learn 10 OSHA safety tips? Read on.
- Conduct ongoing training. When new team members start work, run them through your entire safety protocol and get them up to speed with machine and equipment safety. Additionally, conduct regular refresher courses and promptly share safety guidelines that change.
2. Prevent falls. Working on a ladder, scaffolding, roof, or other elevated surfaces? Make sure you plan ahead for safety to prevent falls. Include the cost of safety equipment to stop falls in job estimates. Secure the right equipment for the job early and ensure everyone is trained to use it properly.
3. Weather the heat. Does your team work outdoors in the elements? Keep them safe from heat exhaustion, illness, and injury by providing water, rest and shade, ample breaks, emergency heat training, and tools to identify heat-related issues.
4. Suit up in PPE. Personal protective equipment, or PPE, is “equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses,” according to OSHA. It can include gloves, safety glasses and shoes, earplugs or earmuffs, hard hats, respirators, coveralls, vests, or full-body suits, among other items. Get your team suited up for each job with the right safety equipment.
5. Identify hazards. Train your team in chemical, physical, and biological hazard identification and resolution. Conduct frequent run-throughs and professional inspections. Look into illnesses and injuries, product storage, equipment hazards, and more.
6. Prepare for emergencies. If an emergency like a natural disaster, fire, flood, or intrusion strikes, does your team know what to do, where to go, and how to stay safe? OSHA’s Emergency Preparedness and Response pages are filled with tips to help workers and employees across industries respond to emergencies.
7. Review ventilation. Your whole team will breathe easier knowing their environment and airflow are clean and up to code. OSHA shares, “Poor indoor air quality has been tied to symptoms like headaches, fatigue, trouble concentrating, and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs.” Ensure proper ventilation for your industry with OSHA’s standards list.
8. Keep a first aid kit handy. OSHA has a requirement that employees are given a safe and healthy workplace that is free of occupational hazards. But that doesn’t mean accidents won’t happen on the job. Employers are required to have “medical and first aid personnel and supplies commensurate with the hazards of the workplace.” Learn what that means for your business and ensure you’re meeting necessary guidelines.
9. Regulate work hours. More Americans are working long days or irregular hours. This not only leads to burnout and fatigue, it can also lead to accidents on the job or poor overall health. To promote employee wellness, review your team’s schedule. Are there enough breaks included in the day? Can you shift or swap schedules to help out an employee? Review OSHA’s worker fatigue FAQs.
10. Empower employees. Encourage your employees to maintain safety standards and empower them to report hazards freely in accordance with their rights. OSHA recommends workers are able to “receive safety training in a language they understand, work on machines that are safe, receive required safety equipment, be protected from toxic chemicals, request an OSHA inspection and speak to the inspector, report an injury or illness and get copies of medical records, review records of work-related injuries and illnesses, and see results of tests taken to find workplace hazards.” Ensure your team has all the information they need to be empowered at work.
These 10 OSHA safety tips can give your business and employees a safety boost. Looking for even more safety tips? Learn about our safety services today or talk to one of our local, independent agents about coverages to improve workplace wellness.
