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5 Safety Steps: Preventing Accidents In The Workplace

<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;3949" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-3949" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignleft"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-3949 " alt&equals;"Injured man - Courtesy of Shutterstock" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;medusamagazine&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2013&sol;06&sol;5-safety-steps-300x200&period;jpg" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"200" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-3949" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Injured man &&num;8211&semi; Courtesy of Shutterstock<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>Workplace safety is one of the most important areas for an employer to take care of&period; If they fail to do so and an employee is injured&comma; the employer can be liable for a significant amount of compensation to that employee&period; For that reason&comma; it is best to maintain high safety standards from the beginning&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3><b>&num;1&colon; Education<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>Every employer should make sure that employees are fully trained about workplace safety issues specific to their business&period; The employees should be tested to ensure that they truly understand&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Education should include printed materials that everyone can have a copy of&period; That way&comma; it can be on hand in desks and work stations&comma; so it can be referred to any time someone forgets the information&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3><b>&num;2&colon; Chemical Hazards<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>Depending on the work environment&comma; education can include teaching staff members how to identify and work with chemically hazardous materials&period; If such materials are handled inappropriately&comma; incidents like chemical burns can occur&period; Toxic chemicals can also be a problem if breathed&comma; so it will be critical to understand how to handle them correctly&period; If there are ventilation requirements or a need to wear a mask&comma; employees should be informed of that for their own health and safety&period; They may need to wear gloves as well&comma; and wash hands thoroughly after working with the chemicals&period; Employers need to make all of that information clear to those affected&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3><b>&num;3&colon; Physical Hazards<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>Workers also need to be informed of any potential physical dangers&period; These include temporary situations&comma; like a slippery spill on a floor or routine mopping being done&period; They also include everyday issues&comma; like avoiding significant sources of electricity without proper authorization and precautions&period; The proper use of tools and mechanical devices is also critical&period; Many workplace accidents occur because employees did not use their tools or machines correctly while working&period; If this results because of a lack of training from the employer&comma; there may be liability issues in the case of an accident&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Every employee should be fully trained with every piece of equipment that they will ever work with&period; They need to know how to use each one in the right way&comma; so they can protect themselves and their co-workers from getting hurt&period; Periodically testing their knowledge protects everyone&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3><b>&num;4&colon; Maintenance<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>Part of an employer’s responsibility is to keep both the building and the equipment in excellent condition&period; A good employee might be doing everything well but still get hurt if things are in disrepair&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For that reason&comma; equipment should be examined on a regular basis to see if there are any safety issues&period; Parts that are loose or don’t move well enough can be an issue&period; The same is true for missing guards&comma; other absent safety features&comma; and even poorly maintained shelves or chairs&period; Floors in unsafe condition are another common issue&period; When noticed&comma; those circumstances should be addressed right away&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3><b>&num;5&colon; Signs<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>Along with directly educating employees about workplace safety issues&comma; clear signs should be posted in all relevant areas&period; If hazardous chemicals are used in one spot&comma; the guidelines for using them correctly should be posted there too&period; If machines are used in a different location&comma; the rules for operating them should be posted there&period; Even a temporarily wet floor should have signs on it indicating the nature of the safety issue&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3><b>Response Procedures<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>In addition to signs that detail how to handle tools&comma; machines&comma; and materials&comma; employers should post additional signs about how to deal with emergencies&period; These should clearly outline the steps that are to be taken when emergencies happen&period; Those steps will include basic care for the person hurt&comma; and contacting medical assistance&period; Every employee should be trained on these steps as well&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Of course&comma; employees are full responsible for doing their part&period; A good employee should carefully study all of the safety materials they are given and ask any questions that they need to&period; Ultimately&comma; it is their own safety they are protecting&comma; as well as the safety of their co-workers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3><b>Legal Action<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>Of course&comma; even the most conscientious employee can get hurt on the job&period; If that happens to you&comma; personal injury lawyers will be available to help you get the compensation you deserve&period; A good way to find one in your local area is by visiting Attorneys&period;com and entering your zip code&period; That will give you info about actions available to you in your state&comma; and help you find good local representation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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