Common Workplace Hazards and How to Mitigate Them

It can be deputed that risks at the workplace are inherent in any occupation irrespective of the line of business. Besides, working in an office, construction site, warehouse, sick, or healthcare center raises some risks. These can include risks associated with falling or tripping over, to cumulative risk factors having to do with everything from repetitive strain injuries to exposure to toxins. 

“Common workplace hazards include slips, trips, and falls, which account for around 15% of workplace fatalities. Ergonomic hazards, if not addressed, can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, impacting up to 33% of employees, particularly those involved in repetitive tasks. Effective mitigation strategies include proper training, regular maintenance, and the use of protective equipment​(OSHA Training Provider)​(Frontline Impact).”

SKYSON, with a brand promise “Where safety takes priority” as a business and consulting organization aims to recognize such risks and then prevent them in order to ensure that employees work in a safe manner.

1. Slips, Trips, and Falls

Slips, trips, and falls are among the more common reasons that lead to workplace injuries. They can occur in any setting, for example, a workplace that may have a wet floor or a construction area with a rotten floor surface. The outcome can be as simple as presenting minor injuries such as bruises to complicated ones such as fractures and head injuries.

Mitigation

1. Housekeeping: Ensure that workspaces are clean and flat or cluttered with items or objects. Some of the recommendations included cleaning any spillage immediately and ensuring the floor is appropriately mopped.
2. Proper Signage: Place the “Wet Floor” signs where there is likely to be slippery floor or where cleaning is underway.
3. Wear Appropriate Footwear: Employees should wear shoes with a good grip where abrasion of the floor is likely to happen.
4. Adequate Lighting: Lee, What benefits does good illumination offer? * It minimises the chances of people tripping over obstacles that are out of their view, most especially along corridors, staircases and storage places.

2. Repetitive Strain Injuries or disorders (RSIs)

Carpal tunnel syndrome or tendonitis, are disorders that come with time since people continuously make the same movement. This is common notably in workplaces where people do typing or using a mouse for several hours without rest.

Mitigation:

1. Ergonomic Workstations: Correct postures at the workplace can be achieved by adjusting desks, chairs, computer screens, etc. Ergonomic keyboards and mouse pads are recommended where increased pressure is applied to the hand and wrist region.
2. Frequent Breaks: Remind employees to get up and move around during their workday – at least for five or ten minutes every hour on the hour. Simple exercise like a change of position after walking or anything that reduces muscle spasms.
3. Employee Training: Teach staff, proper body mechanics on basic body movements or when performing specific high repetition tasks.

3. Contact with Toxic Products

In most workplaces, workers are at risk of handling hazardous materials or substances at a manufacturing firm, research facility, or cleaner company. Long time consumption may cause flu-like symptoms, skin rash and in severe cases, illnesses such as cancer.

Mitigation:

1. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Make sure the workers use gloves, masks, and protective clothing when doing so with chemical products.
2. Proper Ventilation: Floors if wet should not cause slippery. Work areas should be well ventilated especially to avoid inhaled fumes or dust.
3. Hazard Communication: Try to label all chemical properly to give worker knowledge on how to use and store chemical in right manner.
4. Regular Health Monitoring: For the employees working in industries where they are exposed to chemicals, periodical health checks will enable early detection of the effects of the harm fully on the health of the employees.

4. Electrical Hazards

Electricity-related risks are frequently encountered in industries which involve many installations and devices. The dangers seem trivial, but they include improper wiring, and naked cables, and they may lead to electric lesions, heat and fire.

Mitigation:

1. Regular Equipment Maintenance: Do all water and electrical equipment should be inspected and properly maintained to avoid any fault.
2. Qualified Personnel: Wiring and electrical repair should only be done by professional electricians.
3. Use Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs): GFCIs are best installed in points where electrical appliances are used in areas with water such as the washrooms or kitchen.
4. Employee Training: Educate people in how to identify with electrical risks and what to do in a scenario like electrical fire.

5. Machinery-Related Injuries

To the manufacturers, construction and in fact any industry that involves large machines, equipment accidents are likely to cause severe mishaps or even deaths. Day-to-day accidents are as follows: slipping and getting trapped in machines, being hit by something, or having the equipment fail.

Mitigation:

1. Machine Guards: Provide proper guarding on the machines so as to safeguard the movements from the working parts of the machinery by employees.
2. Lockout/Tagout Procedures: Lockout/tagout should be used to prevent the initiation of operation of a machine by authorized persons during maintenance.
3. Training: All workers must be trained on safe operating procedures to operate the equipment and deal with the regular breakdowns.
4. Preventative Maintenance: Maintenance inspections can tell the engineer of mechanical problems that may cause danger before accidents occur.

6. Stress as Well as Mental Health Risks

Despite this, stress may be considered a common but severe risk factor in the workplace, with an influence on psychological and physiological aspects. This, in turn, raises the risk of burning out next to depression, anxiety as well as cardiovascular complications. Stress is highly likely to occur in today’s workplace since there are numerous demands and a relatively fast-growing pace.

Mitigation:

1. Work-Life Balance: Support the healthy work-life balance of the employees by providing options of short working hours, or work from home as much as possible.
2. Access to Mental Health Resources: Grant to employees’ mental health program enrolment, counselling, and access to stress control workshops.
3. Open Communication: Become approachable, mainly on concerns with workload and employee mental and physical health.
4. Workload Management: Make sure that the assignments contain reasonable measures so that the workers do not get tired of their work.

The Final Verdict

Of course, risks within workplaces do exist, but that is where they should always be. SKYSON manages by proper planning and maintaining safe working conditions, as well as educating employees on the risks involved and how to avoid them. It will also contribute to the road map of risk management to avoid such incidents, and ensuring that potential risks and the above measures will assist in avoiding mishaps and maintaining a healthy safety and welfare culture in the organization.