Being involved in an accident at work shouldn’t be something that employees have to worry about when they step into work. However, with over 609,000 injuries occurring at work in 2016/17 according to the Health and Safety Executive, it can be a real worry for many people.
Many people assume that it is completely up to the employer to ensure that a workplace is up to standard to reduce the risk of an accident occurring. While this is a responsibility that all employers are legally obliged to undertake, there are steps that you, as an employee, can take to ensure your own safety while you’re working.
Keep Your Workspace Tidy
If you’re lucky enough to be in control of an area where you work such as a desk or a workbench, it is your responsibility to keep it tidy and in order. This means arranging it in a manner which allows you to safely go about your job daily.
Whether it’s keeping wires managed properly so that they don’t become a trip risk, keeping all equipment stored adequately so that it doesn’t pose a fall risk and keeping all objects that could be considered dangerous such as scissors, drills and saws in safe places such as drawers or in specially designed storage.
Avoid Taking Shortcuts
While we’re all guilty of taking shortcuts here and there to make our lives easier but skipping steps and taking detours could put your safety at risk. They are one of the leading causes of accidents in the workplace, and it’s because employees are looking to make their jobs easier.
It’s understandable and completely in human nature that you will look for ways in which you can simplify your tasks, but we would advise against it. Whether it’s literally skipping stages of a project to get to the end goal as soon as possible or taking a physical shortcut through an area which you are not familiar with, any shortcut should be avoided to reduce the risk of injury.
Revise Safety Measures
Although you should be trained up on the health and safety protocols when you join the company, it’s nearly impossible that you will remember them all. While you may be required to undergo refresher training every so often, there’s nothing to stop you looking at the protocols every now and them yourself to remind yourself of what your responsibilities are, especially if you work in an industry which is dangerous.
Not only will this alert you to the potential risks associated with your workplace and your position, but it will also give you an idea of what to do if you have an accident at work and the protocols and processes that will be followed by your employer should an incident occur.
While it is your employer’s legal responsibility to provide you with a safe workplace, it’s your own to ensure that you are doing all you can to protect yourself and abide by the health and safety procedures in place.