Last week, Ada noticed the office photocopier wasn’t working rightly. She thought  it was negligible but didn’t say anything to anyone. The office has never had a workplace inspection plan.

Yesterday, when Kate started to use the machine, she got electrocuted. Thankfully, Biola saw her and immediately switched off the equipment. Kate did not die. However, she sustained injuries.

Now, that was very close! Who wants to waste business funds on scenarios that could have been avoided?

These things happen!

A lot of potential hazards can be stopped from growing into accidents through workplace inspections. Most times, we take happenings in the workplace for granted. Other times, we create tasks for ourselves and employees wrongly.

Regular inspections can expose existing and potential danger. Hazards like a sharp nail, a blown fuse, faulty equipment, poor workstation design, uneven floors have a high potential to cause injuries and illnesses.

Someone might be thinking “This is not for me”.

Hold that thought.

Are some more prone to injuries than others?

Anyone can get injured on any type of job. People faint, fires start, people trip and fall, machines malfunction in various businesses. To really get things right, you would need a Safety Professional to help you with safety inspections.

However, on your own you can begin to assess the work process (Are there repetitive tasks? Is the task properly designed? Do staff have sufficient break time?), the environment (What is the noise level? Is the workplace too hot or too cold?), the equipment (Does it malfunction? Is it appropriate for the particular task?).

Workplace inspections could be done daily, weekly or monthly depending on the scale and nature of business.

Workplace inspections are important to businesses because they help you:

• Identify existing and potential hazards (danger)
• Recommend corrective actions
• Interact with employees and know their concerns as they perform their daily tasks
• Monitor existing corrective actions

So, what have you observed at work that could lead to harm?

Do something about it!

This article was originally published on She Leads Africa

Photo credit: Google images

Hazard reporting is key to keeping a safe business. Hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm. Most times we are afraid to report safety concerns or issues in the workplace because we do not want to be seen as “busybodies”. We do not want to put others in trouble or think it’s not our business.

It is your business actually.

Would you rather report a wrong action that could lead to an accident or allow the accident happen and let people get hurt?

Reporting hazards could save your life. Who knows, you might be the victim of an unreported hazard. The effects of these hazards could either be immediate or occur over time.

The employer/entrepreneur has a legal obligation to keep the workplace safe. However, as an employee, you are directly involved in the work process. You see the loose ends the boss may not see. Therefore, it is your duty to report shortcomings in the system. Some of us wrongly assume the employer knows about the situation already. Sadly, they do not always know and things could go wrong.

There are four categories of hazards that can be found in the workplace depending on the nature of business:

• Physical hazards: These are usually more common, faulty equipment, trailing cables, using wrong equipment for tasks, exposed moving parts of machine, spills, uneven floors
• Biological hazards: These could be from working with body fluid from humans or animals, bacteria, viruses
• Chemical hazards: This is exposure to various chemicals in liquid, solid or gaseous state like gasoline, cleaning products, fumes
• Ergonomic hazards: These type occur from workplace conditions, poor lighting, poorly arranged workstations, bad lifting posture, wrong office furniture, repetitive tasks

We do not have to wait for accidents to happen before reporting. We should report unsafe acts and tasks, faulty equipment, because these are the components of future accidents.

When we report hazards in the workplace, it helps the business by:

• Creating an awareness of the situation
• Leading to solution creation
• Increasing staff involvment as they also make suggestions to keep the work process safe
• Improving workplace safety

Image credit: Google images

According to Lindsey Friedman, about 3 million workers a year in the US private sector are injured. The rate of injuries and illnesses are highest among small and medium-sized companies. Now, that is the US, imagine the current statistics in Africa.

As we say sometimes in Nigeria, “It’s not my portion”, “God forbid”, “I’ve never had an accident before”, but precaution is better than cure. Accidents and other such incidents in the workplace are one of the ways businesses lose money and for an entrepreneur working on limited funds, this is not the way to go.

It’s never too late to build a safety culture. It is important to invest in accident prevention because trust me, without adequate control measures in place, accidents will definitely cost you. Don’t worry though, here are some tips to help:

Formal safety policy and procedures
You need a defined Health and Safety policy, work procedures and actions to take in emergency situations. Determine upfront that you want a safe business and work towards it.

Avoid shortcuts in work activities
We understand you have deadlines to meet but hey, we would like to see you arrive at the end in one piece. Remember, you need to be alive and in good health to bring in the money.

Hazard identification
Hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm. You need to study your operations and identify likely hazards. This is a major step because identification makes you come up with ways to limit the effects of hazards on your business.

Communication
Free flow of effective communication between employers and employees keeps a workplace safe. Employers need to communicate safety procedures to their employees verbally and using appropriate signs. Employees on the other hand should report safety concerns because they are directly involved in the work process and experience things first hand.

Provision of appropriate equipment
When buying equipment for your operation, always buy the right one. Research to know what is best for your business. Remember, whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. Improvising has caused many workplace accidents. For example, if employees have to climb to reach material, please provide appropriate ladder so they do not have to use a stool.

Provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Depending on the hazard faced with each task your employees will have to do, provide relevant PPE. Protective equipment include gloves, coveralls, safety shoes, hard hats, safety goggles, ear plugs etc.

Good housekeeping

This simply means a clean and orderly workplace where certain things are avoided. Unmopped spills, disorganised work spaces, loss of concentration, not putting away used items have led to workplace injuries. Therefore, cleanliness and orderliness in the workplace is very important.

Training
New employees need to be trained in work processes as research has shown that they are more likely to be involved in workplace accidents. Also, when new equipment or work processes are introduced, staff should be trained. Yes, we know you’re still working with those limited funds but the costs of accidents are even more. Be on the look out for cost effective training.

Regular inspection
Work processes and equipment must be inspected from time to time. Inspections reveal pitfalls in the system and give you the opportunity to tackle them before problems arise.

Vehicle maintenance
All vehicles used for business must undergo routine maintenance. Don’t say, “Oh, it’s still alright”, “Everything is still functioning well”. Regular maintenance ensures that you are safe every single time you get into a vehicle.

We would absolutely love you to achieve your success story without any broken limbs. Tell us tips you use to prevent accidents in your workplace.

Article was originally published on She Leads Africa

Image Credit: @ulomka