Reducing Workplace Safety Shortcuts – Part 1

Reducing Workplace Safety Shortcuts – Part 1

Sometimes it is very difficult to keep your workplace safe. There are countless or several regulations and best practices to follow, which can make it difficult to ascertain what will actually work best in your specific worksite. There are also many wonderful workplace safety shortcuts that can help make quick improvements to the facility.

However, many of these types of shortcuts actually reduce the overall safety of the facility, or cause risk to the individual who is taking them. Though it is important to focus on making sure everyone is taking the right safety precautions, it is equally important to ensure they are not making these common safety mistakes.

Take a look at the following ten workplace safety shortcuts and make sure you eliminate them. Eliminating these ten shortcuts could substantially reduce workplace incidents.

1. Lifting Quickly/Improper Lifting

By now we should know that when lifting something really heavy, we should use a back brace, lift with your legs or get other people to help share the load. When people are lifting lighter things, they often ignore these simple workplace safety tips but just grab the item and off they go.

This behavior exposes an individual to serious safety risks. In the first instance, many objects that appear easy to lift can be deceptively heavy. If you grab them carelessly, they can quickly injure your back. Additionally, this type of workplace safety shortcut can lead to bad habits. As other employees see this improper lifting, they will start doing the same with heavier objects. Therefore, encourage everyone to always follow proper lifting techniques. The Kinetic technique proves very useful.

2. Breaks Forfeiture

There are times when so much work that needs to be done that people can be tempted to skip over their lunches or breaks. Though this is typically done with the best of intentions, it can lead to some serious safety problems over time.

Taking breaks at work isn’t just a nice way to relax, it is actually an important part of workplace safety. Letting your mind and body recover for a few minutes at a time will enable you work more safely. Taking lunch is even more important, as it helps regulate blood sugar and enhance more safe work for the rest of the day.

3. Tools Improper Use of Tools

Most facilities have dozens or even hundreds of different tools on site at all times for several functions. This is important because each tool has a specific purpose and job right? Most times, people will be tempted to take shortcut by using a tool they have with them, rather than taking the time to go get the correct one.

For instance, trying to pound a nail into wood with the back end of a screw driver or plier, rather than going to get a hammer. This can not only break the screwdriver or destroy the plier, but it exposes the user to a lot of unnecessary danger. There are several other similar workplace shortcuts that people make when working with tools, and you should put an end to it – for safety sake.