Be Safe In The Workplace - Taking Steps To Avoid Injury At Work
Each year in the place of work there are more and more reported injuries, many of these are injuries that could have been prevented by either the employee or employer.
Some of the injuries and incidents are very minor but others are quite serious and in many cases lead to death or the person being injured so badly that they can no longer continue in the job of their choice.
In this day and age of health and safety in the work place many of the injuries that happen are avoidable but what can we all do to ensure that we keep the place of work as safe as possible for ourselves and others? With the influx of so many foreign workers to most major European countries it can be difficult to police the way that many places of work are managed with regards to safety in the work place, this is not because the foreign workers come to countries with the sole intention of working in a dangerous manner it is just that in many cases they come from countries that do not have legislation in place to cover health and safety in the workplace so they know no different.
This is where we as the established workforce have to do our bit as well as the management to ensure that necessary training is provided to ensure that all workers, whether foreign or nationals understand the reasons behind being safe in the work place.
Where ever you work there should be a contact person in charge of all matters to do with health and safety so that any issues can be raised directly with someone who can make the necessary changes.
Ideally the person who is involved in the health and safety in the workplace should not be a member of management as many employees are very nervous about reporting a problem directly to a person in management.
Depending on what environment you work in there are many things that you should be aware of to make the work place a safer environment to be in.
For many of us we have to spend forty hours a week at work so we owe it to our colleagues and to our families to make it as safe as is possible.
For instance if you work in a warehouse and you notice pallets that have been stacked high in a dangerous manner you should think it your duty to report it to someone, not with the intention of getting a colleague in trouble but with the intention of perhaps saving a colleagues life.
If the management know about the problem they can act on it, not only rectifying the problem but ensuring that the person responsible for the dangerous stacking is given the correct training to ensure that it does not happen again.
Wearing of the correct clothing whilst at work is also paramount to your safety, no longer are you allowed to work on a building site wearing normal day to day shoes or trainers as you must now wear footwear with an adequate amount of protection in the form of a protective toe of either poly-carbonate or steel.
The same goes with clothing, in most work places other than offices you must wear high visibility clothing to enable you to be seen by both colleagues and by people coming into the place of your work.
High visibility clothing offers no protection as such merely enables you to stand a better chance of being seen and hence avoid an accident or injury.
In many outdoor places of work where there are things going on overhead it is also critical the you wear some form of protective head gear, whether it is in the form of a safety helmet or a safety baseball cap, which are becoming more popular, it is the responsibility of your employer to provide these and your responsibility to wear them.
An area that is equally as important as protecting your head is ensuring that you have adequate protection for your eyes at all times, a very small piece of stray debris in your eye can prove to be extremely dangerous and can lead to you damaging your eyesight or even worse, losing your sight completely.
Protective eyewear [http://www.
sports-shades.
com/Eyewear/Eyewear/Eyewear] has come on massively in the past few years, with many designs being very fashionable and comfortable to wear giving you no reason not to make sure that your eyesight is protected at all times at work.
Finally, it is not only the responsibility of your employers to make sure you are safe at work, it is the responsibility of everyone who works with you.
If you see a situation that may lead to the injuring of a colleague it is your responsibility to report it, do not leave it for someone else to do,You may be the last person to see the problem before the next person seriously injures themselves.
Some of the injuries and incidents are very minor but others are quite serious and in many cases lead to death or the person being injured so badly that they can no longer continue in the job of their choice.
In this day and age of health and safety in the work place many of the injuries that happen are avoidable but what can we all do to ensure that we keep the place of work as safe as possible for ourselves and others? With the influx of so many foreign workers to most major European countries it can be difficult to police the way that many places of work are managed with regards to safety in the work place, this is not because the foreign workers come to countries with the sole intention of working in a dangerous manner it is just that in many cases they come from countries that do not have legislation in place to cover health and safety in the workplace so they know no different.
This is where we as the established workforce have to do our bit as well as the management to ensure that necessary training is provided to ensure that all workers, whether foreign or nationals understand the reasons behind being safe in the work place.
Where ever you work there should be a contact person in charge of all matters to do with health and safety so that any issues can be raised directly with someone who can make the necessary changes.
Ideally the person who is involved in the health and safety in the workplace should not be a member of management as many employees are very nervous about reporting a problem directly to a person in management.
Depending on what environment you work in there are many things that you should be aware of to make the work place a safer environment to be in.
For many of us we have to spend forty hours a week at work so we owe it to our colleagues and to our families to make it as safe as is possible.
For instance if you work in a warehouse and you notice pallets that have been stacked high in a dangerous manner you should think it your duty to report it to someone, not with the intention of getting a colleague in trouble but with the intention of perhaps saving a colleagues life.
If the management know about the problem they can act on it, not only rectifying the problem but ensuring that the person responsible for the dangerous stacking is given the correct training to ensure that it does not happen again.
Wearing of the correct clothing whilst at work is also paramount to your safety, no longer are you allowed to work on a building site wearing normal day to day shoes or trainers as you must now wear footwear with an adequate amount of protection in the form of a protective toe of either poly-carbonate or steel.
The same goes with clothing, in most work places other than offices you must wear high visibility clothing to enable you to be seen by both colleagues and by people coming into the place of your work.
High visibility clothing offers no protection as such merely enables you to stand a better chance of being seen and hence avoid an accident or injury.
In many outdoor places of work where there are things going on overhead it is also critical the you wear some form of protective head gear, whether it is in the form of a safety helmet or a safety baseball cap, which are becoming more popular, it is the responsibility of your employer to provide these and your responsibility to wear them.
An area that is equally as important as protecting your head is ensuring that you have adequate protection for your eyes at all times, a very small piece of stray debris in your eye can prove to be extremely dangerous and can lead to you damaging your eyesight or even worse, losing your sight completely.
Protective eyewear [http://www.
sports-shades.
com/Eyewear/Eyewear/Eyewear] has come on massively in the past few years, with many designs being very fashionable and comfortable to wear giving you no reason not to make sure that your eyesight is protected at all times at work.
Finally, it is not only the responsibility of your employers to make sure you are safe at work, it is the responsibility of everyone who works with you.
If you see a situation that may lead to the injuring of a colleague it is your responsibility to report it, do not leave it for someone else to do,You may be the last person to see the problem before the next person seriously injures themselves.