Preventing hazards from causing harm to your employees is always a priority. Accidents in the workplace often occur as a result of managers failing to recognize and assess potential hazards. By being proactive about hazard identification and assessment, you can effectively maintain a safe work environment for everyone at your organization.

Here are five key practices for identifying workplace hazards:

1. Identify chemical hazards.

Risk of chemical exposure exists in many manufacturing settings and must be detected as quickly as possible to prevent its harmful effects. One vital step is to closely review your safety data sheets (SDSs) and product labels to identify chemicals in your workplace that are highly potent and have low exposure limits. It’s also important to evaluate which chemicals cannot be used in high quantities or in poorly ventilated spaces.

2. Identify physical hazards.

Despite standard safety procedures, there are often many overlooked physical hazards in the workplace. Doing an audit of physical hazards is beneficial, such as identifying excessive noise exposures, extreme temperatures and potential sources of radiation like radioactive materials or radiofrequency radiation.

3. Identify ergonomic risk factors.

Tasks in the workplace that require physical labor can easily create ergonomic concerns and should be addressed to prevent employee injuries. Examples of ergonomic risk factors include heavy lifting, climbing ladders and repetitive motions. Taking measures to reduce the risks of ergonomic problems will improve workplace safety and create a healthier work environment for your employees.

4. Review and track medical records.

You should always evaluate employees’ medical conditions or injuries as they relate to workplace safety. Medical cases such as musculoskeletal injuries, skin irritants, hearing loss or lung disease may be related to workplace exposures that should be rectified immediately.

5. Listen to your employees.

Your employees are always on the floor observing what’s happening. Taking the time to listen to your team’s concerns – rather than dismissing them – can make or break a potentially dangerous situation!

Be Proactive When Maintaining and Updating Safety Protocols

Remember, many workplace accidents are often preventable by following the practices above. As a manager, it’s your responsibility to ensure the highest degree of safety in your workplace. If you are looking for trusted staffing and management solutions, contact the team at Carlton Staffing today.