Top Tips to Avoid Accidents At Work
Every company in the United Kingdom is obligated to keep their staff safe whilst they are at work, failing which their negligence could lead to a compensation claim being made on their insurance policy, an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive or even criminal sanctions being placed on the business and/or its directors.
Sadly, due to pressurised environments, financial constraints or dangerous working environments, health and safety can easily be ignored and accidents can commonly occur.
In support of Injury Prevention Week, we provide our tops ways to prevent injuries from occurring in the workplace.
In support of Injury Prevention Week, we provide our tops ways to prevent injuries from occurring in the workplace.
1. Risk assessments
Every company should complete a formal risk assessment, which highlights every part of the business which could cause a person to suffer an injury. We would advise a company to record all hazards (no matter how obscure), to be as detailed as possible and to regularly update the document as the company expands or new risks come to light.
Once completed, each risk should be ranked on how likely this is to occur and what measures could (and should) be put in place by the company to minimise the chance of this happening, such as by providing training and the appropriate protective equipment.
Typical hazards will vary per business and industry but common areas identified are being exposed to loud noise, manual handling, working from height, slips, trips and falls, stress, chemical exposure and repetitive tasks.
2. Maintain the workplace.
Many businesses do not regularly service or check their machinery, despite this being used daily and breaking down over time. This is usually due to the costs involved and companies holding out until the machine completely shuts down.
However, surprisingly, we have seen many claims arise from parts of machinery breaking off and injuring a person or safety glass shattering as this was outdated. These injuries could have been prevented had the company serviced its equipment at regular intervals, with any faults being remedied as soon as they arose and the machinery being shut down until the repairs had been made.
Companies should therefore protect their employees by acting proactively, which also provides the financial benefit of keeping their insurance policy low when it comes to renewal with less claims being made against them.
3. Training
Although providing training can seem like a “tick box” exercise, we can assure that this is vital in preventing accidents, by providing employees with the knowledge to prevent taking dangerous risks.
Even if a person had worked in the industry prior to their current employment, training should still be supplied to the individual as it should not be assumed that both companies operate in the same way or that the training previously given to them was adequate.
We would also advise that training is supplied in regular intervals to cover any changes in the business. It is also important to refresh employees on the correct procedures as memories do fade over time and it can be easy for a person to adopt their own unsafe way of working when completing repetitive tasks.
To keep an employee engaged and to ensure that the information is absorbed, we would recommend providing a variety of training methods such as presentations, group exercises, videos and questionnaires.
4. Provide protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is vital in preventing or minimising injuries and it is an employer’s responsibility to supply this to their employees to the correct specifications/grade, to ensure that it is maintained, to check that it fits correctly and to make sure that it is worn.
If this is not complied with and an injury occurs which could have been prevented by PPE then an employee does have grounds for making a personal injury claim as their employer has failed to protect them.
PPE does vary per industry but regular types of equipment supplied include goggles, masks, hard hats, safety boots and goggles.
5. Keep a tidy workplace
This is also sadly an area which is also commonly missed due to the busy nature of some companies. However, slips, trips and falls are one of the most common claims made against businesses and therefore it is vital that spillages and obstacles are rectified as soon as they appear. A company may wish to train employees to “clean as they go” and a member of staff should also be allocated on each shift to routinely check areas for hazards and to remove the same swiftly.
If working in an office environment, each piece of electrical equipment should also be checked by the business to ensure that loose wires are safely stored away, perhaps by using electrical tape or cable ties, to prevent a person falling over them.
6. Warning signs
If a hazard has been identified, a company should erect warning signs in the vicinity to warn employees of the same. Common examples are wet floor signs, flammable materials, chemical exposure, “mind the step” or simple reminders to wear PPE in the area. This is usually a simple and cost-effective method to remind employees of the issue, which may prevent an accident from occurring,
7. Keep a record
All businesses with more than ten employees are legally required to have an accident book, which records all accidents and near-misses. However, we would advise that all companies take this measure, regardless of their staffing capacities, as the entries can highlight what hazards are most common in the business and it may identify measures which could be put in place to prevent the same incident from occurring in the future.
The record also provides evidence which may need to be supplied to the Health and Safety Executive when completing any reports or when defending a personal injury claim, if it can be shown that no similar incidents had occurred previously.
8. Have safe lifting practices
Manual handling can be an essential part of a role but requiring employees to lift excessive loads or to do this unsafely can lead to injuries as serious as slipped discs and fractured spines, which can have lifechanging consequences.
It is therefore important that employers take all reasonable steps to prevent an injury from occurring, such as by providing lifting equipment or straps to minimise the strain on the back and to ensure that there are enough members of staff to complete team lifts with heavier loads.
It also advisable to indicate the weight of a load by providing stickers on the box and to completely prevent those who are pregnant, disabled or otherwise vulnerable from lifting in any way.
A key part of preventing injury is to also ensure that staff are trained thoroughly and regularly on how to stack objects in weight order and how to lift items more safely, usually from chest height (where possible), with the item located close to their body and to avoid twisting or stretching.
9. Keep stress to a low
Although employers can feel that setting targets encourages productivity, by setting these too high it can lead to a person suffering with work-related stress or becoming physically injured by rushing to complete a dangerous activity such as lifting or driving a forklift truck. Alternatively, the task may be completed poorly or incorrectly due to fatigue and an injury may occur. In turn, a person may then require time off work or they may leave the business, which can then negatively impact on company’s profits, in addition to their insurance policy being affected with any claims being made against this.
We therefore believe that it is in a company’s best interests to ensure that there are an adequate number of staff on shift at all times, with new staff being recruited to cover any shortages as soon as possible.
Targets should also be set at a reasonable level and businesses should have a friendly discussion with any employees who are failing to meet their quota so the company can understand the reasons for this and any reasonable adjustments can be made to support the employee, which may prevent low morale.
10. Hire experienced staff
If an industry involves a particularly dangerous or high-risk activity such the use of machinery, driving a vehicle or an exposure to chemicals, it is important that companies thoroughly consider a person’s experience and qualifications before they are hired. If a person is employed without this and sufficient training or supervision is not supplied, it makes an injury much more likely to occur.
Even where a person has held a qualification previously, employers must check that this is up to date as it is illegal to operate certain machinery (such as fork-lift trucks or cranes) without the correct licence.
11. Keep traffic routes clear
Accidents involving work vehicles (such as HGVs or fork-lift trucks) are incredibly common and if the negligence of one employee causes a second person to become injured, a claim for compensation can be submitted against the company as a whole for having control over the employee responsible and failing to operate safe working practices.
It is therefore essential that traffic routes for pedestrians and vehicles are segregated as much as possible, there is sufficient space made in the workplace and employees are trained to check their surroundings and sound their horn when operating the vehicle to prevent an injury from occurring.
If a person appears to be driving a vehicle dangerously or is nervous when using this, further training and support should be provided to them.
12. Be approachable
We would advise that perhaps the cheapest and most effective way of preventing an accident in the workplace is simply by actively seeking employees’ opinions on their wellbeing and asking for any improvements (to health and safety or otherwise) which the business could incorporate.
Often employees can feel reluctant to come forward for fearing repercussions and therefore a friendly relaxed approach should be taken to obtain this information. An easy way of doing this is by having an anonymous suggestion box or by offering incentivises for the best solutions offered.
WHAT TO DO NEXT
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Alex Singleton joined Oakwood Solicitors in April 2021 as an experienced Paralegal, having worked in Personal Injury since 2018. Currently, Alex works in the Employers’ Liability and Public Liabilit…
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