Workplace Safety

Improved Essays
It is not uncommon for individuals to get injured on the job, sometimes due to an unsafe environment and or condition within the workplace. Accidents do happen, however, having policies in the workplace to assist employees in being safe while doing their jobs can ensure that their family and the business is not devastated due to lack of knowledge. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration an estimate of 14,000 workers were killed in 1970, that number has since fell to approximately 4,340 in 2009. “A historical case that showcase how unsafe environments could become fatal is that of the 146 workers who died in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory on March 25, in New York City and lead to the 1914 workman’s compensation act …show more content…
The reported incidents which led to these fatalities involves transportation incidents (41%), fall, slip and trip (17%), violence and other injuries by persons or animals (16%), contact with objects and equipment (15%), exposure to harmful substances or environments (8%), and fires and explosion (3%) (Bureau of Labor Statistic, 2016)”. Not all accidents are preventable but many of these cases may well have been avoided with proper training and implementation of workplace safety polices. Additionally, the number of work-related injuries can be reduced by engaging management and employees, the insurance information institute (2016), states that “Businesses are most successful improving workplace safety when leadership and employees collaborate. Responsibility for workplace safety should be part of everyone’s job, and specific employees and managers should be tasked with implementing, maintaining and improving workplace safety program …show more content…
Secondly the workplace and operation should be analyzed to assess the risk involved, whether it is a new operation, equipment or facilities to your business. Once the operation, equipment or facility has been evaluated and hazards if any is identified the next step is to remove or control them; mitigate hazard; by replacing or fixing equipment, adding new safety measures or changing workplace operations (insurance information institute, 2016).
The next important step is training, implementation of this will not only allow employees to gain knowledge that will help them work in safe environment but will assist in ensuring unsafe environment are reported. Refresher course can be implemented as part of this training as well as first-aid training. With the implementation of the workplace safety the process needs to be continuously reviewed and improved. These steps are all key to implementation for a workplace police for my company (insurance information institute,

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