The workplace must be safe. Workplace safety must be of prime importance. Whatever the industry or sector, employers and business owners have a duty of care to their employees.

However, injuries do happen, regardless of the strict health and safety measures in place. According to statistics from the Health and Safety Executive, annually between 2017/18 and 2019/20, 610,000 workers on average were injured in workplace accidents. A further 559,000 workers suffered a new case of ill health that they believed to be caused or made worse by their work.? You can visit trevinolaw.com on what to do after a workplace injury accident.

While the safety of workers is always important, it’s especially the case where there is a greater risk to the health of employees, such as in an industrial environment. If you oversee a team in a factory or other industrial setting and want to ensure you’re protecting employees, read on.

Create a safety plan

The first step is to create a safety strategy with help of Sheffield first aid courses. Whether you don’t yet have one or have one that needs updating, it’s worth investing time into creating a solid plan. This is designed to communicate to your team what measures are in place to enhance their safety, what steps they need to take if they or a colleague is harmed at work, and who to report any new hazards to. This should also list any training for equipment that needs to be carried out before employees can operate it.

Northwest haulage companies suggests the routine assessment of the existing hazards in the workplace. Walkthrough the warehouse or factory and note anything that could pose a risk, from how boxes are stacked to wiring that might be in the way. Are there any chemicals that could be a problem? Is machinery electrically sound?

Once you’ve worked out what might need addressing, you can write up your plan.

Train the team up

Look at the equipment and machinery being used and check where everyone’s training is up to. This applies to every employee. While some longstanding team members might be fully trained, they may need a refresher course just to make sure they know the machinery inside out. Make a schedule and add objectives for employees to have completed each set of training by. Aside from training your employees on how to operate industrial machinery, you can also reach out to London CPR and First Aid to train them on how to respond to medical emergencies in the workplace.

Think of the PPE

Protective equipment can be the barrier needed to prevent accidents on the job. Look at the current supply of overalls, masks, goggles, and gloves to see if anything needs replacing or adding.

Additionally, if your employees regularly use harnesses, these are classed as protective workwear, too. Take the time to check the age of any you have and replace the older ones with new safety harnesses. This will ensure worker safety when they are working at height.

Maintain tools

Tools and machinery must be properly checked and in working order. Your employees will know from your plan how to report any issues with faulty equipment, however, it’s important that you build in regular checks to ensure everything is working correctly.

Keep A Record

Even with the strictest safety measures in place, injuries can happen. Make sure that there’s a place to record any accidents and that your employees know where to find this record book so that they can write down anything – minor or major – that they need to add. Also, take what your team member tell you seriously. Even a small cut caused at work could become a problem if it gets infected, so listen when you’re told about any incidents and write everything down.

If you're running an industry and have taken these measures, feel free to share the benefits of having taking measures for every other reader dropping by to get a kick of Inspiration from your story too.