Advice from a Health and Safety Consultants at MAKROSAFE

Safety tips in the workplace are a tool to elevate the level of health and safety. Employees can use these tips to constantly remember about how they are supposed to conduct themselves as well as to make sure the workplace is compliant.

In this blog, I will mostly emphasise on safety tips in the workplace for hazards that contribute to most common injuries in the workplace. In my years as a health and safety consultant I have noticed that the most common dangers include slips, trips and falls, the incorrect lifting of loads and fire hazards.

Tips for avoiding slips, trips and falls

• Always keep your eyes open and focus on where you are going
• Always check the floor to eye spills or possible tripping and slipping hazards
• Never ignore spills, ensure it is cleaned immediately before you proceed
• Wear non-skid shoes if you work in areas with slippery surfaces
• Use only approved elevating equipment such as ladders/scaffolds to access anything at height
• Never lean on railings even if they look solid, as they might be insecure
• Always use a safety harnesses when working at heights

Tips to be compliant in terms of fire safety

• Have regular fire drills to ensure employees are aware of emergency exits, emergency procedures and assembly points
• Avoid overloading electrical sockets. Too many appliances plugged at one point can cause a fire
• Keep cleaning chemicals and other work chemicals in a well-ventilated room. Many chemicals emit vapours that are highly flammable. They can be set off with something as small as a spark from a faulty wire
• Know the location of all fire equipment in your premises
• Remember that grease fires cannot be fought by dousing them with water. Oil is hydrophobic and is also the fuel source in grease fires. Water will simply splash the oil around and spread the fire even further

Tips for Lifting Properly

• Gauge the weight of a load before lifting to determine how heavy it is
• Always wear non-skid shoes when you are lifting often or lifting potentially heavy objects
• Never bend at the waist and lift the box up with your back. Keep your upper body straight and parallel with your lower legs. Grab the item and push up with your legs, not with your back.
• Never jerk your body around when lifting. A repeated occurrences can easily lead to injuries.

General safety tips to achieve compliance

1. Acquire appropriate safety training and knowledge from an experienced health and safety consultant
2. Employers have the responsibility to ensure all their employees are trained
3. Maintain open lines of communication with your superiors. An effective communication line means all hazards and risks are communicated and acted upon, immediately
4. Ask questions if you do not understand your job requirements or how you can safely perform your tasks. Ensure you are satisfactory answered to be able to perform your job safely
5. Familiarize yourself with emergency procedures so you can act safely when an emergency strikes
6. Always wear protection. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will protect you against possible risks and hazards
7. Always follow safety rules and procedures
8. Understand the risks, so that you can take steps to reduce your risk of work-related injury or illness.

Too often health and safety consultants come to the conclusion that compliance of a workplace is inadequate because employees and management do not adhere to the basic rules. Please take note of them and have your employees familiarize themselves with some basic rules. Or contact MAKROSAFE to ask one of our health and safety consultants to come do a health and safety audit to determine your health and safety compliance.