Understanding and Preventing Workplace Fatality and Injury

Around the world, the workplace continues to be one of the most dangerous environments one can enter. An unbelievable 270 million people each year will suffer a workplace-related injury, and 350,000 workplace deaths occur annually. In the United States alone, 4,383 individuals lost their lives as a result of job-related injuries in 2012.

And it’s not just the personnel who suffer as a result of such widespread injury and fatality. Rampant workplace injury drastically reduces employee productivity, and results in lost time and a less cost-efficient business as a whole.

Taking the necessary steps to prevent workplace injury and death isn’t negotiable. Here are some things you can do to ensure a safer and more efficient workplace for all personnel:

Ensuring proper ergonomics

Musculoskeletal Disorders, or MSDs, are among the most common causes of lost time among workplace personnel, and frequently occur as a result of poor ergonomic support. In 2011, MSDs made up about a third of all workplace injury and illness cases in the United States. To help keep personnel MSD-free, it’s important to invest in equipment like lift tables, which eliminate the strain of manual lifting, and other OSHA-approved ergonomic products.

Tackling general hazards

Accidents are much more prone to take place in the workplace when personnel don’t observe vigilance over some of the most easily fixable safety hazards. Personnel should not wear clothing and jewelry that can become entangled in machinery, and should keep long hair tied back; this is especially necessary in industrial work environments. By making sure all personnel eliminate these simple hazards, the workplace as a whole can become safer for everyone.

Providing thorough safety training

A major component of preventing injury and death in the workplace is training all workers and personnel on the essential safety procedures to observe. Training personnel on how to detect the early signs of conditions like MSDs can also help prevent the problem from worsening and resulting in a debilitating injury. When everyone in the workplace is educated on how to be safe, the workplace can become a productive, non-hazardous environment for all.