Safety in the work place is a matter worthy of utmost concern from the management as it involves preventing any harm whether physical, physiological, or psychological in nature. Any company worth its salt should realize that work place safety and health of employees is synonymous to protecting the assets of the organization.

A rise in issues on well-being among employees is equivalent to an unaccountable amount in losses due to lowered productivity and medical expenses. And, having a healthy workforce will help sustain a nation's economic growth in the long term. It's critical for an organization to enforce safety in work place and that workers stay safe and healthy as they age.

Setting Objectives

When designing or redesigning safety in the work place, the primary objective should be to create a safer and healthier workplace by diminishing any factors that can give rise to incidences of illness, stress, and injury.

Work Place Safety Tips

1. Work place safety and health standards should apply to specific working conditions for them to be effective. Your organization can refer to laws and regulations pertaining to your industry, in general, and then to particular employment situations.
   
   
2. Your organization should be capable of determining and acknowledging the hazards which can be detrimental to health and safety in the workplace. This means anticipating instances - what, where, how - a worker can get seriously ill or injured.
   
   
3. Begin by checking individual work stations for the presence of any potential hazards, such as frayed electrical cords, toxic chemicals, repetitive motion, lifting heavy objects, or lead paint.
   
   
4. Job hazard analysis - OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) describes this as a technique that analyzes job tasks and identifies hazards even before they happen.
   
   
5. Senior management is advised to help workers identify hazards associated with their tasks and how to manage these. Examples of hazards can be in the nature of:
   
   
   • Electrical (fire, power outage, shock/short circuit)
   • Ergonomics (human error, strain)
   • Explosion (over pressurization, chemical reaction)
   • Excavation (collapse)
   • Fire/heat (burns)
   • Radiation (microwave ovens, microwave towers for television and radio stations, X-rays, or wireless technology)
   • Visibility (improper lighting which can impair vision)
   • Extreme temperature (exhaustion, heat stress, hypothermia)
   • Mechanical (chaffing, failure, vibration, body part damage)
   • Noise (hearing damage, stress, lessened ability to communicate)
   • Weather phenomena (rain, wind, snow, ice which can create or increase hazard

Safety at Work Place Program

Achieving an effective program can take some effort but any minor or major implementation of policies, procedures, or training can be considered part of a work place safety program. Any program made for the purpose of improving safety and health in the workplace should be concerned with promoting and rewarding safe practices at work, eliminating fatalities at work, and reducing injuries and illnesses at work.

Measure and Record Performance

On a continuous basis, measuring performance and keeping a record of your safety and health program is a good technique to ensure that targets are met daily. Likewise, it's equally necessary to have a systematic evaluation on the compliance of procedures, regulations, and standards; an analysis on the causes of injuries and accidents; and finding out any deficiencies and correcting them.

Ensuring employee safety in the work place has immeasurable benefits to an organization and to a nation's economy in the coming years. Is your company taking the necessary steps?