Guide to Everyday Safety in the Workplace

For business owners and managers, safety is paramount to productivity. Guidelines from OSHA will help get you on the right track, but meeting OSHA requirements and building safety requirements isn’t always enough to completely safeguard your employees. Your everyday safety issues are a more likely threat than a natural disaster, or even a building fire.  Your employees aren’t aiding your business if they’re injured. So while you can’t forget about the big disasters, you also need to be advising your employees with tips for everyday safety. Since you’ll need to assess your workspace, think of the common safety issues you could find and group them in one of two common categories: 

1. Employee accidents – like slips and falls.
2. Object and equipment injuries.

 We’ll run through some common safety scenarios and tell you how to avoid them. Let’s take a tour through the business world…

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Watch out for falls

By far, slips and falls inside your business are your most likely accidents, and traction is often the culprit. Inside your facility, consider a carpet, rather than a slick vinyl or tile service. Professional quality installation will mean no carpet wrinkles or floor unevenness, which can be dangerous themselves. If you have a potentially wet workspace, like around a sink, consider a nice rubber floor mat that can be removed so the floor can be mopped.

I recommend: A nice indoor/outdoor carpet made of polypropylene (a synthetic fiber) can be found from construction supply stores like Lowe’s and The Home Depot or your local carpet dealer. Rubber mats can be obtained directly from companies like Georgia Mills.

Beware your entrances

Right outside your business is a dangerous spot. It’s where your customers and employees will be running in the rain, or facing issues like snow and ice as they try to enter your business. Help them out with a good railing and a decent outdoor mat. Beware exceptionally smooth tile work; it may look great, but it can be tough to walk on when wet.

I recommend: Handrails can be custom built by a local craftsman, or you can order one from a company like Ideal Shield. A good carpet-style mat is great to place under an awning. Global Industrial sells a nice array of workplace safety products, including these mats.

Watch those cables

Sometimes the most dangerous cables aren’t the high-voltage wires powering your facility; the mot dangerous ones might be the ones connecting your phones and computers. Cables that are too long or not routed correctly can trip an unsuspecting person or get caught and yank equipment off desks and workbenches. Route them correctly (under the flooring is best) and don’t use unnecessarily long cables if possible.

I recommend: Companies like Office Depot and Staples sell a nice array cable management products, like ones that can coil your cables, retract them, or simply cover them in a vinyl plastic sleeve.

The office break room

Just like in the home, the kitchen in the office is the source of many hazards. With coffee machines, hot water dispensers, toaster ovens and more, you’re dealing with devices that get used often and complacently. Not only should you make certain that equipment is in good working order, but you should look for devices that are designed for an industrial or business environment, making them not only more durable, but also safer.

I recommend: Make certain that you choose a coffee machine that will automatically turn off after a certain period of time. Some of today’s newest models use stainless steel carafes rather than glass ones, to eliminate the shatter hazard. Mr. Coffee’s DRTX85 model has both features, plus the excess cord retracts into the machine, making it a great choice for safety-conscious offices.

Heavy lifting

Maybe you don’t have the strength of a professional mover, but you probably find you need to move heavy items regularly. It’s tempting to slug it yourself or have an employee do it, but you’re risking back injuries or items being dropped because the person moving the object may not have the strength or skills to move it safely.

I recommend: A simple hand truck, like one from American Moving Supplies should be kept on hand. A light-duty model will work for most situations. You can also pick up a back brace from Amazon.com. OrthoAthletic sells a Safer Lifting Strategy Kit that can help a business owner teach effective back safety.

Object storage

One of the big dangers in business safety is when heavy objects are stored high on shelves, such as old computer monitors stacked on top of a file cabinet (a very common hazard).

I recommend: Look at discarding old equipment as soon as it’s not being used. A donation to a firm like the Salvation Army will get you a tax deduction. In California, Computer Recycling Center will recycle computer equipment and use it for educational needs. Find a similar company in your area at the Electronic Industries Alliance’s Consumer Education Initiative.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• There’s no link to tell you how to do it, but simply pushing in file cabinet drawers and keeping workers chairs out of paths of travel will do wonders to improve office safety. While you’re at it, create a policy regarding where customers can go in your business. Most safety experts (and insurance companies) will recommend you keep your customers out of areas where equipment is being moved, things are being loaded, and machines are in operation. And if they are back in those areas, consider ordering a few hardhats.

The official source of Everyday Safety in the Workplace is
the Safety and Security Consulting page at Business.com