Preventing Health And Safety Problems In The Workplace

Health and safety is a much debated subject these days and something employers need to be aware of

. Businesses are responsible for the health and safety of their employees; they need to make sure their employees are able to work in a safe environment and offer any help that they will need to ensure this is the case. Below are some of the typical workplace injuries and how employers can prevent them from happening to their staff.

Back Problems through Lifting

Back problems are one of the most common injuries that happen in the workplace. One way these happen is due to lifting. You need to make sure your employees lift in the correct manor by using their legs to bend rather than bend their back. You could be responsible if you have not trained your staff properly and they suffer injuries. You should not ask or allow employees to lift unreasonably heavy things. You should encourage them to refuse lifting something they believe to be too heavy and never force them to lift something against their will.

Tripping and Slipping

People can trip up and fall for all sorts of reasons, but you need to make sure you do not cause someone to fall and injure themselves. If something is spilt make sure it is cleared up, if the floor is slippery make sure there are warning signs. You also need to be careful of loose carpet or wires running across the floor that people could trip over.

Electrical Safety

Technology, and in particular computers, is used a lot in business today. This makes electrical safety more important than ever. Any equipment you supply to employees must be safe for use. It should also be tested regularly, with PAT Testing a good way of doing this.

Repetitive Strain Injury

Repetitive strain injury, or RSI, is an injury caused by someone repeatedly performing the same action. The most common of these is when someone is typing on a computer all day, every day, but it can also happen in other areas of work. Employers should encourage (or enforce) regular breaks or try to vary someones job so they are not constantly doing one thing. If someone does begin to suffer pain it might be wise to find them something else to do for a while.

Injury from Sitting

Even sitting in the wrong way can cause injury, with many developing problems from having the incorrect posture while sitting at a desk. You should make employees aware of how they should be sitting. They should sit back in the chair with a straight back. If sitting at a computer monitor the top of the screen should be in line with their eyes. The right type of chair is also important, and they should be adjustable so they can be altered to suit each persons body and height.

Eye Problems while at a Computer

This is another modern day hazard. The best way to limit the chances of working on a computer having a negative impact on someones eyesight is for them to have regular beaks away from the screen, for example five minutes every hour. The correct lighting should also be used in offices.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is wrist problems from typing on a computer. This is caused when the keyboard is above where the wrists are resting on the desk. The solution is to provide wrist rests to employees.

Falls from Height

Falls can occur in a vast array of different working environments. Any time that someone is working from height their safety needs to be maintained as much as possible. Where relevant ladders and scaffolding should be secure. When someone is working from great height they should be held in place by a harness.

There are a few important things to remember when it comes to health and safety at work. Employees need to be kept as safe as possible. If there is equipment that can help ensure their safety it should be supplied by the employer. Training is also important; employees should be made aware of how to perform their job as safely as possible.

Andrew Marshall

by:expo09

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