subject: Is Your Business At Risk Because Of Workplace Safety? [print this page] Just stop and think what this would cost your business if were killed or seriously injured at work.
A recent crane collapse in a shipyard killed one person and seriously injured another, prompted the ship-building company to indefinitely suspended manufacturing vessels as officials consider how to move forward with repairs.The normal work cannot proceed so other workers have been laid off. Just stop and think what this would cost your business if something like that happened to your people. This happened in the USA but the legislation and work practices are similar around the world as is human nature.
I have certainly needed to deal with crane collapses, misuse and injuries in some of the businesses I have worked with.
One of the things I saw over and again is that young guys love to operate a crane or a forklift and of course they are supremely confident in their ability to do so. Their confidence is so much greater than their skill and experience unfortunately. Even when they have passed their "ticket" I have seen a guy seriously injured by forgetting to refer to the lift tables in the cab and try to lift a heavy load sideways at full extension. Result - one toppled crane, a couple of hundred thousand dollars damage and a panicked young man who had also forgotten his seatbelt, thrown about then opening the door and jumping with totally unnecessary severe injuries. The ego was also dented.
The questions you need to ask is are they qualified and also are they supervised?Do you have copies of their qualifications and have you checked their competency and kept good records of this?
Another example that could so easily happen anywhere is a hearing loss case that cost a company $250,000 A judge ordered a business. to pay $50,000 to each of five employees for noise-induced hearing loss, a total of $250,000. And the company may have to pay out more for hearing loss, as the court has yet to rule on the claims of 35 other former employees which would amount to $2 million if they all were ordered to receive $50,000. The company was found to have violated its duty of care to employees when it failed to provide: - a workplace managed so that workers do not suffer from excessive noise - an effective hearing conservation program - regular and periodic hearing tests, and - he employees with warnings of the dangers associated with long-term chronic occupational noise exposure. And the court noted that the company had decided not to spend $110,000 for noise control equipment during a $35 million plant expansion in the late 1970s. The message is that "she WON"T be right mate!" If you employ or manage people in any industry how can you prevent accidents and deaths?And can you do this so that you don't add huge overheads to your business?
Could your next mobile call be to come and sort out the mess because you have the body of someone's precious 17 year old son, or someone's father and husband on your workplace?
Or the ambulance is tending to a young lad with a compound fracture to his leg that may never recover completely
This is not being dramatic.It happens.Can you imagine the repercussions?It is not only the shock and hurt at the time but the legal and financial fallout goes on for years.It may result in you going to jail and/or losing your house to pay the damages.
You can prevent this by implementing a simple and effective safety management system
