Workplace safety is a big deal, with businesses spending a lot of resources to ensure that employees can carry out their work safely. Accidents can cause serious issues, leading to a loss of productivity and fines from regulators. Over the years, changes to healthy and safety regulations have reduced the number of workplace accidents, as has the development of new tools and devices.
Modern workplaces use a lot of different safety tools and equipment to protect workers and reduce the frequency and severity of accidents. While these tools can’t completely stop accidents from happening, they significantly improve productivity when used correctly. Here are some of the most essential tools for workplace safety.
Safety Tags
Safety tags are used as visual indicators to employees about potential hazards and necessary precautions. They’re similar to safety signs, only they’re usually attached to specific equipment. These tags are placed in a way to ensure that employees have to see them when they use the equipment, reminding them of proper use and reducing the potential for accidents. These signs include ladder tags, and can also include information on the maintenance records of the device.
Most safety tags will include a checklist for use, going over the necessary precautions that the employee needs to take to set the equipment up safely. In addition, it will usually include notes on the most recent inspection and the date the next inspection is due. If the device is decommissioned, this will also be stated on the safety tag to ensure that it’s not used again and is disposed of.
Personal Protective Equipment
A lot of job sites working with hazardous materials or potentially dangerous conditions should have personal protective equipment (PPE) available for employees to use. This equipment acts as a last line of defence against potential hazards, though they shouldn’t be relied on to guarantee safety when working in dangerous conditions. Businesses should work to reduce the number of hazards in a workplace, with PPE used to limit the impact if an accident occurs.
Hard hats are one of the most common types of PPE. These are mandatory on construction sites and other areas where falling debris could cause serious injuries. Businesses take care to ensure that falling debris is unlikely, but it’s impossible to eliminate a hazard completely. As a result, the hard hat is necessary. Other forms of PPE include face coverings, protective clothing and high visibility vests. All are designed to reduce risks and lower the impact of a potential accident.
PPE should be provided for all employees based on the type of hazards they’re likely to come into contact with. It should be easy to use and comfortable while also maintaining high safety standards. Of course, if an accident occurs and the PPE was involved, it always needs to be replaced in case it’s compromised.
Video Monitoring Systems
Technology has made it far easier for businesses to manage workplace safety. Thanks to improvements in the quality of cameras and the ability of computers to transmit large amounts of data anywhere in the world, video monitoring systems are now capable of providing live feeds to monitor conditions and ensure safety standards are as high as possible.
Sensors can be used to trigger alarms and alerts in case certain conditions change. However, sensors aren’t always capable of detecting potential hazards. By using a video monitoring system, safety managers can monitor the workplace at all times to spot potential hazards before they develop. In addition, AI can be trained to recognise issues in videos as they develop on the screen, sounding an alarm even if sensors are unable to detect the issue.
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