Work-related injuries can be messy and can leave a deep physical and psychological impact on the victims. The Labour Force Survey of 2018-19 reported more than 581,000 workers were on the receiving end of a non-fatal injury. Unfortunately, a staggering 20% of the victims had to take an absence of more than 7 days to completely recover from the mishaps.
Creating a safe place for work must be the prime agenda for individuals with authority. Sometimes certain mishaps can take place owing to negligence or lack of safety measures at work. Therefore, knowing about the top common causes of work-related injuries can help you take the necessary precautions to altogether avoid such incidents.
Let's start with the most common preparator of work-related injuries:
• Injuries resulting from an imbalance
Injuries stemming from imbalance involves slipping, tripping and falling. These types of injuries are highly spontaneous. Usually, these stem from being unaware of the surroundings or negligence of appropriate actions.
Such injuries can leave the victim with fractures, twisted parts, and other serious health ailments. These mishaps can be avoided by proper Maintenance of the workplace. The spills should be actively mopped up, and preventive measures should be taken place when working at height.
• Mishandling objects
The workplace is full of objects which if not handled with care can result in dangerous injuries. Incidents like coming in the line of falling objects, or colliding with carelessly left objects can leave the victim gravely injured. Also, getting cuts from sharp objects can result in fatal infections if not deal with care.
Precautions like wearing appropriate gears, being aware while working, and avoiding any negligence should be part of the shared belief and work culture. Vigilant acts like removing objects, quickly wiping any spills, proper handling of materials should be actively appreciated and encouraged as to instil these values in your valuable workers.
• Lifting heavy objects
Lifting heavy objects requires proper guidance and techniques to complete the task without straining your muscles. The injuries can be extremely fatal since here the spinal cord will be deeply affected. The victim might become handicapped for life if the situation is highly severe.
Here, you can altogether avoid getting heavy objects lifted by your workers. Instead, try to get proper machinery and equipment that can make the work much safer. Also, if there is a need to get the objects manually lifted, then try reducing the weight picked at one time.
• Fire accidents
Fire incidents are a nightmare at the work. The mishap might burn down your entire workplace. Also, in unfortunate circumstances, you might lose members of your staff to the raging flames.
The precautions mainly involve being vigilant about the usage of flammable materials. Your workers need to properly interact with combustible materials. Also, the storage and removal of such flammable substances require proper care and protection. Putting these materials in asbestos bags is a good place to start.
• Electrical mishaps
Electrical mishaps can quickly turn into a larger blunder if not snubbed on time. The workers getting in contact with electricity might die or face long-lasting psychological repercussions.
Such accidents usually result from negligence while working with electricity. Proper insulating gear must be provided to the workers. Also, the revelation about exposed wires must be dealt with at the quickest.
• Exposure to contaminated air
Contaminated air can leave your workers with grievous respiratory problems. Here, workers involved with construction, harmful gases, and cleaning are at the highest risks.
This calls for proper masks and protective gear while working under such hazardous conditions. The workers should be provided with high-quality ffp3 dust masks that will ensure smooth breathing while working.
• Exposure to hazardous materials
Exposure to hazardous materials such as chemicals can leave your workers with painful burns. In extreme cases, the workers might get disfigured for life.
Here, the workers should be guided regarding the right ways of handling such hazardous materials. It must be ensured that the workers wear preventive gears like wearing an asbestos mask and protective suits at all times.
Providing appropriate medical care on the spot
Work-related injuries are not only fatal for the victims but can also adversely affect their family if they are the sole bread-winner. Therefore, it is important to provide timely medical aid to the victim so as to minimize the impact of the injury. The workers should be trained to give effective first aid in case of such accidents. Also, you must ensure that proper medical supplies and equipment are in place and easily accessible, so as to ease the pain before appropriate medical support is made available.
