5 Common Types of Workplace Hazards to Look out For
Are there hazards in your workplace? If you work in an office, you may not think so. But any business that employs more than ten people must abide by Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) standards. That means ensuring that the workplace itself is free of hazards, as well as reporting any injuries to OSHA itself.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the more common workplace injuries and the many types of hazards you should look out for.
No matter what type of business you run or are apart of, it is important that you’re aware and alert.
Read on for more information.
1. Ergonomic
Ergonomic injuries are incredibly common in the workplace. This is often a result of bad posture or the way the computers and other equipment are set up.
While in some respects, these injuries cannot be fully prevented, as most workers will have to continue to make repetitive movements with their hands, you can at least prevent them on some level.
Your office should make accommodations for your employees to ensure that their work station is as ergonomic and comfortable as possible. It must allow the employee to use the equipment without hunching over to do so. If your employee complains about having to do so, your company should strive to address the complaint.
Additionally, you should work to encourage stretching and other activity to keep your workers feeling supple and stretched.
2. Physical Hazards
You may think to yourself, “I work in a restaurant,” or “I work in an office,” and wonder what could be a physical hazard.
Unfortunately, there are plenty to go around, no matter what type of workplace you’re in. While the hazards on a construction site may be more apparent and cause more severe injury, physical risks on an office or restaurant floor are nothing to take lightly.
Physical hazards in the workplace are broad and include many things.
In an office, physical hazards include wet or sticky floors, issues with frayed cords or electrical outlets, falling, slipping or tripping. They can also include machinery that isn’t guarded by someone who knows what they’re doing with it.
Hazards in restaurants are quite similar; the most common injury being slips and falls.
Slips and falls can result in serious, and life-altering injuries. In rare instances, they may result in death. As such, you need to ensure that your workplace is compliant and that such hazards are kept to a minimum.
3. Chemical Hazards
Chemical hazards are more common when working in a lab or medical environment. Still, they can happen anywhere, and it is important that you’re aware.
Chemical hazards can lead to severe injuries, including getting in the eyes and chemical burns. As such, these can be injuries that require medical attention, and may even require time off. If gravely serious, they can cause permanent injury or damage to an individual.
In a workplace where your employees are exposed to chemicals regularly, they must have the proper equipment. It is also essential that they know how to conduct themselves around the chemicals, as well as the protocol for burns and accidents. This way, they can take action to lessen the injury while they call for help instead of having to wait for help to do so.
4. Hazards Related to Lifting Heavy Objects
Some workplaces require you to lift heavy objects regularly. This may include those who work in warehouses, movers, and those who deliver and assemble furniture.
These hazards can lead to serious, or even life-altering, injuries.
As one can expect, it is common for a worker to drop a heavy object on their hand or foot. It is also common for a worker to experience strain when lifting items repetitively, which can cause back pain, neck pain, and pain in the arms and legs.
While as an employer, it is impossible to mitigate these completely, you can ensure that your workers are operating as safely as possible. You can also ensure that your workers are lifting with the proper technique to avoid injury. If you’re involved somehow in a minor or major accident, this accident attorney in Arizona will make you get the next steps to take sorted.
5. Biological Hazards
Biological hazards occur to those working in environments where they may be exposed to bacteria, viruses, infectious plants, bodily fluids, and animals. All of these present very serious and genuine risks to the individual performing the tasks, but their jobs are incredibly important.
As such, your staff must be not only trained to deal with such situations but must also have access to the proper equipment to keep themselves protected.
Material Safety Data Sheet
As an employer, you need a Material Safety Data Sheet book or an MSDS book. These books are what you’ll need to record any incidences, and you can also upload the sheets online easily without the need to mail them out. It keeps your workplace up-to-date and compliant.
The Many Types of Hazards You Can Encounter in a Workplace
As you can see, the types of hazards you may encounter in a workplace is broad, and you’ll need to cover all bases to be OSHA compliant. While it may seem stressful, if you take the proper precautions ahead of time, you can limit employee injuries and ensure that employees know how to react in such situations.
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