Are you comfortable with the working conditions at your job? Do you go into work every day knowing your basic safety needs are met, or do you stress about when the next harmful incident will occur? Knowing how to spot potential safety issues within your own workplace could help save you, fellow coworkers, or even your superiors from a potentially dangerous situation. Ask yourself these simple questions and start a real conversation about workplace safety with your coworkers.
- Do you know the greatest risks in your industry?
Are you aware of the risks associated with your industry? Although it varies between jobs, supervisors should be clear, even from the time of the interview, about what kind of risky situations workers are required to place themselves into in order to perform their job correctly.
- Is everyone at your job properly licensed?
A proper license or certification means that the worker has learned and passed proper training classes to work with specific equipment or specific materials. If an unlicensed worker is doing a job that is meant for a certified professional, if puts the whole company at risk.
- Is safety training carried out on the regular basis?
As the years progress, safety standards evolve based on industry needs. Having a safety calendar in place with regular safety meetings will assure employees that they will be kept up to date with the latest safety policies and laws.
- Do you know what to do in emergency situations?
Managers should teach their employees exactly what kinds of procedures to follow in an emergency situation. Then, these procedures should be written and distributed at your workplace in an easy to understand and readily accessible fashion. Policies should also be revised every couple of months to ensure safety standards listed are up to date.
- Are proper safety gear and equipment provided?
Basic, well-kept safety gear should be on hand for all emergencies. Some examples of essential tools include hard hats, goggles, gloves, and a safe spill absorbent product. Do some market research on your own to determine what other safety gear you need to perform your job efficiently.
- Are safety audits performed on a regular basis?
When safety audits occur on a regular basis, safety issues that need addressed are brought to light. This is especially important when dealing with large or heavy machinery.
- Do your managers take safety seriously?
Employers and superiors should always take your safety very seriously. Worker safety should always be a top priority. If your managers joke around about general safety, they can jeopardize your well being.
- Do your managers follow safety standards?
If your superiors are taking safety standards seriously, you should be able to follow by their example. They should not find loopholes or slack off when it comes to safety workplace safety.
Overall, if you are not comfortable with any safety standards or practices in your organization, don’t be afraid to step up and say something to your superiors. Speaking up about workplace safety issues now could potentially save someone from a workplace injury later.
