5 Common Workplace Safety Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

Many factors contribute to making employees feel valued. One way employers can achieve this is by creating a safe workplace.

This is easier said than done. With common safety mistakes continuing to pop up in the workplace and on OSHA violation lists, companies are encouraged to revisit their safety strategies to ensure greater effectiveness.

Here, we’ll discuss some of these workplace safety mistakes and highlight tips on how to avoid them.

1. Rushing Through the Training Process

Companies can sometimes feel pressured to get employees up to speed as quickly as possible. This often translates into an expedited training process. Effective training takes time though.

By taking more time to properly train employees on workplace safety, you can make them more aware of potential hazards and ways to handle them. Tracking employee progress throughout safety training gives employers further insight into how well employees grasp the safety guidelines.

2. Delaying Maintenance and Inspections

Machines with problems create a risk for employees who use them as well as those who work around them. Regular maintenance and inspections are key to identifying potential risks and initiating prevention tactics.

Since companies rely on machines for productivity, some companies may hesitate to shut them down. This could result in maintenance and inspection delays. Scheduling inspections in advance (and sticking to the game plan) is crucial to ensuring the smooth operation of machines and avoiding breakdowns.

3. Neglecting Near Misses

While many safety incidents result in workplace injuries, some scenarios don’t result in injuries. It’s possible these situations may be written off as there is no specific injury to report.

But companies should take these close calls, or near-misses, seriously. Once reported, these incidents should be investigated and tracked, as should the corrective actions that they inspire.

4. Substituting Tools for the Job

To save money, alternate tools may be used to complete jobs in the workplace. For example, a ladder may be used instead of scaffolding on a construction site. This swap can save money initially, but it ultimately makes work less efficient and more dangerous — both of which can contribute to greater costs over time.

Even if it is more expensive, the tool specific to the task is the only one that should be used. In the long run, this choice will optimize productivity and improve workplace safety.

5. Failing to Invest in Health and Safety Systems

There is a period of adjustment for every type of new system a company implements. Recognizing this, employers sometimes put such implementations on the back burner. Companies can, however, see a huge return on investment when they use the right systems for each job, including systems for health and safety systems.

Safety management software helps you keep track of all the moving parts and avoid making mistakes. With this technology, maintaining compliance and ensuring the safety of employees is a simplified process — with all the necessary data housed in one space.

To learn more about the benefits of safety management software, download a copy of our eBook, “Why You’re at Risk Without a Safety Management System.”