In this post, I am going to share with you 30 daily safety tips for the workplace, which you can implement readily to stay safe at work.
Since I know a fact that …
Some of us may try to improve safety at work after suffering a severe accident. Or reading an accident story from the news.
It is the worst way to follow.
You don’t want to follow that way, right?
So, implementing the following daily safety tips for the workplace below is a surefire to stay safe at work.
30 Practical Daily Safety Tips for the Workplace
1. Know Your Workplace
This is the number one daily safety tip for the workplace that you have to implement since the first day.
You have to know well about your workplace. Look around. Know every side and corner of it.
Know where portable fire extinguishers are located. Make sure you know the emergency exit and everything inside.
Likewise, it is vital to be familiar with local fire calls and to know how to cooperate with firefighters in rescue operations, as these can save valuable time during rescues.
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If you know well about your workplace, you will be able to recognize where potential hazards exist.
To make you familiar with your workplace, you must do a daily safety patrol.
Every day?
Yes, I have said, do it every day. More frequent is better.
Safety patrol will also help you finding unsafe conditions that may appear in your workplace. Put this item as your number one safety precaution.
2. Master and Follow Safe Work Procedures
Safe work procedures are your guidelines. Make sure you have understood all of them. This will ensure your safety while working.
If you have difficulties, get the answers immediately. Develop your skills by practicing.
If you feel the work procedures are hard to understand ask your employer or supervisor to improve them.
Ensure the work procedures are reviewed on a regular schedule to keep them update.
You can read how to create a safe procedure correctly from Safety.net.
3. Always Keep Good Health
The third workplace safety tips is never force yourself to work while you feel unhealthy. This will likely cause an accident to happen to you.
Report to your supervisor if you feel something wrong with your health.
You will also endanger other employees if you force to work.
Take a rest.
4. Keep Work Area Clean
A messy and dirty work area holds potential hazards more than a clean one.
So, keep your work area clean.
It also keeps your productivity, eliminates potential hazards, keeps employees healthy, and avoids cross-contamination among work areas.
Regular clean-up also prevents slips and trips.
5. Use Machines and Work Tools Correctly
Make sure you have read the manual of machines and tools before using them. Master the manual so you can use it correctly.
Take note of every safety precaution to be safe while using the machines and tools.
Do not use machines and tools beyond their allowable working load.
Prevent overload since it will result in injury or death.
6. Wear Proper Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment is the last hazard control. So, do not ignore its important role.
You have to wear proper personal protective equipment for every specific job. Not all jobs require the same requirement.
The key is to understand the procedure to know what kind of personal protective equipment needs to be used.
Lastly, read material safety data sheets to know the right personal protective equipment for handling hazardous substances.
7. Protect Your Back by Maintaining Correct Posture
Protect your back while lifting a load. Otherwise, you will hurt your back.
If you work in the office, in a warehouse, or a manufacturing plant, keep your back in the correct posture while working on the desk.
It is very important to protect your back while doing a job. Always consider the ergonomic position.
8. Report Immediately Any Unsafe Conditions
Never hold unsafe condition information in your brain. Report it immediately when you find it.
Report to the right person, at least to your supervisor.
If you fail to report to the right person, it may end up without countermeasures.
That has to be avoided. You or other employees may get injured!
Create a simple reporting system for the worker to report any unsafe condition, if there is no system in your workplace.
It is a good accident prevention technique.
9. Take Breaks to Keep Your Conditions
Continuous working makes your stamina goes weak. You will also lose your focus.
That’s a serious problem. So, take breaks regularly to recover your condition.
Taking a break is not wasting time. It is to save you from an unexpected accident.
10. Know Exactly the Emergency Stop Button
In an emergency, a second can save your life. So, prepare yourself to face such a situation.
Know exactly where the emergency stop button is located. Know how many seconds you can reach it.
Make yourself familiar with the route and how to quickly operate it.
But, do not stop there. Ask your partner to do the same.
11. Know Where to Get Immediate Help
Making an emergency phone call is just a way to get immediate help. Know everything about getting immediate help at the workplace when you need it.
It is best to have someone watch you while you are working, suppose while operating a machine.
Or let others see you through CCTV. When something wrong happens you could get immediate help from them.
12. Know the Safety Equipment Location
Portable fire extinguishers, fire hydrant, and emergency step ladder are several examples of safety equipment that you need to know exactly where they are located.
Make sure you know how to reach them most quickly.
13. Keep Calm
Work in a hurry is a sure way to injure. Always keep calm while you are working.
Even in an emergency condition, keep calm. So, you can think clearly about what you have to do.
14. Ensure the Emergency Exits Clear and Easily Accessible
Ensure that you know all emergency exits that are available in your workplace. Make your partners know about them too.
Make them easily seen in a clear direction. And keep the access way free from any obstacle.
You are not allowed to place something that covers the emergency exit even it is only temporary.
15. Never Work Alone at Manufacturing Area
Working in the manufacturing area needs extra caution since various kinds of hazards exist.
That’s why never work alone there. At least tell your partner or supervisor that you are working there.
If something wrong happens, you can get immediate help from him.
16. Reduce Fire Hazards
Fire hazard is the most common hazard in the workplace. Unfortunately, in the manufacturing plant, it is impossible to eliminate this hazard to nothing.
What you can do is to reduce it to controllable hazards and prevent it from happening.
You can read these 12 actionable tips on how to prevent fire hazards in the workplace from Bullex.
17. Prevent Cross-Contamination among Hazardous Materials
Use one special tool like a jug, hose, or funnel for each chemical. Never use those tools together for all chemicals.
This is to avoid cross-contamination.
Cross-contamination will:
- Cause uncontrolled reaction
- Release toxic chemicals or gases
- Cause fire or explosion
If special usage is impossible, ensure you wash the tool with enough water every time you use it for another hazardous chemical.
18. Use the Only Chemical with Clear Identity
You should never use chemical with unclear identity;
No stickers.
No labels.
Never compromise with this. Don’t try to guess the content!
19. Have a Good Combustible Dust Control
Did you know that combustible dust could cause an explosion? If you never heard about this, read this story.
Combustible dust can be dust from most organic materials (like sugar, flour, wood, etc), metal, and some nonmetallic materials.
Use the only vacuum to clean up such kind of dust. Avoid dust accumulation since it is ready to catch fire.
Install a dust collection system or dust extraction system to avoid dust exposure. Get the complete guide on combustible dust from the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety.
20. Follow up Near Miss Seriously
A near miss is a warning. Follow up near misses seriously before it turns into an accident.
Have a good near-miss reporting system that is easy to follow. The system should be able to encourage workers to report any near misses they find.
If you have a problem with this, try to find the reasons.
Philip La Duke, the principal of Rockford Greene International, wrote the top 9 reasons why workers hold near miss and do not report it.
21. Investigate Accident Until You Get the Root Cause
Your accident report must be designed to uncover an accident.
If it fails to do this, then the accident will probably happen again in the future.
So, now check your accident report. Could it find the root cause of the accident?
If not, improve your accident reporting system.
22. Avoid Falling Objects
You have to identify goods, tools, or materials that potentially will fall and cause injury.
Apply a good storage system not only in the warehouse but in the whole workplace. Limit the height of storing cabinet to reduce falling object impact.
Use protective equipment such as a net to keep an object from falling. Separating the storage areas from the working area is a good idea.
23. Keep Good Teamwork
Good safety culture cannot be attained without good teamwork. Safety works in a team.
Avoid conflict between you and other team members. You must solve a problem that may appear in your teamwork.
A safe workplace can be created through good teamwork.
24. Keep the Workplace Comfortable for Everyone
A stress-free workplace enables you to work in comfort. Review your target and deadline.
Working under tight schedules and pressure will make you lose your focus and lessen your awareness.
Never bully your partner. And do not make him fear.
On the contrary, make your workplace comfortable for everyone.
25. Do Safety Talk Everyday
Talk about safety every day. The more you talk about safety, the better it is.
This is the simplest way to improve your safety awareness:
No cost.
Anyone can do it.
It is very flexible.
And …
You can choose any topic your wish.
Some of you may know safety talk as the safety message. But, essentially they are the same.
26. Get Free Safety Recommendation from the Experts
Getting workplace safety tips from experts is very valuable. But, the cost will be high.
But, you can get an expert recommendation for free.
Yes, for free.
How to get it?
Check the ISO 45001 audit results, loss control report, and customer safety audit results.
All those reports are made by safety experts. So, say thanks to them. They do it for your benefit.
They are trying to find out deficiencies from safety standards, best safety practices, and government regulations.
That’s great!
You don’t have to work to find such findings by yourself. Maybe you will not be able to find them at all.
So …
Implement all those findings to improve your workplace safety.
27. Get Suggestions from Safety Consultant
Sometimes, you will need expert help to improve your workplace safety or after an accident.
It is okay as long as you can provide enough money for it.
But, keeping zero accident records or stopping accident re-occurrence in your workplace is everything compared with your money.
28. Refresh Training Regularly
Regular training is beneficial in maintaining your skill and awareness. Have a regular schedule for refreshing.
You should set up a re-training program in your SOP in order not to forget.
Refreshing training becomes a must if there is a change in machine, pipeline, and or manufacturing facility in your workplace.
29. Review SOP Regularly
SOP or work safety instructions have to be reviewed due to the following reasons:
- After an accident
- After a change applied in a manufacturing facility
- When new material is applied
- When a change applied in operating condition
If you do not find any above reason, regular review is still necessary. It is to ensure that the SOP is still applicable and to check hidden safety risks.
30. Use Safety Checklist
Did you know the importance of a checklist? Do you usually use a safety checklist?
Atul Gawande, the writer of The Checklist Manifesto, has shown how a checklist could reduce death numbers by around 30% in eight hospitals.
A checklist can help you not to forget about things to do. By using a checklist you will have a clear guide that is easy to follow.
Suppose you have a plan to inspect the safety helmet. You will need a safety helmet inspection checklist to do it.
31. Drug and Alcohol Testing
Screening workers through drug and alcohol testing before entering the workplace is so important to prevent work accidents.
The test is very simple. You can use drug and alcohol testing product like I Drug Screen to do the test.
Conclusion
All the above daily safety tips for the workplace will be worthless if you do not apply them. To get started, take one tip and do it as your daily routine. Do not make the above workplace safety tips just knowledge
