Focus on safety

What safety tips should you give employees whose jobs require lifting? Plan the lift. Wear nonskid shoes and make sure you have firm footing. Bend your knees, tighten your stomach muscles, and keep your back straight. Be sure to have a firm grip on the item being lifted. Lift smoothly, avoid twisting your body, and push rather than pull. Source: OSHA

One of the primary responsibilities of any employer is to protect the safety and health of employees in the workplace.

The best way to protect against accidents in the workplace is to institute a safety plan that identifies hazards and the steps necessary to address them.

Regular inspections are an essential part of any workplace safety plan. Inspections may include the identification and evaluation of workplace hazards and patterns of work-related injury and illness, as well as training and assistance designed to prevent work-related injury and illness.

Regular inspections underline a business’s commitment to safety and health and can help create a culture of safety among employees. But policies, procedures, and inspections can only go so far. A company and its leaders need to visibly demonstrate support for workplace safety.

One way is to make safety a topic at management meetings. Another is to connect the evaluation of managers to the safety record of their departments. Companies should include safety training in all new hire orientation sessions and set aside specific training time for hazardous work environments.

Workplace safety is something that companies can measure and manage. Safety is not an “add-on” — it should be incorporated into a company’s standard operating procedures. It’s simple, but true: There’s only one way to do business and that’s the right and safe way to do business.  
 
Plus, workplace safety is good for business. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Office of Regulatory Affairs, businesses can see a savings of $4 to $6 for every $1 invested in safety. A poll of executives taken by Liberty Mutual showed that for every $1 spent on workplace safety, they saw a savings of at least $3.

The leading causes of serious work-related injuries are:

• Overexertion
  
• Falls on the same level
  
• Falls to a lower level
  
• Being struck by an object

What should workers do if they discover a potential hazard?

1. Make everyone in the workplace aware of the situation and its seriousness.
   
2. Immediately notify their supervisor.
   
3. Complete a report about the situation.
   
4. Follow up their report to see what action was taken. 

UPMC Work Partners — which is part of the UPMC Insurance Services Division — provides business organizations and government agencies with a full range of services, from claims/case management and occupational health services to workers’ compensation and disability management services.

To learn more about the services of Work Partners, contact your UPMC Health Plan account manager.