Common Workplace Hazards And How To Adapt Around Them

Modern workplaces contain many hazards for their staff and visitors, but simple adjustments can reduce your risk of accidents.

With workplace injuries costing the UK’s corporate world billions of pounds each year, companies need to focus on reducing their risk by adopting best practices.

The most effective way to achieve this is to understand the most widespread workplace hazards your staff and visitors might encounter and work out ways to reduce them.

While specific businesses and workplaces will have risks that are unique to them, there are some general issues that every leader needs to understand.

Here are some of the most common workplace hazards and some practical tips to help you to reduce the risk of an accident on your company premises.

Trip Hazards

Tripping over hidden steps or items that are in the wrong place is a common issue for many UK workers, particularly in warehouse and construction environments. Heavy tools or cables that are left lying around can be a major trip hazard for anyone who’s not paying attention to where they’re going, or carrying heavy items. As such, you should make sure that you teach your staff to be careful and never to leave items lying around where they could be tripped over. Also, if you have any trip hazards such as hidden steps or sloping floors on your business premises, then you should make sure that there is adequate signage to alert passersby and ensure that they are careful when navigating these potentially dangerous areas of your workplace.

Chemical Spillages

Most businesses use chemicals in their cleaning procedures, as well in general maintenance of equipment and machinery. Some of these chemicals can be toxic if they’re spilt onto skin, or if they come into contact with other materials and produce fumes. The best way to reduce the risk of chemical spillages is to ensure that you conduct regular risk assessments on how your chemicals are stored and used. Check out this COSHH risk assessment template from HS Direct to save time on your chemical storage risk assessments.

Vehicle Crashes

For businesses that run warehouses or have car parking spaces, vehicle accidents can be a potentially fatal issue. As such, businesses with any form of vehicle in operation on their premises need to make sure that they are hyper-vigilant when it comes to safety procedures. For warehouses and spaces that have forklifts and other small vehicles inside, make sure that you have specially designated spaces for walking, and that these vehicles are fitted with lights and horns to alert passersby who might not have noticed them. For car parks, you should make sure all staff have high vis clothing and understand how to work around vehicles.

Repetitive Strain Injuries

Even relatively safe workspaces, such as offices, run the risk of injury from repetitive straining of muscles or joints. Repetitive strain injury is common among those who do repeated tasks, such as factory workers or those in an office who work at a computer. The best way to reduce the chances of your team getting repetitive strain injury is to make sure that staff take regular breaks, and that they have any ergonomic tools that they might need.