No Profession is Immune When It Comes to Workplace Safety

You don't work in a factory, so you don't need to worry about accidents, right?...

Wrong.

Workplace safety is usually thought of as an industrial problem involving heavy machinery and high voltage. In reality, it involves everyone - from the bank teller to the pizza maker - as well as the industrial widget makers using that machinery and high voltage. No profession is immune.

Most injuries are classed as minor, such as cuts and bruises, but people are still seriously hurt on the job. And most injuries could have been avoided if someone had been paying attention to the details.

The numbers don’t lie. The most common ailment on the job, in the US, is overexertion. This is probably the easiest injury to avoid, but still, it happens all the time. You tell yourself, "if I can just finish out this shift, or get the next order out on time, everything will be OK...." Common sense can elude you when you need it most.

Better safe than sorry...

If people would just take that extra 30 seconds and consider the big picture, they could avoid a large number of silly accidents that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Use your head, not your hands. A wise man once said, “measure twice, cut once”. (He was probably the first health and safety engineer and didn’t even know it.)

Here are some details to consider the next time you are rushing about and not thinking about safety.

• You have a right to safety; don’t be shy about calling your boss on it.
• Most injuries are preventable.
• The company has resources for you to use, such as MSDS, safety brochures, first aid stations, and product literature - and these should all be readily available at your workplace.
• There are an average of 1726 workers injured every day in Canada alone.
• Every country, state, and/or province in North America has extensive laws to protect workers of all ages, you simply need to look up the information that pertains to you.
• Both the US and Canada have inspectors that can inspect your company and force them to implement proper guarding, lighting etc. If the company does not comply in the predetermined time frame, they can get large financial fines, or even jail time.
• There are many safety groups dedicated to getting you back to health, all you have to do is look in your local phone book or do a Google search online.
• Resources to help yourself after the accident are everywhere, in surprisingly large numbers.
• It is the company's responsibility to give you free health and safety training on the job.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is mandatory for many situations, ask about which safety equipment you should be wearing.
• The hazard education and regulation systems are WHMIS, a program by the CCOHS in Canada, and the Hazard Communication Standard, a program by OSHA in the US.
• Any company with 20 or more employees is required to have a health committee of some type, and this group can help you with any question or problem you may have.
• Every major organization has a website with explanations of their goals and abilities.
• The number of employees in the USA is 153,824 million, with over 15.7 million belonging to some sort of a union, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics which tracks everything you do at work.
• Canadian Lost-time-injury (LTI) rate in 2003 was 2.2 per 100 workers, in 2004 it was 2.1 per 100 workers, and in 2005 it was 2.0 per 100 workers in 2005, resulting in an estimated savings of 960 million dollars per year.
• There were over 570 work-related deaths in the USA in 2006, (59 in Canada in 2003).
• There were over 4 million work-related injuries in the USA in 2004.
• Over half of these injuries resulted in time off work or job transfer with modified work.
• Twelve or more serious injuries per 100 workers in 2004 will result in those businesses getting a visit from OSHA.
• Airport screeners have the highest rate of injuries in the USA for those employed by a federal institution.

The US workplace-related death rate:

101,536 per year

8,461 per month

1,952 per week

278 per day

11 per hour...

You can believe whatever you want about workplace safety, but the numbers tell the real story. Aproximately 1 in 20 people will have some sort of accident. Many will not be serious but some will.

Do you want to leave your life to chance, or would rather spend a little time and effort to keep control and have a good safe day?