Industrial Employers, Are You Risks Your Workers’ Health?
What price do you put on workers’ safety and well-being? According to Gallup, employee absenteeism — mostly resulting from occupational injuries and illnesses — costs U.S. companies $153 billion per year. Employers managing high-risk operations, such as industrial manufacturing and maintenance, are especially vulnerable to these losses. What can employers do to reduce occupational hazards, and keep workers safe?
Reconsider Shift Work
WebMD reports that shift work, loosely defined as late-night or rotating shifts, has a number of devastating short-term health effects, including heightened risks of accidents and injury, malaise, stomach problems, insomnia, and a lower quality of life. Shift work, however, can lead to much more serious — and long-term — health conditions as well. Diabetes, heart failure, cancer, and obesity are all common side effects. WebMD reveals that shift work can increase breast cancer risks by as much as 50%, and the World Health Organization (WHO) admits that shift work is “probably carcinogenic.” Employers can reduce risks by reconsidering hours. If shift work is unavoidable, supervisors should strictly enforce the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) — such as hard hats, face masks, and safety goggles — that significantly decrease risks of exposure and injury.
Contain Electrical Wiring
Unfettered electricity, including live or damaged wiring, poses risks of fire, electrocution, and other serious accidents. Industrial maintenance and operations employers can keep workers safe from these hazards using simple protective products and careful wire management. Cable ties, for example, may be used to secure wiring. Cable ties, also called hose ties and zip ties, use a series of teeth and a pawl to clamp cords into place. Color cable ties can be used to streamline identification and maintenance. Workers can also use stainless steel cable ties. Stainless steel tie are flame resistant and best-suited for high temperature, industrial applications. Finally, workers can use cable tie guns to quickly and efficiently cut, place, and fasten ties. Specially designed cable tie guns are available for stainless steel and metal cable ties.
Don’t put workers unnecessarily at risk. Reconsider dangerous shift work, and keep workers safe by containing electrical wires and parts using metallic or non-metallic zip ties. Read more like this.