There is always a risk of accidents in the workplace, but some industries and working environments are more dangerous than others. While, in an office, you could trip and fall, an industrial environment could pose the risk of injuries caused by heavy machinery. In manufacturing, it’s even more important to pay attention to health and safety, compared to some other industries and environments.
Employers need to do everything that is required of them to keep their employees safe and prevent accidents and health incidents from occurring. This can involve a number of factors that protect employees in several different ways.
Control Environmental Factors
Environmental factors, such as the temperature, air quality, and ventilation of a working environment are important to consider for any manufacturing site. Temperature is something that often requires special consideration due to the heat generated from the machines.
Process cooling solutions from services like MTA will help you to keep the environment at a healthy temperature for your workers, as well as protecting equipment and ensuring efficiency.
Good ventilation helps to promote air quality and is especially important in environments where there might be gases or chemicals, odours, or perhaps any small particles or dust that could enter the air.
Ensure Continual Training
Training new workers is a must when you hire new staff, but that shouldn’t be the end of your training. If you want to ensure a safe working environment, ongoing training is important. It refreshes everyone’s knowledge and helps you to make sure that everyone is working up to code and following company procedures.
New training might also be required if there are any changes to how processes take place, new equipment, or perhaps even changes in the law. Regular training will keep everyone up to date and prevent standards from slipping.
Maintain Equipment
The actions of your employees are important to maintain safety in a manufacturing environment but it’s also important to pay attention to the machines. The equipment that’s used could be dangerous even when it’s in full working condition, so it could definitely cause issues if there are any problems.
Regular maintenance of equipment is a must for any safe manufacturing plant. Maintenance can be carried out when equipment isn’t in use or, if the machines are rarely turned off, possibly in rotation. Preventing major problems is much better than having to try and repair them.
Care for Employee Mental Health
The mental health of employees has gained more and more attention in recent years. It should be no different in manufacturing, where the work carried out can have many stressors. Employers can’t do everything to care for their employees’ mental health but there are some things they can do to help them.
Treating employees compassionately, helping to promote work-life balance, and providing mental health resources for them can all help employees to care for their mental health. Allowing time off when needed can be one of the most crucial things you can do.
Keep your manufacturing plant safe by doing these things to keep working conditions at a high standard.