Work safety is a factor not to be taken lightly. Indeed, it is the employer’s obligations to ensure the physical and mental security of all people working on the premises of his company. Admittedly, accidents are sometimes inevitable; however, it is essential to take into consideration the risks linked to an activity and to take the measures of applicant screening to protect the employees who work daily. Among the main risks present in a company, we find the risks linked to work such as the risks of falls, slips, collisions, but also the risks linked to humans such as illnesses, burn-outs, overwork. Finally, there are the risks relating to the company itself: risk of accident, fire, exposure to chemical or dangerous products.
Assess the risks
Before launching an action plan aiming to set up safety rules in companies, it is essential to carry out an approach of prevention of the professional risks to which your employees are confronted by identifying them. Because workplace safety is not just about preventing illnesses and accidents at work but upstream limiting the risks and dangers to which your company’s employees are exposed daily. This involves putting in place collective and individual protection equipment suited to their activity.
To guarantee the choice of effective preventive measures, you have the opportunity to consult an expert in risk prevention. Once the systems are in place, they should be reassessed every year, to ensure that they are always in line with changes in the workplace and working conditions. By regularly inspecting the premises, you will be most likely to detect a flaw in the installation of protective devices. Finally, if you are the head of a large company, you can consider setting up a committee specially dedicated to the health and safety of employees.
To be as faithful as possible to the reality on the ground, this committee must be made up of members of management and employees. You can consider setting up a committee specifically dedicated to employee health and safety. To be as faithful as possible to the reality on the ground, this committee must be made up of members of management and employees. You can consider setting up a committee specifically dedicated to employee health and safety. To be as faithful as possible to the reality on the ground, this committee must be made up of members of management and employees.
The different levels of prevention
To reduce the risk of accident, and reduce the consequences at the same time, there are several types of prevention measures: primary prevention, secondary prevention, tertiary prevention or even collective and individual prevention. Primary prevention, first of all, aims to avoid the appearance of risk or to eliminate its causes. The measures put in place are intended to act on working conditions and their organization by finding alternatives. Secondary prevention, on the other hand, serves to avoid danger, not risk. It focuses on the individual and their protection, not on the work environment. In other words, the risk is not eliminated, but personal protective equipment, for example, is offered.
Tertiary prevention, for its part, limits damage as well as complications, while collective prevention mainly concerns the protection of the employees of a company as a whole. Joint prevention aims to eliminate or reduce risky situations in the workplace. It can be, for example, anon-slip floor covering, the presence of a protective barrier, or the presence of clear and legible markings on the ground.
Training in the risk of accidents and incidents
The best way to keep all members of a company up to date with safety rules is to organize training sessions and information meetings regularly. Safety is everyone’s business, and employees, like supervisors, must be made aware of the safety standards to which they are subject. Only practical training can limit lousy behaviour leading to dangerous situations. Likewise, emergency drills can be scheduled to guide employees on what to do in the event of a fire, explosion, or a condition requiring rapid evacuation.
High-performance security equipment
Many professional fields involve significant risks, such as working at heights, handling heavy and bulky objects, or even the use of handling equipment. It is therefore essential to protect both people working in these dangerous conditions, but also goods and equipment, at the risk of generating significant expenses: compensation for sick leave in case of injury, loss of products, the cost of renovation work to be planned.
