Increase Employee Awareness of Workplace Safety

There are two significant factors that affect workplace safety. Employers have a moral responsibility to protect employees. There are also regulations that are used to control workplace safety and to prosecute employers who violate the regulations. Signs, stickers and colors can be used to mark safety hazards. A no smoking sign can be used to control the dangers from fire and from cigarette smoke. If there are not any regulations for controlling a particular problem, then employees are forced to negotiate with employers to resolve that problem.

Workplace Safety

A safe environment can be used to encourage employees to report for a shift and to motivate employees to be more productive during a shift. An employer can increase the job satisfaction factor for employees by using colors and labels to mark safety improvements. If employees are happy, then there will be fewer distractions that could cause a decrease in productivity. A morale boost can be used to motivate employees, especially when employees are aware of safety improvements.

Physical Hazards

After a physical hazard has been controlled, the device or structure that was used to control the hazard could be color coded or labeled. An employee could trip over a power cord, be cut by a sharp edge or fall off steps that do not have a handrail. The handrails could be painted red or labeled with a red sticker because that hazard could cause an employee to fall. The safety covers for sharp edges could be blue. Those colors can be used to mark the dangers that have been controlled at a workplace.

Health Hazards

The health hazards in a workplace include fumes and exposure to unusual temperatures. An inhalation hazard, such as tiny particles of wood on a lathe, could cause an injury to a lung. Some fumes can cause nausea or dizziness. The ambient temperature in a workplace could cause hypothermia or hyperthermia. When those hazards have been controlled, such as with personal protective equipment, then the equipment could be color coded or labeled to indicate the type of hazard. The employees can experience an emotional awakening when they are aware of the safety improvements in a workplace.

Laws

The regulations for controlling safety hazards usually cover very basic hazards such as dangers from explosions or from poisons. Employees can negotiate with company managers for improvements that are not directly covered by regulations. Some employees may want to have special latches on cabinets, which could be used to reduce the risk factor for injuries. Those latches could also be color coded or labeled with a sticker. When the employees notice the colors or stickers, there can be a boost to morale that is not directly associated with regulations. Learn more information at ICC Compliance Center, which has more online resources available.