Job providers are responsible for maintaining reasonably safe work conditions. They also are responsible for ensuring workers are properly trained to work safely and minimize potential accidents and work-related injuries. According to our internal resources, an average of 14 workers die while working every day in the United States. Knowing how to handle a workplace accident can help to make your workplace safer. Here are a few tips on how to respond to accidents in your workplace.
Initiate Emergency Procedures
When an accident occurs, you need to implement emergency procedures right away to minimize potential harm and damage. Any hazardous materials should be secured and made safe. You might need to shut down machinery, electricity, or other services. If the accident involves fire, using fire extinguishers might put it out. You also should make sure no workers are missing or injured and help those who might have suffered harm.
Secure the Accident Area
You don’t want people entering and leaving an accident area as they please. You should evacuate the immediate area and secure it to prevent further harm from occurring. Securing the location will also help to preserve the scene and make it easier to inspect it and discover what caused the accident.
Lawfully Dispose of Hazardous Materials
A workplace accident might create or involve hazardous materials that need to be disposed of as quickly as possible. You should follow federal and any applicable state guidelines for handling hazardous materials and disposing of them when necessary. Any disposal or other handling of hazardous materials should be done only by qualified individuals with the necessary training and experience.
Learn What Caused the Accident
It’s extremely important to learn what caused the accident and do your best to prevent it from happening again. That is especially true if your workplace uses hazardous materials that might pose an environmental danger or a threat of some other imminent disaster. Knowing what caused an accident and developing safety protocols to prevent it from happening again will help to protect your workers and your place of business.
Initiate Safety Training
Once you have identified the problem and developed new safety protocols, you need to train your workers and managers. Implementing new safety procedures and training your team to work safely will help to make the workplace safer. It can also satisfy any legal requirements that might exist.
While it’s essential to know how to respond to workplace accidents, it’s ideal to prevent them from occurring in the first place. Proper training can help ensure your workplace stays safe and accident-free. Contact ETC Compliance Solutions today to learn more about our OSHA, MSHA, DOT, and EPA training courses.
