There are many different kinds of injuries that can take place in the workplace. These injuries not only affect employees’ mental and physical health but also cost valuable work hours and money for employers. The first step towards stopping these incidents is to raise awareness about them. Today we’re going to take a look at the 8 most common workplace injuries and offer some safety tips to help you prevent them from occurring in the first place.
Overexertion
Overexertion happens when you lift, push, pull, hold, carry, or throw an object that is too heavy. It typically results in sprains or strains to the ligaments, muscles, and tendons in the neck and back.
Safety Tips: Use proper lifting techniques and material handling devices, carts, or hand-trucks to move heavy items. Do not hesitate to ask for help when lifting heavy objects and avoid twisting or bending while lifting or setting down your load.
Fall on the same level
These types of common workplace injuries occur when a worker slips, trips, or falls on a relatively level surface or object, like floors, stairs, or ramps. Injuries can include contusions, concussions, fractures, abrasions, and lacerations.
Safety Tips: Always try to keep your work area tidy and free of distractions. Also ensure proper lighting and proper footwear (free of mud, snow, ice, or moisture, etc.).
Struck by moving object or equipment
These accidents occur when a worker is hit by a moving object and this kind of common workplace injuries result in injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to paralysis or death.
Safety Tips: Always wear proper safety gear such as hard hats, safety glasses, goggles, and face shields. Try to maintain a safe distance from hazardous equipment and always make sure bulldozer and scraper blades are face down or guarded when idle.
Fall to a lower level
This kind of accident happens when a worker falls from a height, such as a ladder, scaffold, or roof, to a level below them, often resulting in broken bones, spinal cord injuries, or traumatic brain injuries.
Safety Tips: Always use a full-body harness or some kind of an active fall protection system when there is a risk of a fall from 4 feet height or more.
Struck by falling object or equipment
These accidents occur when a worker is hit by a falling object and can result in injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to paralysis or death.
Safety Tips: Check all PPE prior to use to confirm it still meets safety requirements. Use tool lanyards to prevent equipment from falling and keep them at least 3 feet away from a leading edge.
Caught by equipment
When a worker goes unnoticed by those operating heavy machinery or equipment, they can easily be trapped or crushed. This often results in injuries like amputations, organ damage, and internal bleeding.
Safety Tips: Always pay special attention to the rotating or moving parts of any equipment and never use a piece of equipment unless all of the guards are in position and properly set to avoid this kind of common workplace injuries.
Repetitive motion injuries
When a worker is required to perform the same movement or action over and over again, the wear and tear that the affected body parts endure can be damaging. Injuries from repetitive motions often include things like tendonitis, bursitis, and carpal tunnel.
Safety Tips: To avoid this kind of injury the workstation should be designed to fit the employee’s body size and shape, ergonomic tools should be used, and workers should be allowed to take frequent breaks to relax muscles and relieve tension.
Highway accidents
These incidents occur in occupations where employees are working alongside a road, such as public service, emergency response, or construction work. Injuries can be severe and, in some cases, fatal.
Safety Tips: Employees should wear high visibility clothes, armbands, hats, and vests, preferably fluorescent or reflective so that they can be spotted from a distance or under low lighting conditions. Always make sure to look around before you change your position. Understand channel lanes and use spotters to mark dangers.
How to reduce common workplace injuries?
One of the easiest ways of reducing these injuries is to comply with OSHA standards. It can not only help prevent needless workplace injuries from accidents but also help minimize the number of injury-related employee absences and higher risk premiums for insurance. That’s why Safety Assure helps companies establish a safer workplace without the administrative burden. Our easy-to-use mobile app for OSHA recordkeeping for injury and illness enables your employees to log incidents, accidents, near misses, and observations with ease and wherever these events are noticed. That way management can analyze these incidents and make adjustments to prevent the reoccurrence of such accidents.
