National Safety Month: All About Workplace Safety
By: InnoGroup
In offices, manufacturing plants, and on the road, workplace accidents happen. However, most of these are preventable. Employees can trip over electrical cords, file cabinets can tip over if they’re unbalanced, and vehicles can be affected by environmental conditions out of our control. Keeping employees safe still has its challenges, especially when large equipment is present. If the proper preventative steps are not taken, daunting and dangerous situations can occur.
Data Spotlight
From the US Bureau of Labor Statistics – Private industry employers reported 2.7 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2020.
As a company that specializes in lighting and technology, our employees are tasked with handling machinery, tools, forklifts, and more, so we take employees’ safety very seriously. In honor of June being National Safety Month, we want to share information about how our products can help keep your workplace safe!
Counterweights for Heavy Shelves & Machinery
Front & back heavy machinery is a real threat to health and safety, especially when used to lift heavy objects. When the objects surpass the weight limit, forklifts can tip forward or backwards, resulting in a threat to the driver and the employees around him. An easy way to prevent these incidents is to add a counterweight to the side of the machinery that needs it. Similarly, counterweights can be added to heavy file cabinets in order to prevent them from tipping over.
Simple measures like counterweights are a great way to prevent accidents. Innotec manufactures its own counterweights from recycled materials to keep its employees safe while also taking steps to safeguard the environment.
Increase Visibility in Warehouses
Forklifts coming around the corner aren’t always the easiest to see, especially when they’re blocked by stacks of boxes or shelving units. Innotec uses two methods to reduce the possibility of a forklift accident – because, let’s face it, in a battle between a human and a forklift, the forklift is going to win. First, we attach bright strobe lights (we use our Micro Bright Beacon Light) to the top of our forklifts to increase visibility. The blinking light is very likely to catch employees’ attention and warn them that a forklift is nearby. In addition, we require anyone driving the forklift to honk their horns as they travel within the warehouse to alert people that a forklift is moving and that they should be on the lookout. Both measures have prevented several incidents since we opened our manufacturing plant.
Be Mindful of Environmental Conditions
Keeping employees safe on the road is as important as guaranteeing safety inside your production plant. During the winter months, cold and freezing temperatures can cause trucks’ lights to freeze or become blocked by snow. If brake or signal lights become difficult to see, the chances of a crash increase drastically. Our Marker & Signal Lights are specifically designed to melt any snow or ice that covers the surface. Using products that are designed to prevent accidents before they ever happen is a great way to improve workplace safety.
Data Spotlight
According to the US Census Bureau, trucks transported almost 72% of all goods shipped in the United States in 2017.
Additional Safety Practices
Creating a safe work environment for your employees is an essential step in the management of your business. While ensuring good practices inside your workplace is vital, you can start considering and making steps towards achieving other forms of safety, equally important.
- Environmental Safety – follow environmental safety precautions and try to give back to the Earth. Innotec champions Sustainability through the materials and processes used.
