Main Causes of Workplace Accidents

Workplace safety is a serious issue for all the members of an organisation, top to bottom. Whether it is an office desk job, running a cash register for a store, or maintain crucial utility infrastructures, every workplace has some level of risk of injury—frankly, some pose more than others.

Despite the country’s efforts to improve and update standards and regulations, why do these accidents still occur? When people do not follow the standards, there is inadequacy in compliance.  Inadequacy then turns to loss of time, money, and eventually (more so unfortunately) fatalities, fines, and lawsuits.

If staff members develop a better understanding of what causes accidents at work and how can they be avoided, then one can influence the others to be in a much better position to prevent them occurring in the workplace.

General causes of accidents

I didn’t see.

Ignoring safety procedures may be a result of both insufficient training and/or incompetency. No one should ever be on a job without being equipped with the adequate knowledge, training, certifications, tools, or PPE. Forgetting and ignoring the training they have been provided, is a definite recipe for a disaster waiting to happen.  Preparedness, rigorous training, and even a buddy system can help to alleviate this element.

I didn’t think.

Unfortunately, as much as we value our staff staying and working with the company, they are somewhat exposed to the likelihood of taking shortcuts with the work that they do. Most tenure employees develop a system in executing their tasks and generally, they just want to get (the same job) it done. Workarounds can only be deemed safe if it is aligned with the standard operating procedures. If an employee works around with heavy machinery and dangerous tools, shortcuts can only lead to injuries.

I didn’t know.

This is closely related to a result of lack of maintenance and poor housekeeping, these scenarios range from poorly guarded equipment for anyone to use, which can sometime be defective equipment as well. The failure to wear required equipment can also be associated with this one. A messy, poorly kept workplace is never a safe workspace. Regular recorded checks and upkeep is the best way to alleviate equipment-related harm.

I didn’t ask.

It is a gift if you have workers that are confident in carrying out their tasks. But when overconfidence takes over, it diminishes the mindfulness and attention to detail, hence mishaps can happen. Overconfident staff members tend to overlook and fail to double check their work. Overconfidence may lead to injuries, accidents and work that needs to be re-done.

Safety management in the workplace should be a recurring arrangement for all the employees.  Which means it must continually evolve and improve operations. While workspace catastrophes do occur in ways we cannot anticipate, preventive measures are available from a wide range of resources to keep your workforce in a safe working environment physically and mentally.

There is no later time to provide adequate training, and skills retention for the team.  Having routine inspections can help identify hazards. Working to address these hazards in a timely and efficient manner is essential to the safety of every employee.

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