Work Site Safety

Preserving the health and safety of employees is a main responsibility of employers. According to OSHA, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, employers must ensure that the workplace is free of health and safety hazards.

Identification

Securing work environments from safety risks begins by identifying hazards. Different environments breed different sets of health and safety threats. As such, OSHA provides employers with identification guidelines, which can be used to better understand the hazards that apply to a particular work zone. For example, the hazards that exist in mining environments are different than those that exist in healthcare settings.

Function

Employers can take multiple routes to protect the workforce. Efforts may begin with the creation of safety policies and procedures. Safety activities can be integrated into the organizational structure, such as routine fire drills or safety audits and tests. It is also useful to post safety signs around highly hazardous areas, so that workers are forewarned.

Considerations

Employers can secure every safety protocol and follow all of OSHA's guidelines, but if employees disregard safety advisories, then they are at risk (and possibly at fault) for being injured. It is important for employees to report unsafe behaviors to supervisors.

References

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Workers