Safe Work Practice

Safe work practice guides disseminate knowledge to prevent occupational accidents and illnesses, as well as safety measures in the different activities carried out. Which are aimed at reducing and eliminating workplace hazards and risks and promoting a safety culture of occupational risk prevention. So, managing occupational health and safety risks is a way to increase productivity and, as a result, customer satisfaction.

Everyone values safe work practices which is why it is so important to adopt the best practices to manage workplace safety to avoid accidents. Next, we explain what we consider to be the Safe work practice to achieve the objective.

Addressing, practising and managing safe work practices is an effective strategy to create a safe and healthy work environment, and protect the workers, plant, equipment and environment from the impact of unsafe acts and conditions with the help of work protocols, training, and adequate information.

Safe Work Practice guidelines

The construction industry is the economic activity with the highest number of work accidents in the world. According to the National Institute of Health, the occupational injury rate in Mexico was 2.9 per 100 workers. The average medical care cost per case was USD 2,059.

Safe work Practice in the Construction Industry is the first exercise promoted by the labour authority to formulate preventive measures based on engineering, administration, the analytical approach, and the systematic vision of occupational health and safety to have workplaces that are more insurance.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) “Promote decent work”, to provide jobs in optimal health and safety conditions, and prevent work risks, considers in its lines of action to participate with the factors of production in the execution of public policies on safety and health at work, as well as promoting the establishment of safe and healthy conditions in the workplace.

Faced with such challenges, OSHA promotes the development of guides on good work practices, to identify recommendations for the safe use of machinery and equipment, auxiliary means, and tools, with a prevention approach.

OSHA Safe Work Practice Program

Therefore, the benefit of applying the safe practice in terms of productivity and labour quality is highlighted in the following OSHA 10 safe work practice program:

10 simple things to start your program

If these best practices seem difficult, here are some simple steps you can take to start Completing these steps will give you a solid foundation from which to make some of the more structured measures presented in best practices.

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1. MAKE SAFETY AND HEALTH THE PRIORITY: Always make safety and health the top priority. Inform your employees that make sure they finish the day and go home safely. Taking no risks is the way to do business. Assure them that you will work with them to discover and correct any hazards that might injure or make them sick.
2. SET AN EXAMPLE: Maintain non-risky behaviours and be sure to make safety part of your daily conversations with your employees.
3. IMPLEMENT A REPORTING SYSTEM: Develop and announce a simple procedure for employees to report any injuries, diseases, incidents (including accidents potentials or incidents that almost trigger accidents), hazards, safety concerns, and health without fear of retaliation including an option to report hazards or concerns anonymously.
4. PROVIDE TRAINING: Train employees on how to identify and control hazards, for example, emergency response, tools and PPE inspection, work at height, confined space, electrical safety etc.
5. CONDUCT INSPECTION: Review workplace safety with employees and ask them to identify any hazards from any activities. Use checklist. Or give the checklist to the worker and ask him to verify compliance. Sometimes you identify the hazards and ask for precautions from the workforce.
6. GATHER IDEAS FOR CONTROLLING THE HAZARDS: Ask employees for ideas on improvements and follow their suggestions. Give them time during business hours, if necessary, to look for solutions.
7. IMPLEMENT HAZARDS CONTROL: Assign employees the task of choosing, implementing, and evaluating the solutions they found.
8. ADDRESS EMERGENCIES: Identify foreseeable emergency scenarios and create instructions on what to do in each case. Have a meeting to discuss these procedures and post them in a conspicuous place in the Workplace.
9. SEEK INPUT IN WORKPLACE CHANGE: Before making major changes to the site work, work organization, equipment, or materials, consult with employees to identify problems and potential health and safety.
10. MAKE IMPROVEMENTS: Identify ways to improve the program.

Examples of best safe work practices and procedures

Safe work practices especially for the workers who contribute the most to the growth of the organization.

WHAT TO DO

• Regularly review your work habits to detect possible actions that may generate risks.
• Get involved in Occupational Risk Prevention with your organization.
• Exits, transit areas, evacuation routes, and work spaces must always be kept clear of objects and liquids or slippery substances to avoid slip trips.
• Use the tools and work equipment suitable for the work you are going to do and for which they have been designed. Follow the instructions for use and maintenance. If you detect faulty/damaged in any machine or tool during its operation, handling, or visual inspection, inform the supervisors.
• Use the personal protection equipment (gloves, helmet, hearing protectors etc.) that is necessary to protect yourself from the risks to which you are exposed.

What not to do

• Do not store objects in transit areas, evacuation routes, or places that make it difficult for firefighting teams to access them.
• Never disable the safety devices of the work equipment.
• Do not overload or improperly manipulate the electrical installation.
• Do not smoke, eat or drink if you work with chemicals or are exposed to biological contaminants.

What are the 7 safety measures for controlling hazardous chemicals?

1. When you are going to handle a chemical product, request and consult its safety data sheet.
2. Read the label. Handle it following the instructions contained in them.
3. In the safety data sheets will appear the indications related to the use, storage, transport, necessary personal protective equipment, first aid, and actions in case of spillage, or fire,
4. You use the personal protection equipment that is established in the safety data sheet, on the label, and in the risk assessment.
5. Make sure that all products are correctly identified and labelled.
6. Do not superimpose labels or write on the labelling of potentially dangerous containers.
7. Scrupulously respect personal hygiene measures.

What are the 8 steps of manual handling?

Whenever possible, use the auxiliary mechanical means available to you. Know the manual handling safe technique and assess by TILE.  The safety rules for lifting loads are:

1. Observe the load: possible weight, shape, size, and grip areas,
2. Ask for help if the weight is excessive or awkward postures have to be adopted and mechanical means cannot be used.
3. Come into the lifting pose: feet apart, back straight, chin tucked in, and knees bent.
4. Hold the load firmly in your hands and bring it close to your body. Gently lift the load by leg extension, keeping your back straight. Do not jerk the load or move it quickly or roughly. Avoid trunk twists, move your feet instead of your waist.
5. In a sitting position, avoid handling weights of more than 5 kg. Better do it standing up.
6. On the shelves, try to place the objects you use most frequently on the shelves between the height of your elbow and mid-calf when you are standing. Avoid lifting loads above shoulder height. Use the help elements (ladders).
7. If you carry bulky items, you will not see where you are walking. Make sure beforehand that the passage area is free and passable.
8. To keep your back healthy you must exercise it. Do exercises that strengthen, practice swimming, etc.

How do you deal with accidents at work?

• Observe and assess the situation before acting.
• Act quickly, but always remain calm.
• Do not move the injured person if it is not essential.
• Examine the wounded very carefully.
• We will intervene only if we know how to act.
• Never give food or drink to an unconscious victim.
• Loosen the clothes that oppress and shelter the injured person if necessary.
• Reassure the injured, transmitting safety in our performance.
• When you help you must protect yourself: always use gloves if you foresee contact with blood.
• Keep curious people away and avoid crowds. Organize giving precise instructions.

How do you manage heat stress at work?

To avoid damage caused by sun exposure during the summer (burns, sunstroke, eye conditions, skin cancer, etc.) the following preventive measures are proposed, which will be observed, as far as possible, by employees public that carry out work in direct sunlight:

• Avoid, as far as possible, direct exposure to the sun in the central hours of the day (from 12 to 15 hours).
• Try to make work clothes cover most of the body to avoid exposure to solar radiation and try to make them light in colour to reduce heat absorption.
• Protect the head and face with wide-brimmed hats or visors. Use other physical barriers so that the sun does not reach the skin such as umbrellas.
• Exposure to high temperatures can be aggravated by the fact of carrying out intense physical work. To prevent these circumstances from affecting the safety and health of exposed workers, the following preventive measures are proposed:
• Drink water frequently and in small amounts instead of large amounts on a spaced basis. Do not consume alcoholic or exciting beverages as they can increase dehydration.
• During the hottest hours of the day, avoid carrying out heavy tasks, especially dangerous jobs, and work alone.
• Modify work hours during the summer so that, where the work process allows, there is no work

Unsafe practice

Poor conditions could cause slip or trip falls accidents, and other mishaps, which can have a lasting impact on an employee's physical and mental well-being. Employers must secure their work environment to protect their employees from any foreseeable harm. Unfortunately, those rules are sometimes violated. Employers may avoid repairing a dangerous condition out of sheer laziness, or because it is expensive to fix. In other cases, lack of supervision and training can lead to accidents that seriously injure others.

In some jobs, the risks are obvious. Construction sites are full of hazards such as ramps, ladders, scaffolding, heavy machinery and power tools that could cause devastating injuries. That is why employers must have safety procedures in place. Not only that, but they must take steps to ensure that all policies are followed.

Examples of unsafe working conditions include:

• Slippery/debris-filled floors
• Machinery fixed incorrectly from poor maintenance 
• Poor lighting
• Dangerous stairs
• Large obstacles left in the way of workers or blocking exits
• Dragging extension cords
• If safety equipment is not provided (harnesses, safety masks, helmets, etc.)
• If chemicals and dangerous substances are not fixed falling objects the provision of equipment to workers that has been modified from its original form requiring workers to use the equipment for something other than its intended use unsecured openings

Conclusion by muniriyathse (safety zone)

All workers should feel confident that their workplace is reasonably safe from hazards, but if unsafe work practices endanger their health, and an accident occurs, the consequences can be life-altering. Thousands of hard-working workers are injured or killed on the job site each year, and many of those accidents are completely preventable.