How to Teach Workplace Safety to Avoid Workers Compensation Claims in Denver

In any workplace, there are apparent dangers that could be putting many of your workers at risk, such as needing to lift and move packages, climb up ladders, etc. If any of your company staff gets hurt, they can file for workers compensation in Denver, which can put your staff out of the workplace for many days and cause your company to take a financial toll. However, there are ways you can teach workplace safety to avoid workers compensation claims.

What is Workers Compensation?

Workers compensation is a type of insurance that ensures your workers have medical and wage benefits when they’re either ill or injured at work. If you’re employed by a company, you should ensure they will offer you workers compensation in case of an injury, but it is mandated by every state in the United States.

Five Best Workplace Safety Tips

1. Use Teamwork to Lift Heavy Objects

   1. There’s no need for yourself to try handling objects that are too heavy, instead, use teamwork. Especially if the object you’re lifting has a specified warning that indicates you should have help lifting it, you should have another coworker give you a helping hand. Although you may feel embarrassed to ask for help lifting a box or package, it’s better than accidentally hurting yourself in the process.

2. Don’t Do Everything on Your Own

   1. Believe it or not, you don’t have to do everything on your own at work. Attempting to put too much on your plate can cause a strain on your mental and physical health, which will only put yourself in danger. Plus, with a team of coworkers surrounding you, there’s plenty of help that you can take advantage of in the workplace.

3. Know Your Limits

   1. In addition to not needing to do everything on your own, you also should know your limits when it comes to work. Especially lifting a particularly heavy object, you should not attempt to do more than you’re comfortable handling. Don’t fear asking for help and don’t think having limits is a weakness; we’re only human. Plus, most workplaces have a max lifting weight of 50 pounds, so you shouldn’t need to lift more than that anyways.

4. Know How to Use Power Equipment

   1. If you have to use power equipment at work, you should know how to use these tools, whether it be from personal experience or work-issued training. This also means that if you don’t know how to use such power equipment, you shouldn’t attempt to use them. This will only cause you to be a danger to yourself and others. If you don’t know how to use power equipment at work, make sure to tell your supervisor and have them properly train you before attempting to use the equipment on your own.

5. Keep an Eye Out for Other Employees

   1. When working in a warehouse, it’s important to keep an eye out for other employees, other than just yourself. This can help prevent you accidentally putting other coworkers in harm and allows you to keep an eye on surrounding workers to see if there’s anyone you can help. You’d be surprised how many workers attempt to put a strain on themselves only to cause injury to their body or other workers in the area.

How to Teach Workplace Safety This Winter

This winter is a great time to improve your methods for teaching workplace safety to both current staff and new hires. Even if you think you're doing everything possible to create your workplace a safe area for your workers, there are always areas for improvement. From having monthly safety meetings to creating mandatory new-hire safety training, here are a few ways you can better teach workplace safety this winter.

Have Monthly Safety Meetings

To ensure everyone is staying safe in the workplace, you should hold monthly safety meetings. These short meetings go over updated safety tips and single out workers who are being the safest for that given month, which can encourage every worker to go above and beyond in following safety protocols. Also, during these meetings, it’s an ideal time to cover any accidents that happened in the previous month and explain how it can be prevented in the future. This will be insightful to everyone in being accident-free for more than the typical 30-day period.

Place Signs Around the Workplace

A great way to ensure everyone is up-to-date on safety rules and is actually following them is to place them around the workplace. Although it can cost a bit of money to create the signage for your staff’s work area, it’s often easier to be presented with the information face-to-face, than just being told over and over again. Also, for some workplaces, having proper safety signage is mandatory by law. However, this usually depends on the type of workplace your staff is working in, such as an office or warehouse.

Create Mandatory New-Hire Safety Training

When you hire new staff members, you’re going to have to train them about your company’s safety protocols, from asking for help when lifting heavy objects to climbing up ladders properly. Although your new staff might not exactly be thrilled to watch an hour or two’s worth of safety videos and personal safety advice from managers, having a short quiz afterward can help the information stick and ensure that your new hires are actually listening to what you’re teaching.

If you’re worried about severe accidents in the workplace, although they can happen from time to time, there are still plenty of ways you can teach your staff to prevent them from happening to avoid claims for workers compensation in Denver. Hopefully, this guide was helpful in teaching you how to keep your workplace safe this upcoming winter. If you need assistance in better understanding workers compensation or filing a claim for missed workers compensation contact the law office of Mark A. Simon. Mark is always available to listen to your claim and file the necessary proceedings to ensure you get the settlement you deserve.