Hazard reporting is key to keeping a safe business. Hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm. Most times we are afraid to report safety concerns or issues in the workplace because we do not want to be seen as “busybodies”. We do not want to put others in trouble or think it’s not our business.
It is your business actually.
Would you rather report a wrong action that could lead to an accident or allow the accident happen and let people get hurt?
Reporting hazards could save your life. Who knows, you might be the victim of an unreported hazard. The effects of these hazards could either be immediate or occur over time.
The employer/entrepreneur has a legal obligation to keep the workplace safe. However, as an employee, you are directly involved in the work process. You see the loose ends the boss may not see. Therefore, it is your duty to report shortcomings in the system. Some of us wrongly assume the employer knows about the situation already. Sadly, they do not always know and things could go wrong.
There are four categories of hazards that can be found in the workplace depending on the nature of business:
- Physical hazards: These are usually more common, faulty equipment, trailing cables, using wrong equipment for tasks, exposed moving parts of machine, spills, uneven floors
- Biological hazards: These could be from working with body fluid from humans or animals, bacteria, viruses
- Chemical hazards: This is exposure to various chemicals in liquid, solid or gaseous state like gasoline, cleaning products, fumes
- Ergonomic hazards: These type occur from workplace conditions, poor lighting, poorly arranged workstations, bad lifting posture, wrong office furniture, repetitive tasks
We do not have to wait for accidents to happen before reporting. We should report unsafe acts and tasks, faulty equipment, because these are the components of future accidents.
When we report hazards in the workplace, it helps the business by:
- Creating an awareness of the situation
- Leading to solution creation
- Increasing staff involvment as they also make suggestions to keep the work process safe
- Improving workplace safety
Image credit: Google images
