Exposure to danger is involved in all walks of life – starting from the most benign forms such as slipping on a wet floor or suffering from computer-related injuries.
Regardless of your industry you never know when a work-related injury may occur.
However, the riskiest professions are the ones where the risk of injuries to workers lurks around every corner 24/7.
Here’s where you should exercise extra caution!
The problem is, most injuries require you to act immediately. But the real problem starts when you’re ill-prepared for such emergency situations.
So, being able to foresee danger and act in a way to prevent it effectively is the way to confront this serious problem. Aside from taking up corporate safety training, workplace danger sign posters will keep your staff safe from harm
Visual communication is much more forceful than verbal! It’s a highly effective way to get your point across. A psychologist, Jerome Bruner exposed that people remember 80% of things they see in comparison to 20% of what they read and 10% of what they hear. Thus, danger sign posters are invaluable – for they are both visual and unmistakable
Caution signs serve to warn people about milder threats in the workplace. Like tripping hazards or the required use of protective equipment. But danger signs are used to warn people of possible accidents that can be life-threatening
1. Chemical Storage Area Danger Signs
Taking care of your employee safety is a matter of basic human concern. But being sloppy with your preventative safety measures can backfire and wreck your finances too.
According to the report from 2013-2014, there were 106,565 total workers’ compensation claims in Australia due to serious workplace incidents. In addition, employees affected by workplace accidents take an average 15 days off work. Which is a substantial loss of productivity. And then there are hidden costs in administrative expenses, medical costs and wage losses. Check out this informative infographic for more valuable workplace injury stats.
Click the image to view the whole infographic
However, one of the worst hazards can come from inadequate storage of chemicals. This can lead to serious accidents, contamination, fire, damage to properties, and even death.
Labelling chemical containers and identifying chemical reaction risks are some of the initial protection protocols. But marking areas that contain dangerous chemicals is also imperative to prevent disastrous events at your workplace. Alsco’s Chemical Storage Area Danger Sign will help you do precisely that! So, click here for your printable version.
2. Falling Hazard Danger Signs
Falling is some of the most common causes of work-related injuries. The Australian Workers’ Compensation Statistics reports that 90% of serious compensation claims were due to injury and musculoskeletal disorders.
Falls are among the most common causes of serious work related injuries and deaths. Employers must set up the work place to prevent employees from falling:https://t.co/6jiVzWYOhQ#FallProtection #StandingSeamRoofAnchor #OSHA pic.twitter.com/rIz7vss0N1 — FallProtectionDist (@fall_pd) February 16, 2018
And there’s a record of 145% rise in nerve and spinal cord injuries in Australian workplaces over the last 13 years. The highest rate of workers’ compensation claims came from labourers, healthcare and social assistance professionals.
Yet, falling injuries are preventable! You can instruct your team on some falling techniques or invite safety training professionals to train your staff. But until you do that, get our Falling Hazard Signs and install them in the areas that entail the highest risk of falling.
3. High Voltage Danger Signs
Even small amounts of current can be dangerous to human health. But having high voltage transmission lines at your company’s premises is a major health hazard.
Getting in contact with power lines higher than 50 volts can cause severe injury. From tissue damage, burns to heart function disorders or even death
Even being in close proximity to high energy sources can be harmful. The electric arc coming from these sources can jump from a few inches to several feet depending on the voltage
4. Electrical Shock Hazard Danger Signs
High voltage electrical shock accidents can cause lethal injuries to your employees. More than 50 volts is enough to potentially lead to life-threatening consequences. According to the Health and Safety Executive roughly 20 people die from electric shock or electrical burns at work each year.
When not fatal, the injuries can lead to burns, amputations, and many other systemic complications. Electrical shock injuries mostly affect electrical workers, but you should make sure your entire staff is protected. You should instruct them to keep a safe distance from high voltage lines and put up Electrical Shock Hazard Signs.
5. Restricted Area Danger Signs
Restricted areas are reserved zones only accessible to authorised personnel in a company or organisation. It’s out of bounds to non-personnel for safety and security reasons. An area can be designated as restricted on many grounds. Those may be:
- contaminated areas
- medical biohazardous waste storage areas
- classified document archives
- military bases
- restricted government facilities
Some restricted zones require safety or personal protective equipment. And others call for safety guards to enforce restrictive measures and keep the trespassers out.
Yet in most cases using danger signage will suffice. It’s an efficient way to isolate a potentially harmful area and safeguard people who are not qualified or are unaware of ways to behave in these environments. Alsco’s made it easy for you – you can access your Restricted Area Warning Signs in just a few clicks.
6. Radiation Risk Danger Signs
The risk from radiation is a serious health hazard you want to protect your staff and visitors from. There is some naturally occurring radioactivity such as terrestrial, radon and cosmic radiation we’re all exposed to at all times. But what you want to warn people about is artificial radiation. Although it’s no more harmful than natural radiation, at least the exposure to it can be controlled. However, medical radiation makes up for more than 50% of radiation Australians are exposed to.
Frequent acute exposure to ionising radiation can cause radiation sickness and even death. But they are extremely rare. While radiation from medical imaging is linked to increased risk of cancer. And you want to minimise these chances for your staff and visitors. So, use our Radiation Risk Warning Signs for maximum protection.
Comply With Health and Safety Laws
Your workplace is full of threatening factors to your workforce health and safety. And if hazardous situations are not handled properly – it’s an accident waiting to happen! Worse still, some instances of safety lapses can prove fatal to your employees and impose stiff penalties on your company.
Thus, make sure to put safety precautions at the top of your agenda because your people’s lives are on the line. It’s your human and legal responsibility
So, assess the risks first and target the areas and then equip your premises with necessary danger warning signs. You can even print them out on metal or other durable, robust materials
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However, Alsco is there for you in this department too! Our First Aid Training and Emergency Response and Evacuations Training are there for your complete peace of mind. Using our Managed Training Services is an easy way to stay safe and WHS compliant. The training can be tailored to fit your specific business needs. We keep a detailed record of when retraining is due and take care of all your certificate updates
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