Workplace Safety: Better Safe than Sorry

A man working on the rooftop of a building is performing a site inspection. Since the procedure is routine and brief, he decides to bypass the safety harness. One misstep later and he becomes the middleman between a 25ft. rooftop and the ground. The man is no longer able to work – but that’s the happy version of a story that could have had a fatal ending.

This is just one of the unfortunate real-life scenarios that Roberto Desai, owner of Advance Safety World Limited, has the displeasure of hearing on a daily basis. “There are a lot of workplace injuries that take place every single day that can be avoided; you just have to know what could happen to a person and try to prevent it,” says Desai.

The federal government estimates that approximately 1,000 Canadian workers have died each year over the past decade from workplace accidents or occupational diseases. While you can’t put a price on lost lives, the accumulated cost of compensation for workplace injuries is in the billions. “Physical injury can cause major slowdowns in a business or, even worse, can result in death, which is a loss for everyone. Much of this can be prevented with the proper placement of first aid kits, eye wash stations, proper safety equipment and a checklist of all safety guidelines,” says Desai.

An employer that isn’t regulating safety practices is obviously at fault, although the onus must also be on the staff member who forgoes proper procedures despite the evident dangers. “The employee would be the person that should think, ‘maybe I should have a mask on if I’m grinding, or I need safety glasses because I’m around machinery.’ The employer should always be checking but that’s not always the case,” says Desai. Among several other things found under the Canada Labour Code, employees are required to “Use all safety materials, equipment, devices, and clothing that are provided by the employer and are intended to protect employees.” They must also report all work-related accidents to the employer.

“Physical injury can cause major slowdowns in a business or, even worse, can result in death, which is a loss for everyone.”
– Robert Desai

Some common workplace injuries are cutting of the fingers, hits to the head, compression of limbs, burning of the hands or ligaments and broken bones. “Flips and trips is the third largest category for time-loss injuries in the workplace,” says Valerie Powell of Canada Safety Council. According to the CSC’s website, slippery floors, spills, debris and unsuitable shoes are all contributing slip and fall factors. “Most workplaces now require safety boots, even if you work in an office and you have to go to the back for half a minute, you need safety shoes or boots,” says Desai, adding that safety boots, safety glasses and safety gloves are the top three sellers at Advance Safety World Limited.

Creating a safety checklist and wearing proper equipment may seem like extraneous tasks but the bottom line is that it can save a life. “It’s just that one little thing that you might forget, or that one little thing that you just didn’t do right, that split second can turn into a big catastrophe if you’re not careful,” says Desai. “Think of safety equipment as insurance.”
www.advancesafetyworld.com
www.safety-council.org
www.cheapsafetyboots.com