The overwhelming majority—more than 95 percent to be exact—of workers who filled out a survey conducted by Pumps & Systems said they felt safe in their workplace.
This portion of the survey focused on personal protection equipment (PPE) and general safety.
When asked if you could request a safety training class, arc flash training was one popular answer. Others included flammable handling, annual training and training for new staff, basic training, chemical training and how to change behavior.
Comfortable hard-toe shoes and shoes for winter were common answers when asked “if you could request one item of safety gear what would it be.” Others included good safety glasses, a respirator, high-visibility clothing and process hazard analysis software.
As it relates to health, some survey respondents suggested having the entire workforce wear masks. That has become more common since the world had to make adjustments as the spread of the coronavirus has occurred. Other suggestions included additional cleansing/disinfecting, social distance awareness, shields between close workstations, hand-sanitizing stations at multiple locations, temperature checks, work-at-home “self quarantine” using VPN and more teleconferences.
Eighty-five percent of respondents said they have been trained to use their PPE, but when changes are made involving equipment, that number dropped to 72 percent when asked if they received new training. Thirteen percent said no, and 15 percent were not sure.
Nine percent of responders said they had experienced a workplace injury in the last year. Eighty-five percent of responders said that one person has been injured badly enough to go to the emergency room or hospital, while 13 percent noted two to five people, and two percent said six to nine people, in the last year at their company have been badly injured enough to go to the emergency room or hospital.
According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in 2018 there were 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers in the United States. Within U.S. private industry, there were 900,380 injuries or illnesses that caused a worker to miss at least one day of work in 2018. A total of 333,830 cases resulted in a visit to a medical facility such as an emergency room or in-patient hospital.
In response to a question if available first-aid appropriate to the work is being done at the facility, 85 percent responded yes, five percent responded no and 10 percent said they were not sure. Eighty-seven percent of responders said they think their employer is doing everything possible to keep them safe from physical harm at work, while six percent said no and seven percent said they did not know.
Convergencetraining.com recommended 10 easy ways to improve safety: inform supervisors of unsafe conditions; use equipment, machines and tools properly; wear PPE; prevent slips and trips; keep work areas and emergency exits clear; eliminate fire hazards; avoid tracking hazardous materials; prevent objects from falling; use correct posture when lifting; and take work breaks from time to time.
Read what our readers had to say about salaries and training here.
Read what our readers had to say about changes due to COVID-19 here.
