What Is Industrial Safety?

Industrial safety refers to controlling, reducing, and ultimately eliminating potential hazards in the workplace.

As you drive past a construction site, you may notice that all employees are wearing hard hats and neon-colored vests. Similarly, you may see the electrician examining the wires that control your lighting wearing thick rubber gloves. These small details are incredibly crucial for both the employee and the employer. For the employee, these extra steps protect them from hazards in the field, whereas for the employer, they ensure you follow the law and avoid a lawsuit.

These extra steps - the rubber gloves, hard hats, and barrier cones - all contribute to industrial safety. Industrial safety refers to controlling, reducing, and ultimately eliminating potential hazards in the workplace. Also commonly referred to as industrial safety management, industrial safety includes enforced policies and procedures that prevent injuries within the plant or factory.

All industries should prioritize industrial safety to prevent accidents and hazards. Providing this basic yet critical necessity will increase employee morale, protect employees, protect equipment, and possibly reduce repair or employee shortage expenses. If you are considering how to boost your industrial safety protocols, Singer Safety knows how to best help your business.

Navigating Industrial Safety Management

Industrial safety management involves identifying industry risks and following proper procedures to reduce these risks. Ensure you enforce these policies to avoid downtime, legal liabilities, and hefty fines. In fact, the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) acts as the regulatory organization that enforces requirements for effective industrial safety management. Not only must you ensure the welfare of your employees and business, but there are significant benefits to implementing safety precautions.

Benefits of Industrial Safety Management

While seemingly few detractions from industrial safety management systems implementation (SMS) exist - excluding the initial cost of enacting these measures in the first place - these systems have many merits. Did you know that small and large businesses that adopted industrial safety management systems experienced 46% fewer yearly accidents than non-adopters? These system adopters experienced higher quality products and increased market shares while preventing industrial accidents.

Fewer accidents equate to fewer lawsuits, less unplanned downtime, and improved performance. Many evolving elements combined with quick production turnover will doubtlessly create industrial hazards in a production setting. Businesses require safety management systems and skilled employees to maintain high performance. With proper protective equipment and procedures, your employees will recognize the company values their well-being and are more likely to invest in the company.

Accident Prevention Tips

As preventing industrial accidents is the primary goal of safety management systems, and different industries require varying systems, there are a few crucial tips you should follow when creating your own safety checklist:

The Five E’s of accident prevention - The Five E’s of accident prevention refer to engineering, education, enforcement, enthusiasm, and evaluation. The Five E’s are preventive measures for avoiding industrial hazards and accidents. To summarize, the Five E’s reaffirm the prevention of unsafe acts and conditions, encourage full compliance for safety provision, motivate workers’ interests in staying safety conscious, and aim for employers to lead by example.

Cultivate a safety culture - The Five Es of accident prevention serve as a simple way for businesses to initiate a safety-conscious mindset. They also encourage companies to practice cultivating safety. When employees are trained to consider safety a vital foundational aspect of their job and behave in a way that reflects its importance, it creates a positive safety culture.

While many ways of creating a positive attitude toward safety culture exist, essential tips include:

Focusing on education on safety policies
Accident investigation
Forming safety committees
Personal protection gear
Monthly supervisory training

Types of Industrial Safety Management Systems

Navigating industrial safety management policies can get tricky. Depending on your business, the type of systems you implement will differ. However, most industries require a combination of two or more of the following methods to keep your employees, assets, and resources safe:

Occupational and Workplace Safety

Occupational and workplace safety aims to identify risks and develop plans to implement changes to processes, policies, and equipment. This step can range from identifying small items - such as clean work spaces, non-slip surfaces, or instating mandatory breaks - to minimizing larger risks - PPE gear and proper machinery to your company’s specifications.

Environment

Environmental industrial hazards may include sewage, toxic chemicals, and bodily fluids. It may also include natural hazards such as radiation or excessive and damaging noise. To assess and reduce risks to employees, managers should collect and analyze sample material.

Material

A material safety management plan implements protocols concerning how employees should handle industrial hazards like asbestos, lead, and arsenic. The U.S. Department of Labor requires employers to provide their employees with sufficient information and protection to do their jobs safely.

Construction

Preventing industry accidents in a high-hazard industry like construction is no easy task. All employees must strictly follow regulations and training to ensure their safety. Industrial safety management varies for each construction site - with different plans, equipment, and materials for each work site. Added risks like heights, old structures, water, and electricity increase the need for management systems. Managers will want to ensure updated and current inspections of the worksite and all protective equipment.

Electrical

Higher up on the list of industrial hazards, electrical injuries pose a severe workplace hazard to employees. Potential risks involve electrocution, fire, explosions, and electric shock. As most, if not all, industrial equipment involves some form of electric power, all businesses should prioritize this industrial management system.

Fire Suppression

Like electrical hazards, fire suppression remains a crucial step in your management plan. For preventing industrial accidents due to fires, include regular personnel training, equipment such as fire retardant curtains, and memorization of evacuation routes.

Recommended Industrial Safety Equipment

When forming your industrial safety management plans, you must consider the type of plan and the safety equipment necessary to make that plan possible. While safety equipment varies for each industry, most use personal protective equipment (PPE). Several common forms of equipment include:

Safety glasses and face shields to protect the eyes from dust and debris during welding or cutting
Muffs and earplugs to prevent hearing damage
Safety gloves to avoid burns and lacerations from sharp objects, chemicals, or extreme temperatures
Safety shoes such as close-toed and non-slip shoes

Implementing Industrial Safety Practices With Singer Safety

We understand that following numerous industrial safety policies and procedures and assessing your business’s risks for industrial hazards can seem overwhelming. However, Singer Safety offers a simple solution. Our company has the expertise and experience assessing industrial safety risks and providing outstanding barrier protection products to create a safe working environment. If you want to improve your company’s and employees’ safety, consult Singer Safety for stellar safety products.