Are You Prepared for an Accident?

Power tools, heavy equipment, extreme weather conditions are all tools of the trade for manufacturing, utilities, oil and gas and warehousing workers. The industrial sector, maybe more so than any, is susceptible to potentially harmful workplace accidents. In fact, in Canada, the manufacturing sector had a total of 33,084 lost time claims in 2016, which is the second highest of all industries reported.

To be in compliance with local and national regulations, your business must have a comprehensive first aid offering. A fully managed program takes the guesswork out of complex requirements and provides peace of mind. When evaluating a first aid program, here are a few things to take into account:  

• Since most businesses in the industrial field are considered high risk, make sure you have enough first aid cabinets to meet the needs of your entire staff. Also think about placing the cabinets in high traffic locations so that they are easily accessible.

• Accidents in your line of work typically require more than a bandage and gauze. You need specific incident modules to deal with serious injuries, such as burns, eye wounds, broken bones and severe lacerations.

• Because time is of the essence, you need the contents of these incident modules to be organized in the order you will use them. You want everyone to be comfortable assisting an injured employee.

• If you have the proper tools to treat an injury, you increase the odds of a full recovery once the worker is transported to a clinic or hospital.

• Leave the responsibility to a vendor to monitor the contents and inventory of your first aid cabinets. This ensures that the correct items are there when you need them.

A first aid program and a detailed workplace safety plan in place help alleviate the stress and chaos of the situation. Make sure employees know where the first aid cabinets are within the facility. It’s also beneficial to have multiple employees who are CPR trained. Staff will feel safer knowing there’s an action plan and a compliant first aid program available.