Ensuring OSHA Safety in the Workplace

It’s easy to lose focus on workplace safety – especially if your worksite hasn’t had any accidents lately. However, it’s important to remain vigilant and maintain high workplace safety standards. Here are some startling statistics about workplace accidents that will inspire you to improve your focus on safety.

Encouraging Workplace Safety 

Here are eight sources of motivation, with safety slogans and tips that go with each. Each can be tailored for your workplace and needs — the goal is to use a mix of messages to appeal to different personalities across the organization.

For people motivated by….

• Achieving goals: “Safety Supports Success: Accident-Free Achieves Goals”
• Having fun: “Music at Work? Rock On, But Keep It Down!”
• Following the rules: “Accidents Ache: Safety Rules Rule”
• Innovation: “Have a Safety Suggestion? Speak Up and Share!”
• Personal success: “Show Your Smarts: Don’t Play with Power”
• Teaching others: “One Word Can Save a Life: Speak Up for Safety”
• Caring for self: “We Care About You: Safety is Better than Speed”
• Caring for others: “Coworkers Care: If You See Something, Say Something”

As you read through these safety mottos, did a particular workplace situation or group of workers come to mind? Feel free to use our ideas as springboards to write a safety motto that would apply to your workplace.

Engaging employees in building a safety culture is a great way to help it take hold. For example, your organization can hold safety slogan contests using the motivational framework above. Another fun context is to use the Occupational Safety and Health Act “OSHA” acronym as a platform for creative safety slogans. Here are three examples:

• OSHA: “Owning our Safety – Here and Always”
• OSHA: “Only Safe Habits: Always”
• OSHA: “OUR OPPONENTS: Sound, Heat, Accidents”

This type of wordplay may appeal to some of your employees. So encourage everyone in your organization to come up with an OSHA slogan and (of course) offer a financial incentive for winning the contest.

OSHA Headphone Use 

Sound is a constant in workplace life, but noise doesn’t have to be. Given the dangers of excessive noise on worker health, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires organizations to “administer a continuing, effective hearing conservation program.” Through its rules and regulations, OSHA lays out a number of requirements related to limiting unacceptable noise in the workplace, and outlines practices that protect employee hearing.

Here are some tips for effectively leveraging this common workplace tool:

• Encourage hearing protection behaviors that also support worker satisfaction. In many environments, office workers are exposed to distracting ambient noise. For example, professional staff in an industrial area, manufacturing facility or near a construction site may be exposed to ambient noise that regularly exceeds acceptable limits.
• Offer options that encourage adoption. For workers who shouldn’t be listening to music on the job, but who need hearing protection, offer them a range of options.
• Monitor use and facilitate compliance. While hearing protection is provided to help employees, some choose not to wear it. Why? Ask! If you notice that employees who need hearing protection aren’t wearing it, find out why.

OSHA Training Programs 

Many workers would rather do anything else than sit through OSHA training. Make the experience more palatable by signing up for a live online training course.

Having a live dynamic instructor makes it easier to focus on somewhat dry material. Your live online instructor can speak directly to your organization’s needs and will answer specific questions you have during a Q&A time. Attendees will receive a DOL card. No test is required.

• 10-Hour OSHA Safety Training for General Industry 
• Pryor Learning’s OSHA Training for General Industry is an award-winning live online option. The OSHA Outreach Training Program Authorized Trainer will cover health hazards, non-compliance, on-the-job safety, retention policies, and more. 
• 30-Hour OSHA Outreach Training Program (5 Days) 
• Earn your 30-hour OSHA training in Pryor Learning’s five-day live online program.
• 10-Hour OSHA Safety Training for Construction 
• The construction industry accounted for about 20% of worker fatalities in 2019. If you are a leader in this industry, you probably lose sleep at night worrying about the safety of your workers. This is why OSHA safety training for construction is essential. 
• OSHA Training 
• As a team leader, you are in charge of workplace safety. We know this is a heavy burden, so Pryor Learning would like to help with this live online one day OSHA training seminar.