Oregon employers share their safety tips
While some jobs are odd, safety is universal.
Top 10 safety tips from Oregon Odd Jobs
In this episode, we review all the important safety tips we picked up along the way for Oregon Odd Jobs.
Oregonians come from all walks of life, from artists on the coast to sheepherders on the eastern plains. Some work in a warehouse up north and some build homes down south. While we live in different areas, have different ideas, and may not always see eye to eye, we can all agree on keeping our workplaces safe.
SAIF’s video series, Oregon Odd Jobs, celebrates the jobs Oregonians do and how they stay safe doing them. What we’ve found is that, while jobs may look different, some aspects of workplace safety are universal. Here are 10 safety tips for your own workplace:
Be redundant: multiple layers of safety back-ups can protect your employees in case one system fails. Having multiple eyes on potential safety hazards can also keep something from being overlooked.
Make it PPE accessible: Keep employees safe by offering easy-to-access PPE whenever they need it. Having PPE readily available encourages employees to use it when they need it.
Out with the old, in with the new: Avoid injury by fixing or replacing outdated safety equipment.
Stay on guard: Be aware of more than just the most dangerous things on the job site. Keep your guard up even on the more mundane tasks.
Be aware of your surroundings: Watch out for things moving in and out of your work environment.
Use the buddy system: When performing a task that could be dangerous, another pair of eyes can reduce the risk of injury.
Ask for help: A helping hand can be useful for doing complicated or hazardous work. Where one co-worker might have trouble completing a task without injury, a helper can mitigate the risk.
Dress in layers: As environmental conditions change, wear multiple layers of clothing so you can add and remove items to regulate body temperature.
Think ergo: Be aware of body position and posture when doing physically demanding tasks. Sometimes the risk isn’t from the task, but from how it’s being done.
Eliminate the hazard: Whenever possible, remove a hazard completely from a job site. While there may be other ways to reduce the risk of a workplace injury, the safest way to is to not have a hazard at all.
Click here to watch Oregon Odd Jobs on YouTube.