ENHANCING WORKPLACE SAFETY PRACTICES – MINIMISE RISKS & IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY

Protect Your Workforce & Strengthen Your Business

Workplace safety isn’t just compliance, it boosts productivity, morale, and business continuity. A strong safety culture reduces risks and ensures standards are met.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 2.93 million people die each year from work-related causes, with 395 million more suffering non-fatal injuries. These incidents lead to major financial, operational, and reputational losses.

UNDERSTANDING THE REALITIES OF SAFETY MANAGEMENT

WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES FOR WORKPLACE SAFETY?

1. Mastering Hazard Identification: Beyond the Basics

Every safety professional knows that improving workplace safety begins with identifying hazards. But in reality, this is rarely as straightforward as ticking boxes on a checklist.

Identifying hazards is only the first step; what really matters is understanding how these hazards translate into risks that vary with the working conditions. Risks in the real world are dynamic, context-dependent, and often hidden in plain sight. They evolve with changes in processes, materials, and workforce behaviour.

What truly sets effective risk management apart is:

• Continuous, worksite engagement: Safety managers must collaborate daily with operators to spot subtle, emerging threats that static audits might miss.
• Integrating hazard identification with risk assessment: Understanding not just what the hazard is, but how likely and severe its impact could be in specific tasks and contexts.
• Prioritise risks based on their level and the feasibility of control measures: Not all risks carry the same level of severity or probability of occurrence. Additionally, control solutions vary in their effectiveness and operational feasibility. This prioritisation drives smarter resource allocation.
• Embedding risk awareness deeply into the organisational culture means empowering operators to recognise not just hazards, but the actual risks they pose in their specific context, and to report these promptly and confidently, knowing they have full managerial support and are operating in a blame-free environment.

2. Hazard vs. risk — understanding the difference

You already know that workplace safety starts with identifying hazards and assessing risks. Yet, on the frontline, these two terms are often blurry or even mixed up by operators. And that confusion can significantly hinder effective prevention.

So, how do we make these concepts clear, concrete, and truly understood by everyone? Instead of sticking to technical jargon, why not use interactive, engaging tools that grab attention and make learning easier?

3. Invest in High-Quality Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

As mentioned earlier, prioritising risks based on their severity and likelihood is essential in managing workplace hazards. The hierarchy of controls guides us to first eliminate or substitute hazards at their source, followed by engineering and administrative controls to reduce risk exposure.

However, in practice, we often see that workers and managers jump straight to PPE. Selecting the correct PPE is critical, as using inadequate or ill-fitting equipment can increase risk rather than reduce it.

Key challenges in PPE management include:

• Navigating the complexities of standards and technical jargon.
• Securing equipment that workers will consistently wear.
• Balancing dexterity, comfort, and maximum protection without reducing productivity.
• Meeting organisation’s PPE guidelines and audit requirements while maintaining operational efficiency.

Between established procedures and the realities of the worksite, gaps frequently appear. These gaps create opportunities for accidents, frustration, and wasted budgets.

4. The Silent Rejection Problem, Consequences of Inadequate Protection

When PPE fails to meet the needs of the workforce, rejection often occurs quietly. Gloves may be removed mid-shift, workers improvise by using bare hands, or bring in their own equipment from home. This silent non-compliance undermines safety systems, increases risk exposure, and can ultimately lead to higher injury rates, increased compensation costs, and compliance failures. Addressing this issue requires selecting PPE that balances protection with wearability, and ensuring employees are involved in the selection process to encourage adoption.

BEST PRACTICES HELP CLOSE THESE VULNERABILITIES:

• Choose PPE Based on Workplace Hazards: Identify task-specific risks like chemical exposure, cuts, abrasions, and respiratory threats. Ansell’s industry-leading PPE, including cut-resistant gloves and chemical-resistant suits, provides superior protection.
• One thing that often stands out in the field when it comes to chemical protective gloves is the frequent confusion between permeation time and actual wear time. This misunderstanding can easily lead to choosing the wrong glove, creating a false sense of safety and increasing the risk of chemical exposure for workers. Learn more when it comes to knowing the difference between permeation time vs. wear time: Lab-tested chemical permeation times are often misunderstood as safe wear times. In reality, real-world conditions can shorten effective protection. Confusing these measures can pose significant risk, making it critical to evaluate both data and application context when selecting PPE.
• Consider Comfort & Fit: Ergonomically designed PPE, like Ansell’s protective gear, ensures long-term comfort without compromising safety.
• Regular Maintenance & Inspections: PPE deteriorates over time. Conducting routine inspections helps prevent failures and extend the life of safety equipment.
• Provide Training on Proper Use and Disposal: Equipping the workforce with the knowledge to correctly wear, remove, and dispose of PPE is essential. Training reduces misuse, improves compliance, and ensures that protective equipment delivers the intended level of safety.

KEY INSIGHTS FOR NAVIGATING PPE STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS

To choose the right PPE, it’s crucial to understand the standards that regulate these products. We provide you with access to our to Ansell’s EN Resource Centre, where you can find clear and educational brochures to guide you.

We know it’s easy to get lost in all the symbols, EN references, and technical jargon. Navigating EN 388, EN ISO 374, abrasion and cut resistance ratings, pictograms, and test scores can feel overwhelming.

A glove may display multiple performance icons yet still fall short in specific real-world conditions. That’s why understanding not only the standards but also their practical limitations are essential for effective PPE selection and compliance.

Ensure Compliance with Workplace Safety Standards

To maintain compliance:

1. Conduct Audits That Actually Help

• Do short, frequent audits. A quick 10-minute weekly check on one area (like machine safety, housekeeping or PPE) is often more effective.
• Use simple, focused checklists and, crucially, take immediate action on any issues found.
• Involve the team in audits so they take ownership of safety.

2. Train, Train, Train — But Make It Practical

• Offer short, regular, hands-on training sessions for example, 15 minutes a week on a specific topic: handling hazardous materials, emergency response, wearing PPE.
• Run practical drills (like evacuation simulations) so safety becomes second nature.
• Encourage feedback and lessons learned after every incident, even minor ones.

3. Build a Real Safety Culture, Not Just Rules

• Recognise and reward those who report hazards or suggest improvements—simple things like public shout-outs or small rewards.
• Encourage open communication without fear of blame. Safety is everyone’s responsibility.
• Make safety a regular topic in all meetings, even informal ones.

By adopting these best practices, organisations can establish a culture of safety that not only protects employees but also enhances efficiency and productivity.