Workplace injuries in the UK have been decreasing in past years, with 137 work-related fatal accidents between April 2016 and March 2017 representing the second-lowest number on record. There are still, however, a few accidents that occur in workplaces, many of which could have easily been avoided with training. Ensuring employee health and safety is vital for any business, to ensure that potentially fatal accidents don’t happen.
Unloading a Truck
In this video, you can see that the correct practices of unloading a truck weren’t followed. A forklift would have been the safest way of unloading the contents of the truck, as moving pallets and other heavy items can be dangerous. Forklifts also don’t require bending for both unloading and loading, which makes them quite ergonomic.
Work Desk
Accidents can often happen due to bad practices, as demonstrated in the video below. The worker is sitting on a table, which breaks and causes her to fall. In addition to potential injuries, workplace equipment could also have been damaged and cost the company time and money.
Unloading a Forklift
Although perfect for unloading items, unloading a forklift can be difficult. Having the proper equipment to lift heavy items such as forklifts is vital to prevent the equipment from being damaged and incurring you thousands in replacement costs.
Main Injuries and Sectors in the Past Five Years
Although the Construction industry had its lowest number of accidents on record, the 30 injuries account for the largest share of the 137 figure. The number of workplace injuries in this sector has fluctuated over the last five years, with the annual average at 39. These figures represent a value four times as high as the number for the entire industry.
In the Agricultural industry, 27 fatal injuries were recorded in 2016/2017. This represents a figure 18 times as high as the all industry number in the past five years, as the sector still accounts for a big share of the rate annually. The Waste and Recycling industry has seen 14 fatal injuries in the workplace, representing 15 times as much as the all industry figure in the past five years, despite the sector being small in employment.
In the period between April 2016 and March 2017, and accounting for the past five-year period, approximately three-quarters of fatal injuries were connected to six different types of accidents. The most common injuries were from being struck by a moving vehicle (31), falling from a height (25), being struck by a moving object (20), being trapped by something collapsing/overturning (10), contact with moving machinery (8), contact with electricity (8), and other kinds of accidents (35).
Here at Boss Training, we provide a wide range of training courses, such as a manual handling training courses, to ensure that these accidents don’t occur in your workplace. Simply get in touch with us to know more about how we can help to make sure you, your employees, and your clients are safe.