6 Safety Practices All Industrial Workplaces Should Follow

Industrial WorkplaceOver the last four decades, cases of workplace accidents and deaths have seen a significant drop. This is largely due to improvements in health and safety guidelines, as well as an intense focus on safety practices by organisations.

In an industrial setting, worker safety is of paramount importance, as the variety of large, complex, and potentially dangerous machinery and practices is significantly higher than office environments. There are some key safety practices that should be adhered to by any industrial workplace, as these will help to reduce the potential for having to pay out any industrial injury compensation.

If you want to make your workplace safer, then here are the six safety practices to focus on.

1: Identify Likely Issues – There are going to be some areas of your industrial workplace that are more high risk than others. Make sure that these are looked at with the intention of minimising risk. Pay special care to identify the small injuries that may be more common and easily avoidable.

2: Involve Employees – By getting your workforce involved in any safety planning you will be able to benefit from their ground-floor experience. You will also make it easier for those employees to be more aware of potential issues and reduce your vulnerability to industrial injuries compensation.

3: Signage – You want your team to have visible and easy-to-understand signage that highlights potential dangers. These may need to be reviewed on a regular basis.

4: Stay Tidy – Make it a priority to ensure that there is nothing in the workplace that doesn’t need to be there. Clutter can be one of the main causes of workplace injury, and by removing the unnecessary, you will also promote greater productivity.

5: Machinery Maintenance – Industrial workplaces usually have an abundance of complicated and heavy machinery. Allocating regular times to clean and check them for problems means that you are tackling issues before they result in an industrial injury compensation payment.

6: Review your Safety Guidelines – This needs to be done at least once every year. Inspect your entire workplace alongside your team. Conduct a thorough review and update your safety guidelines where you identify new risks or issues.

Knowing the Risks

Some of the most common injuries in an industrial workplace will require awareness if your goal is to reduce your exposure to injuries. Some of the most common workplace injuries in the industrial sector include:

  • Falls
  • Falling materials or objects
  • Breathing issues
  • Injuries caused by vehicles
  • Electrical accidents including electrocution
  • Accidents involving ladders
  • Machinery accidents

The key to keeping your instances of workplace injury to a minimum are staff training, diligence, and essential safety equipment.

Workplace injuries can drastically affect the lives and futures of your workers. From a business owners perspective, accidents in the workplace can interrupt workflow and negatively affect profit generation, as well as exposing you to the financial risks of a high industrial injuries compensation payment. If you want to limit your exposure to these risks, then creating a culture of safety in your industrial workplace is essential.

Hearing Loss: What Are My Rights?

Hearing LossEveryone reacts differently when it comes to a change in their ability to hear. The emotional response can lead to anger and vulnerability. Knowing your rights if you suffer from any form of hearing loss can help you when it comes to making a case for hearing loss compensation.

There are practical steps that you should take that will not only help you understand the causes of what’s happening with your hearing but also let you know how likely your case is for hearing loss claims. The earlier that you address your hearing loss, the easier the problems can be tackled, and knowing your rights will be the key to living with your hearing issues.

Medical Treatment

Your first step once you have identified an issue with your hearing should be to seek professional treatment. Take a hearing test, and make sure that it is in person. There are a variety of online hearing tests available, but these are unreliable and should only be used to clarify that you have an issue. Professional medical treatment will make any hearing loss claims easier to resolve.

Workplace Hearing Loss

There are some work roles that are more vulnerable to the risks of hearing loss. These roles are often consistently loud work environments, and include:

  • Sound engineers
  • Mining
  • Shipyards
  • Construction

However, nightclub workers and other roles that tend to take place in environments that are loud can cause hearing damage. If your workplace has affected your hearing, then you will have three years to make your hearing loss claim.

Date of Knowledge

This is a term that covers most medical compensation claims. The Date of Knowledge will usually be three years after the date that you were exposed to the noise that caused your hearing loss, although there are factors that may be taken into account if you have taken longer than three years to make your hearing loss claims. Date of Knowledge can also be counted as the date on which you discover that you have a hearing impairment.

Employer Liability

All employers have a duty of care, and that covers the volume of noise that workers are exposed to. Health and Safety legislation sets clear guidelines and rules for noise volume under the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. This piece of legislation was designed to protect the hearing health of employees. If your employer has not conducted a thorough assessment of noise volume in your workplace then you will be able to make a claim for hearing loss compensation. The measures that employers must take in loud work environments must include:

  • The installation of sound barriers
  • The use of materials that will absorb sound
  • Shorter work time exposure to loud working environments
  • The provision of protective equipment for those employees that work consistently or intermittently in loud

If your employer has not adopted these measure, then you may be entitled to apply for hearing loss compensation.

There are clear legal rights that are in place to protect the hearing of employees. If you feel that you have suffered from hearing loss as a result of workplace flaws, then you should contact a legal team as quickly as possible. The quicker that you take action, the easier hearing loss claims will be. Hearing loss can be stressful, and any financial compensation that you receive could help to pay medical expenses or remove the pressures caused by your hearing issues.

What To Do If You Have Been Affected By Food Poisoning

Food PoisoningThere are many different types of food poisoning. Each variation may have similar symptoms, although the time that you feel the effects of it can vary wildly. This is largely due to the type of food that caused that poisoning, how much was consumed, and how severe your symptoms are.

Typically, food poisoning only goes on for one or two days, and you may not even need medical care during this time. Whether it was through ingestion of food bacteria, viruses, chemicals, parasites, or even metals, food poisoning can affect not just the stomach, but other organs in the body as well.

If you’ve been affected by food poisoning it can be worrying, and you may not be sure how to respond. Here’s what you need to know.

Identify the Food Poisoning

It can take anything from an hour to a few weeks for the symptoms of food poisoning to become noticeable. This large time frame can make it tricky to identify when you have been affected by a case of food poisoning. However, the most common types of food poisoning are usually identifiable between two and six hours after eating any form of contaminated food. The symptoms to look out for are:

  • Diarrhoea
  • Vomiting
  • Pain in the abdomen
  • Nausea
  • Intense headaches
  • High temperatures

Other, less common symptoms can also include:

  • Blood or mucus in your stool
  • Dehydration
  • Aching muscles
  • Itchiness
  • Blurred or double vision

Identifying that you have food poisoning is the key to knowing your next steps.

Treating Food Poisoning

Usually, the best thing that you can do if you have been hit by food poisoning is to keep yourself hydrated. If you are vomiting or you have diarrhoea, then you should try and drink water as soon as possible. Often, it can take a few hours before you feel comfortable doing so, and you should avoid food if you are feeling nauseous. Ice chips can be a useful way of rehydrating. If you feel that your food might stay down, then start with some plain options:

  • Rice
  • Plain toast
  • Crackers
  • Bananas
  • Cereal

There are some foods and drinks that you should try and avoid. These include:

  • Fizzy, carbonated drinks
  • Caffeine
  • Dairy
  • Overly fatty foods
  • Alcohol

However, your main priority should be rest. Your body is going to take time to recover, and the more rest that you get, the quicker your symptoms will fade.

Do You Need a Doctor?

There are some people that should always contact a medical professional as soon as they show signs of food poisoning. These demographics are:

  • Anyone older than 60
  • Babies and toddlers
  • Pregnant women
  • Anyone with a history of a weak immune system
  • People with existing health issues such as diabetes

Even if you do not fall under any of the categories, you should contact your doctor if you identify any of these symptoms:

  • If your symptoms last more than two days
  • Blood in your vomit or stool
  • Excessively high fever
  • A tingling sensation in your arms, or general muscle weakness

Can You Make a Claim?

Some of the effects of severe food poisoning can affect people for the rest of their lives. If you or someone you know has been affected by food poisoning that was caused by the negligence of someone else, such as a restaurant, hotel, supermarket, or cafe, then compensation could be possible.

All cases of food poisoning have their variations, but there are some guidelines for the amount of food poisoning compensation that you might receive:

  • Severe Cases – Between £27,450 and £37,500. This is for those people who have suffered from the excessive symptoms that come with severe food poisoning.
  • Short-lived Cases – Even the most serious instances of food poisoning can often last just a few days. The amount that you may receive when making food poisoning claims will depend on the severity of those symptoms. Excessive symptoms or effects such as no longer enjoying food or sex will be taken into account, and the food poisoning compensation bracket for this category will be between £6,850 and £13,700.
  • Discomfort Cases – Your solicitor will need to ascertain the severity of your symptoms. If you had a hospital admission due to severe stomach cramps or a loss of bowel function, then you can expect to receive between £2,800 and £6,850.
  • Minor Cases – Although food poisoning can be serious, it is sometimes nothing more than an inconvenience. The duration of that inconvenience will be important for working out your food poisoning claims. Potential compensation in these cases will be between £650 and £2,800.

Making a claim for food poisoning that has been caused by negligence will always be dependant on the causes and the effects. If you have suffered from food poisoning and your life has been negatively impacted in any way, then it’s worth seeking legal advice. The food poisoning compensation that you receive could help ease you back into full health.