Supply chains can be a dangerous place for workers. While at a worksite, employees can be exposed to hazardous conditions, which can lead to serious illnesses or injuries. Workers are put more at risk if proper safety procedures and trainings aren’t in place—and the risk increases greatly if workers are unqualified and unaware of the industry safety standards.  

The numbers don’t lie…

• 2.3 million men and women globally succumb to workplace incidents and diseases every year
• 6000 individuals die every year due to workplace injuries

• 340 million people get injured from occupational accidents and 160 million suffer from work related illness
• Hazardous substances alone result in an estimated 651,279 deaths every year

…worker safety needs to be a part of your supply chain management.  

Why do you need a healthy work environment?

Maintaining a healthy workplace has many benefits—for your workers and for your business. A safer workplace can increase productivity amongst employees and can also reduce operational costs and additional costs for liabilities. Additionally, better safety equals better health for employees. When you enhance safety measures, it can result in overall growth and reduced absenteeism.

An unexpected threat to worker safety: COVID-19

This past year, supply chains became increasingly more complex, and new challenges arose as we entered a pandemic. COVID-19’s impact on worker safety and mental health has created major challenges and disrupted global supply chains on a monumental scale.  

One-third of US employees think their manager’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic has been less than effective. OSHA has established programs and consultation services to help organizations manage the safety and health of their employees, but business can follow these steps to protect workers:

1. Screen employee health before their return to work

2. Conduct a workplace risk assessment

3. Enforce PPE standards and avoidance of unnecessary physical contact

4. Provide COVID-19 safety training to employees

So, how do you create a safe working environment?

A worker safety plan always puts the worker first. Assess the potential risks and then outline the best ways to prevent incidents from happening or, if they do occur, map out how to respond to them. If you need a starting point, you can try the following:  

• Conduct regular surveys: Conduct regular employee-focused surveys and use the insights to improve their overall experience.
• Prep them for the future: Analyze and assess the overall trends in the corporate world, to prepare for unforeseen situations.
• Focus on mental health: Curate unique employee-friendly programs that focus on improving mental health.
• Raise awareness and implement workplace safety programs: Build it into the mission statement and get employees to commit to it.
• Provide adequate training: Help employees understand their responsibilities better.
• Reduce workplace stress: Assist employees in dealing with stress and encourage them to open up about problems.
• Promote regular breaks: Encourage employees to take regular breaks; this helps them stay focused.

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