Yesterday we explored employers’ legal and moral obligations to minimize workplace violence. Today we’ll look at ways to prevent violence that can occur as employees arrive at or leave work, and at other ways to safeguard employees during the riskiest parts of their workday—the trips from home and back.
BLR’s 7-Minute Safety Trainer recommends that your employee training include periodically reviewing your facility’s security procedures (e.g., entry codes and cards, locked doors, guards, visitor sign-in, etc.) and emphasizing the need to follow the rules.
Some of the ways that your workers can help prevent violence and other crimes from entering your workplace include:
- Entering and exiting through assigned doors.
- Not leaving security doors unlocked or propped open.
- Not lending their security badge or entry card to others.
- Not allowing non-employees to enter the workplace with them.
- Not bringing packages into the work area on behalf of strangers.
- Reporting to security or the police any people or situations that make them uncomfortable.
Think you have no time to train? Think again. BLR’s 7-Minute Safety Trainer lets you fulfill all key OSHA required training tasks in as little as 7 minutes. Try it at no cost and see! Find out more.
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among workers in the United States. 7-Minute Safety Trainer says that some of the ways workers can increase their vehicle safety include:
- Keeping car windows up and doors locked, whether driving or parked.
- Not leaving packages or valuables visible inside the car.
- Carpooling with others when possible.
- Staying on roads you know well that have good lighting at night.
- Keeping your car in good running condition, and your gas tank at least a quarter full.
- Carrying a flashlight, white flag, and safety flare in your car.
- Never picking up strangers or hitchhiking.
- If you have a breakdown:
- Tying a flag on your antenna or light a flare.
- Calling for help if you have a cell phone.
- Staying in the car, doors locked, until help arrives.
- If your car is bumped from behind and you feel you are in danger, driving to a police station.
Workers who commute on foot also face daily dangers. You should urge these employees to:
- Stay with the crowd on well-traveled streets (Walk with a friend or co-workers when possible).
- Stick to well-lit streets when it’s dark.
- Avoid shortcuts through tunnels, alleys, parks, etc.
- Walk briskly and confidently, head up, and alert to what’s around you. (Watch out for people stepping out from doorways or parked cars.)
- Avoid wearing expensive jewelry (or at least keep it out of sight).
- Carry your purse or briefcase close to your body.
- Not carry large amounts of cash or loudly discuss your destination or daily routine.
These tips represent just a small sampling of the training points included in the 7-Minute Safety Trainer session called “Arriving at and Leaving Work Safely.” In addition to the trainer’s outline, the session also includes an illustrated handout, quiz, and quiz answers.
Try 7-Minute Safety Trainer at no cost or risk. Get the details.
All told, 7-Minute Safety Trainer contains 50 prewritten meetings covering almost every aspect of safety you’d want or need to train on, in a format designed to be taught in as little as 7 minutes. You can view a complete table of contents here, but the major topics include:
—Confined spaces
—Electrical safety
—Fire safety/response
—HazCom
—Machine guarding and lockout/tagout
—Material handling
—PPE use and care
—Housekeeping/slips, trips, and falls
—and dozens more
Just make as many copies as needed of the included handouts and quizzes, and you’re ready to train. You can view materials from a sample module here.
Equally important is that when new or changed regulations compel new training topics or training needs to be freshened, the program ships new meetings every quarter. This service is included in the program price, which averages just over $1 a working day. In fact, this is one of BLR’s most popular safety programs.
If you’d like to personally evaluate 7-Minute Safety Trainer and see how it can build safety awareness, we’ll be happy to send it to you for 30 days, on a no-cost, no-obligation trial basis. Just let us know and we’ll arrange it.
Download Table of Contents
Download Sample Safety Meeting