Compromising on the safety of employees or workers in favor of stockpiling resources doesn’t go well for an organization. It can face legal repercussions and even shut down by ignoring the warning signs from the authorities.
The consequences of an unsafe workplace are massive. According to the Health and Safety at Work Executive (HSE), 28.2 million working days were lost in 2018-2019 alone due to ill health and non-fatal injuries. These numbers have only soared since and highlighted the growing need to introduce mitigating measures to help ensure that the employees and the workforce working in the companies get a robust and health-friendly environment. It will increase their productivity and reflect well on the overall business operations.
Since designing and maintaining a healthy and safe work environment is not everybody’s cup of tea, we have Industrial Hygienists specializing in that. With a science background and covering additional courses in subjects like Toxicology, Microbiology, Measurement, and Control, Industrial Hygienists are well equipped to eliminate or reduce workplace hazards. They work to assess and solve problems most cost-effectively and professionally. Hospitals and pharmaceutical factories, for example, require special attention when it comes to maintaining optimal working conditions. Even a small mishap could be a harbinger of potentially fatal results. Competitive industrial hygienist salary rates reflect their ever-increasing demand and importance in today’s consumer society. This article illustrates the role of industrial hygienists and why they occupy key positions in the healthcare sector particularly.
- Identify Hazards
An industrial hygienist’s primary job is to identify hazards in the workplace and report them promptly to the higher-ups. These hazards are of many different types, depending on the setting and work. In the healthcare sector, toxic chemicals or gases are the more obvious hazard, but open wires, faulty and difficult to operate machinery also threaten employees.
Even poor office equipment causes long-term health issues. Hospital staff must work long, arduous hours, increasing susceptibility to musculoskeletal disorders such as chronic backaches and carpool tunnel syndrome. Thus, leading to greater absenteeism and dwindling productivity. Moreover, a company culture where employees are harassed or discriminated against brings down morale. Employees need to be informed about rigid safety policies, and emphasis should be given to diligently following them.
Any importance laid on workplace safety sends a message to team members (and clients) to follow suit. Alleviating stress and other dangers in the workplace aren’t just basic ethics but also bears fruit monetarily. With good safety practices:
- You lower Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rates- more effective work done.
- You lower Lost Time Injury (LTI) rates- fewer bills to pay and more hands-on deck.
- You boost team member morale and confidence in your leadership
- You eradicate a toxic culture that inadvertently stifles the growth of the healthcare sector
Industrial hygienists conduct extensive testing to determine the levels of temperatures, air quality, noise, and other factors conducive to workplace productivity. These are written down in a safety report or sheet so that executives can take the correct course of action to manage them. In addition to this, they also maintain a record of all safety regulations and past malfunctions to make it easier to deal with future contingencies.
- Assess the Risks
Medical staff with pre-existing health conditions need to be dealt with more sensitively than others. The injured and ill can quickly become a liability.
Older employees may demand special attention, but their experience makes them a valuable asset to the healthcare sector. Not to mention that recruiting new medical staff and training them would cost a lot of time, money, and resources.
In addition, with poor facilities available, prospective hires would be reluctant to work. It could eventually lead to a shortage of specialized and experienced personnel in the healthcare sector.
Having an Industrial Hygienist on board might seem like an extra expense, but it is crucial to the prosperity and smooth operation of businesses, factories, and institutions. They undertake risk assessments to locate hazards and breaches in safety and draft best practices in line with modern standards. Employees are also surveyed since their feedback can be eye-opening to safety issues invisible to executives.
- Limit Exposure
Prevention and control are the next steps taken by industrial hygienists. After identifying and assessing the type and extent of the danger posed by a hazard, they limit their harm. Not all hazards can be completely removed; for instance, chemicals need to be regularly handled by medical staff, and so does the equipment. However, if adequate safety measures are present to control the exposure, a marginal difference can be made in the frequency of accidents.
Devising flexible work schedules so that no single employee has a high risk of developing a health condition or suffering a workplace injury also comes under the job of industrial hygienists. Chemicals are labeled accurately and clearly, and training is provided to all new hires to ensure the safe operation of machinery.
- Devise Solutions
Industrial Hygienists offer their expertise in Occupation Health Schemes (OHS) programs. These are introduced in an organization by executives and holistically guide managers about an employee’s mental and physical upkeep. They comprise a variety of solutions to safety issues. These can be as simple as creating and distributing safety handbooks to the more costly ones, such as replacing faulty and obsolete machinery. It is always recommended to get help from professionals to upgrade safety measures in your healthcare institution. This act will help ensure the safety of your medical staffand increase their efficiency resulting in smooth hospital operations.
Conclusion
An industrial hygienist provides a proactive approach to workplace safety. They assess all factors, from fixing lax safety and security measures to ensuring smooth operation. The services of Industrial Hygienists are indeed required in all sectors, but their importance in the healthcare sector is much higher. With the presence of Industrial Hygienists, the healthcare sector will witness fewer mishaps, guaranteed safety of all medical staff, a spike in revenue, and lower employee turnover rates.
Hope this article is of great help to you. Happy Reading.