By: Kevin Gardner 

Every seven seconds, a workplace accident takes place in the United States. These accidents can cause long-term injuries and in some cases death. If you are a business owner, you know how hard it can be to get back to normal following a workplace accident.
One of the main goals you should have as a business owner is keeping your employees safe and informed. Ignoring the need for additional safety training and equipment will put you and your team at risk. The following are some of the things you can do to reduce the number of workplace accidents you have to deal with.

Keep Your Workspace Clean and Clutter-Free
Taking the time to audit your workspace is a great way to figure out where changes need to be made. During this audit, take some time to look at the amount of clutter in your workspace. If there are boxes or equipment lying around, it is online a matter of time before accidents occur.
Rather than waiting for one of these accidents to occur, you need to take action now. Working with members of your team to clean and declutter your commercial building is a great idea. Even if you have to hire part-time laborers to help with this work, it will be worth the money. Generally, college students seeking out a master of science in criminology and criminal justice (MSCJ) will jump at the chance to make a few dollars by helping you clean up your workspace.​

Educating Equipment and Machinery Operators is Crucial
If your business specializes in producing items or warehousing, chances are you have a lot of heavy equipment in operation. While this equipment and machinery can help you increase productivity levels, they are also very dangerous. The biggest mistake you can make as a business owner is allowing individuals to work with this equipment without proper training.
For instance, operating a forklift without safety training can result in a number of workplace accidents. Instead of allowing employees to get injured due to a lack of training, you need to work on educating every team member. If you don’t have the time or skill to provide this training, hiring professionals to do it is your best bet. An experienced safety trainer will have the tools needed to educate your team about the dangers of operating heavy equipment and machinery.

Invest in Personal Protection Equipment
When working in hazardous environments, employees will need equipment to keep them safe. This equipment usually includes things like hardhats, safety glasses and safety vests. Allowing your team to work without this personal protection equipment (PPE) will result in lots of injuries over time.
Not only is letting employees work without PPE dangerous, it can also result in large fines from OSHA. If an OSHA inspector comes into your workspace and sees a lack of PPE, they will write you up immediately. The money you pay for state-of-the-art PPE will pale in comparison to the price of an OSHA fine.

Focus on Ergonomics When Designing Your Workspace
Some people fail to realize that workplace injuries can come in all shapes and sizes. Things like repetitive motion injuries can take a while to surface. If you have a number of employees working in an office setting, focusing on ergonomics is crucial.
Making sure these employees have the right chairs and desks is a must when trying to prevent injuries. Sitting in uncomfortable office chairs or trying to type on a keyboard that is not ergonomically designed can result in lots of pain and discomfort. In most cases, consulting with office space design professionals is the best way to avoid problems when bringing your idea of the perfect workspace to life.

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late
The longer you wait to find and fix workplace hazards, the harder it will be to avoid workplace accidents. The time and effort invested in addressing workplace hazards will be worth it in the long run.