This is a contributor post from Cerasis.com.

Knowing about safety in manufacturing is important so that you can improve your business and cut out waste. Here’s why safety in manufacturing is so critical (including an infographic). We also include a checklist on how to help employees follow best practices in safety.

Why Is Safety In Manufacturing Important?

So what can safety in manufacturing do for you? The benefits of maintaining a safe work environment are many, but first and foremost, safety is about what you can do to protect your workers. It’s the right thing to do. Employers should send their workers home in the same condition they came in. Why wouldn’t that be important to a company?

But the practice of safety also brings financial benefits to the table. A safe work environment impacts a project’s bottom line both directly and indirectly. Costs associated with incidents, including lost costs, worker’s comp claims, insurance costs and legal fees are minimized in a safe work environment. So are the indirect costs that follow incidents, including the lost productivity that occurs when people turn their attention to dealing with an incident. If you’re doing safety effectively in a business world, it’s going to relate to fewer schedule interruptions, which will minimize your costs. You’re not going to have to stop work because you run into a problem.

On the flip side, a safe work environment boosts employee morale, which, in turn, increases productivity, efficiency and profit margins. When people feel like they have a good, safe work environment, they feel like they can make a difference. There are fewer staff absences, less staff turnover and an improved quality of work.

Quick Checklist to Keep Safety In Manufacturing Top of Mind

You can print the following checklist and have the employee sign and put in their file. We also suggest that you put this list in a highly visible area, addressing once per week in a safety meeting so that safety in the manufacturing workplace is top of mind for both management and staff:

• Employees must wear their seat belts when driving on company business.

• Report to work free from the aftereffects of drugs or alcohol.

• Report maintenance needs or hazards before the end of your work shift.

• Report incidents or injuries before the end of your work shift.

• Horseplay is prohibited.

• Keep emergency eyewash stations clear.

• Keep fire exits clear, unblocked and unlocked.

• Keep fire extinguishers and fire alarm pull stations clear.

• Know severe weather shelter locations within the building.

• Clean up spills of liquid and water.

• Clean up trip hazards once discovered.

• Straighten floor runners or rugs that could trip fellow employees.

• Do not run.

• Wear gloves when handling pallets.

• Use two hands to handle pallets.

• Wear eye protection to protect your eyes from flying objects.

• Wear hearing protection when exposed to loud machines or noise.

• Do not bypass machine safety guards, shields or switches.

• Do not use tools or machines that have been locked or tagged out.

• To reach items, use a proper foot stool or ladder and never stand on chairs or desks.

• Get help to team lift heavy objects like supplies, components or tools.

• Do not overload pallet jacks.

• Do not pull – push pallet jacks.

• Stay clear of all operating forklifts.

• Operate forklifts only if you are trained and authorized.

• Do not approach forklifts unless the operator has signaled that it is safe.

• Wear proper footwear on the job and during winter weather.
• Scan for trip hazards in the parking lot.

INFOGRAPHIC: Why Safety in the Workplace Pays Off

You know that a safe work environment boosts employee morale, which, in turn, increases productivity, efficiency and profit margins. Want more evidence that smart workplace safety pays? Learn these workplace stats that prove why every dollar invested in safety pays off. Click here to get the infographic.