Safety Precautions in High Risk Working Environments

When it comes to workplace safety, all environments must have the correct protocols in place to ensure the safety and well-being of employees; this especially applies to High Risk Working Environments.

High Risk working environments such as construction sites, oil-rigs and factory-based work must take extra precautions to prevent accidents and injury of their employees. By ensuring all health and safety obligations are up to date and all staff are appropriately trained for their specific job role, you as an employer are investing in the safety of your staff to prevent the risk of an incident which could cause injury or even fatalities in the workplace.

So what safety precautions should you be taking?

Regular risk assessments will help to determine potential hazards if not already identified, these are already required for specific hazards which may include COSHH, manual handling, lone working, noise and contractor procedures Health and Safety policy : this is a requirement for all workplaces with over 5 employees as a basic requirement Recognising the scale of risk when considering operating in high risk areas Provide professional deployment and security briefing for all employees Ensure you have up-to-date maps, plans and photographs of work locations and accommodation. Copies should be readily available at a secure location away from the high-risk location AED accessibility and First Aid trained employees

Wait, what was the last one?

That’s right, a precaution many organisations don’t consider, but could potentially be the difference which saves an employee’s life.

In remote working areas, ambulance access is either restricted or could take a significant amount of time to reach the scene of an accident or emergency; and in the event of a cardiac emergency, every second counts.

For every minute which goes by without defibrillation, a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival decreases by 10%, without an accessible defibrillator on site, bystanders would have no choice but to wait for an ambulance until the vital treatment can be delivered.

A life-saving Investment

By equipping your workplace with an AED, and providing adequate First Aid and AED training to your staff, you can protect the lives of your workers who are pinnacle for the overall operation and success of your company.

Should someone suffer a cardiac arrest on site where an AED is available for use, chances of survival can increase from 6% to 74% if CPR and defibrillation is applied within the first 3-5 minutes.

By providing training for every member of your team, you can have peace of mind that no matter where or when an accident occurs; there will be an employee nearby equipped with the knowledge to take action, to prevent worsening of an injury and to promote recovery.

Currently, 27.3 million working days are lost each year in the UK due to workplace injury or work-related stress. By taking the essential precautions and investing in your employees to give them skills for life, you are making an investment in the well-being of your business to promote growth and confidence in every member of staff to take action and impact positively should an incident occur in the workplace.

Want to learn more about training opportunities or your defibrillator options with defibshop? Our friendly customer care team are here to help.

With over 12 years of experience in the defibrillator industry, you can be confident we know a thing or two about AEDs and how to find the perfect device for your working environment.

Get in touch by calling 0845 071 0830, we look forward to hearing from you!

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