Safety signs have become a big part of everyday life, with particular signs like the emergency exits now being almost universally recognised. We’re all so used to seeing these signs around us in public settings, but do we ever really consider their absence?
While UK employers are bound by law to display safety signs where there is a significant risk that can’t be avoided or controlled in another way, there are a shocking number of employers throughout the country who simply do not comply with the law. Even in some cases where employers have implemented safety signs in the workplace, they may not maintain or even display them properly.
This negligence in their duties has led to a shocking number of work-related accidents that could have been avoided with proper safety signage. Some of these accidents are even fatal in nature.
The main causes of non-fatal workplace accidents
In a survey of 561,000 UK workers conducted in 2022/23, it was revealed that the most common cause of non-fatal accidents in the workplace were slips, trips and falls. These accounted for almost a third of reported accidents at 32%.
Other major causes reported were handling, lifting and carrying (17%), being struck by a moving object (11%) and falling from height (8%). Altogether, these causes represented over two-thirds of reported non-fatal workplace accidents.
And most of these causes can be addressed with the proper implementation of safety signs.
The highest cause of non-fatal workplace accidents is, ironically, one of the easiest to address with safety signage. By minimising the risk of slips, trips and falls, employers could prevent a significant number of workplace accidents, as well as the associated costs of time off and lost productivity.
Promptly putting out wet floor signs in the event of a spillage is a simple solution that can have a major impact on the chances of an employee being injured. Similarly, making sure that all potential tripping hazards are correctly identified and highlighted has the potential to prevent such accidents.
Reducing risk and liability with safety signs
Outside of simple slipping, tripping and falling hazards, many other workplace accidents could be avoided by adhering to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidelines. Ensuring that the proper warning signs are in place in areas with moving machinery, sudden drops or unstable structures is an easy step to mitigate the risk of two other major sources of injury.
Of course, some cases of work-related accidents are still due to personal negligence or distraction, even occurring in situations with appropriate safety signage. However, if employers carry out their duty and correctly display safety signs in the workplace, they can protect themselves from facing liability for such accidents.
By implementing proper safety signage throughout their workplace, employers have the opportunity to massively reduce the number of potential accidents among their workforce.
—
With so many easily preventable accidents occurring within the workplace every year, the case for safety signs is clear.
