Call our friendly podiatrists today on (08) 9586 3046
Call our friendly podiatrists today on (08) 9586 3046
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Occupational Foot Health Safety – A Comprehensive Approach

Shoes are known for safeguarding feet from everyday perils for thousands of years. Keeping your feet secure and safe in the workplace implies going beyond shoes or footwear made for our daily activities. In certain jobs, employees are exposed to unique circumstances such as lifting, moving and working with heavy objects. From dangerous spills to falling objects to stand for several hours at a time, the feet are often susceptible to the potential hazard and great amounts of stress every workday. This may lead to potentially fatal injuries to the feet, knees, hips, and backs. Even just a single foot injury can lead to employees’ compensation case and a slowdown in production. Regardless of what kinds of industry you are in, the health of your employees should be your primary concern. This is why offering workers with proper footwear after consulting with a reputable podiatry clinic is crucial.

So let us take a closer look at the most common workplace accidents and provide employees safety recommendations with the help of a well-known Podiatry clinic in Mandurah to prevent any accidents occurring.

Occupational Foot Health Safety

Slips, Trips, and Falls
Slip, trips and falls account for most of the personal injuries in the workplace and hold the top reason for employees’ compensation claims. These types of injuries happen from trips, falls and slips including head and back wound, sprains, lacerations, cuts, and pulled muscles.

The most known reasons for falls in the workplace are:

Trips: Poor lighting condition, obstructed visibility, wrinkled carpeting, clutter, uneven walking floors, uncovered cables and bottom drawers not being closed properly are the common causes of these types of injuries.

Slips: Weather hazards, wet floor, oily surfaces, loose mats or rugs and design of flooring that lack the appropriate degree of traction cause accidents related to slips.

There are mainly three different ways to prevent such workplace accidents due to trips, falls and slips which are the quality walking floor, good housekeeping, and proper footwear. As a responsible employer, you must organize a routine health check-up process for employees with the help from Peel Podiatry Clinic in Mandurah. The experienced podiatrists can recommend ideal footwear based on the nature of the work. Beyond that employees must always be reminded to be careful where they are visiting. Employees must be encouraged to report immediately where obstruction, spillage, clutter or damage have appeared.

Tripping over floor mats: A very known cause of tripping stumbling over floor mats. Many employers offer these types of mats for arranging comfort for their employers those stand for long periods of time. While it is ergonomically thoughtful, but the heavy build of the mats can cause employees to trip while moving one place to another. One of the quickest solutions of this scenario is replacing the mats with anti-fatigue shoes after consulting with Peel Podiatry Clinic in Mandurah.

Lack of traction as a reason for slipping: Many individuals know the importance of work boot but often come to work with improper shoes. Many slips are happened due to lack of traction, between the floor and one’s shoe. An ideal way to avoid such scenarios with a list of suggested work boots by Peel Podiatry Clinic in Mandurah that offers advanced traction.

Sense of Invincibility
Many individuals think that workplace accidents may never occur to them, so the importance of foot safety attire often ignored. Rubber boots, steel toe cap, and puncture resistant sole can make sure every employee comply with foot and safety regulations.

Implement an Insoles Program Offering insoles to the employees through an organizational program would encourage employees to use them in the workplace. This program would also help, to reduce associated injuries due to foot pain. The employers must ensure that replenish these soles as per the suggestion from Peel Podiatry Clinic every three months to make sure they still comfortable and protect the employees.

Safety Training
Many employers often do not emphasize safety in the workplace. However, it is crucial to take care of employees health to increase the productivity and goodwill of the business. To keep this in the mind, they must initiate a mandatory safety training program each year to promote the welfare of the employees. Here are a few tips a company can apply to improve the safety and health of the employees.

  • Breaks: Fatigue is not only associated with lack of sleep, however, but it can also be caused by standing for a longer period of time. It is important to set up break facilities to increase productivity in the long run.
  • Constant Reminders: Employees often rush through the floor due to deadlines. When rushing occurs, injuries tend to happen. It is important for an employer to remind their employees rushing would not solve any problem.
  • Create a Relaxing Environment: We all know frustration is correlated with stress. Stress can often cause injuries in the workplace.

Conclusion
It is important to offer employees with substantial feet protection in the workplace, to promote organizational safety culture and Protection against complacency. A consultation with Peel Podiatry Clinic in Mandurah is crucial to offer employees the best possible solution.

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