Page 28 - Gi flipbook - October 2018

MOST COMMON

WORKPLACE INJURIES

AND HOW TO AVOID THEM

By Glyn Jones, connected technology is going quite far anyone knew about it.
Group GEO of to mitigate this particular risk, especially Looking at the risks during onshore
Trolex via the use of motion sensors and gas exploration, the sudden
proximity warnings, which can be emergence of gas or toxic chemicals
activated when a vehicle or large piece causes a real threat to operatives.
of machinery gets within a certain The use of both static and mobile
odern work distance of a worker on the floor. personal equipment which can provide
environments are These mobile monitors also provide real time and continuous updates to
unquestionably safer real time updates of where workers atmospheric and environment changes
than they have been are within an environment, so they is now an integral part of any health
M in the past, with the can be monitored from a central and safety plan.
rise of connected technology making location. If any workers accidentally Similarly in mining, health issues
it possible to detect potential wander into an area they should not caused by exposure to silica dust are
problems before they arise and give be in, managers can be quickly alerted now becoming much clearer, thanks in
early warnings to workers. and warn them to leave an area where large part to the increasing use of real
However, despite this increase in they could be at risk. time, continuous environment
health and safety monitoring, monitoring.
industrial environments involving RISKS FROM SHIFTING Unlike in previous years, when
heavy machinery and unpredictable ENVIRONMENTS operatives would be told they had been
environments inherently carry certain Even with the development of new exposed to harmful toxins after the fact,
risks and in 2016/17, 137 people were and more effective safety equipment, real time, continuous monitoring means
killed in workplace accidents, the nature of some industrial they can now be warned immediately
according to the Health and Safety environments and the potential for to any changes in the atmosphere and
Executive (HSE). sudden and unexpected changes evacuate quickly if needed.
Perhaps not surprisingly, it is means they remain some of the most It also means unexplored areas can
industries like construction, oil and dangerous to work in. be more easily monitored with the use
gas extraction, manufacturing and Gas extraction is a prime example of of mobile equipment and workers can
mining which remain the most this, with the potential for the sudden ensure they have the right level of
hazardous industries to work in, likely and immediate presence of gas or protective equipment deployed in
because of the need for heavy dangerous toxins always a hazard. these areas, without being
machinery to be in constant use, plus The use of static equipment has encumbered by this same equipment
workers’ proximity to that machinery, gone some way to mitigate these in areas where they don’t need it.
coupled with often confined spaces risks, but it is the use of portable
and hazardous environmental factors. multi-gas detectors which are helping REPETITIVE STRAIN
Let’s look at the most common injury to improve health and safety even AND STRESS
risks experienced by operatives in the further. Operatives know they will be Workplace injury caused by repetitive
workplace and show how technology alerted immediately to any changes actions, particularly those involving
is helping workers stay safe and avoid and the improved efficiency of using moving heavy machinery or items or
these types of risks and hazards. portable equipment is boosting both through working in unhealthy
safety and productivity. environments, have also been
RISKS FROM historically hard to monitor, mostly
MOVING VEHICLES EXPOSURE TO HARMFUL because they relied on individual
In busy environments, with the need to ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS workers to raise concerns when they
move heavy objects from one place to Risks from environmental exposure are were already showing symptoms.
another quickly, coupled with the need only just coming into the spotlight, New technology is now helping to
for feet on the floor, the risk of being mostly because people affected by reduce these problems by monitoring
hit by a moving vehicle is very real, and these factors are only just showing vital signs of workers, like heart rate
this is one of the most common symptoms of deteriorating health. and body temperature, and can act as
injuries still suffered by UK workers. A big reason for this is that, in the an early warning when a worker shows
Thirty-one workers were killed in a past, environments were only significant signals of health problems.
collision with a vehicle in 2016/17, monitored every few hours, so workers Balancing worker safety and ensuring
according to the HSE. could be surrounded by harmful toxins operations remained productive was
The use of mobile monitoring and or dust particles for some time before also a historically difficult balancing act

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