Every workplace owes its employees a duty to ensure their safety at work. When a workplace is a high-risk one, such as a construction site or a plant, it is particularly important to be meticulous about safety given the potential for the occurrence of disastrous accidents. When an environment is inherently risky and may give rise to dangerous situations, careful project management is necessary in order to ensure employees’ safety. While safety measures can certainly help to reduce the risk of workplace injuries, without sound project management such measures may be rendered ineffective. Following are a few reasons project management is a key ingredient in ensuring workplace safety.
Centralized Point of Contact
Many serious accidents don’t just happen out of the blue. Instead, they are often preceded by seemingly benign situations that nonetheless reveal potential dangers. For example, employees neglecting to wear proper safety equipment can usually be identified as a risk even before an accident occurs. Many dangerous situations also develop over long periods of time and can be spotted before an accident occurs. For instance, any wear and tear or damage to equipment or scaffolding is usually noticed before it leads to accidents. Good project management will provide anyone who notices potentially dangerous situations with a centralized point of contact to report such dangers.
Central Point for Scheduling
As employee numbers increase, it becomes difficult to be apprised of what each individual team is doing, and this may cause overlaps in tasks that can prove dangerous. Sound project management is needed for effective scheduling, which can ensure, for instance, that the maximum number of people who can be accommodated safely in a particular area is never exceeded.
Keeps Employees Informed
It is not enough for management to know who is doing what and where. All employees need to be similarly apprised of what is going on so they do not make mistakes that might give rise to dangerous situations. This is best done with a daily morning briefing that will keep all employees up to date before they begin work.
First Point of Contact for Outsiders
Many dangerous situations arise because an outsider, such as a worker from another company or a deliveryman, enters the premises without being aware of safety rules and danger zones. Good project management provides all outsiders with a first point of contact to ensure they do not end up wandering around the premises unaccompanied.
By offering centralized organization, project management contributes invaluably to workplace safety. This is especially crucial when there are large numbers of employees or teams performing different tasks. When employees and teams are not aware of what others are doing, they unwittingly cause dangerous situations to arise. With clear and concise scheduling and employees who have a keen awareness of what is going on at the premises, risks at the workplace can be reduced considerably.
