+44(0) 1942 727440Installing motion control features as part of an organisational-level approach to workplace safety could cut injuries among workers by up to a third, new research suggests.
Carried out by the University of Georgia, the study looked at workplaces where safety is addressed on an organisational level, and compared them with those where individuals are trained – and blamed – on the perceived risks to which they are exposed.
Workplaces where individuals are protected by safety measures, without being asked to take sole responsibility for their working practices, are significantly less likely to face a painful mishap.
Combining employee freedom with smooth and effective running of the company leads to a 38% drop in injuries, with the effect linked to employees’ better opinions of their employers.
Meanwhile, a “positive safety climate” leads to perceptions among the workforce that can cut injury rates by 32%.
To create this positive climate, however, companies need to demonstrate that safety issues are important on an organisational level.
And this is where motion control steps in – limiting the undesirable movement of heavy goods and machinery, preventing damage to valuable items, and in turn protecting employees against injury due to runaway or falling objects.
