Worker protection and workplace safety should be at the top of every company’s agenda. Ensuring the safety of ones employees not only increases productivity but worker morale as well. “The most disabling workplace injuries and illnesses amounted to nearly $60 billion in direct U.S. workers compensation costs in 2012. Keeping your staff out of the waiting room will assist in keeping that cost down.”
Safety+Health magazine published an article on a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report urging stronger protection for meat and poultry workers. While injury and illness rates in the industry do show an overall decline within federal data, meat processing employees still sustain a higher rate compared to poultry workers. Washington State Senator, Patty Murray, states:
“All workers should have access to a safe and healthy workplace and be able to earn a living without fearing for their safety…I will continue to push to make sure every worker, in every industry, has the safe work environment they deserve.”
The third leading types of accidents are listed below. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), facility inspectors were the most frequent cases of injuries within the production facilities.
- Falls on the same level flooring
- Falls from jumping to lower levels
- Falls and jumps that were curtailed by a device
- Slips and trips that do not result in a fall
SlipNOT® offers a variety of steel, stainless steel, and aluminum slip resistant products. These high traction surfaces exceed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and can be a cost effective, long-term solution to keeping people on their feet and out of harms way.
GAO report calls for stronger protections for meat and poultry workers. (n.d.). Retrieved June 13, 2016, from http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/14193-gao-report-calls-for-stronger-protections-for-meat-and-poultry-workers
