Definition - What does Workplace Inspection mean?
Workplace inspection is a mandatory process that entails assessing, identifying, and controlling perceivable hazards to deter accidents, incidents, and/or near misses to avoid injuries and fatalities on the job. A number of distinct hazards exist based on environmental circumstances that often coincide to the type of industry, occupation, and required duties and tasks. Inspectors examine four subclasses of potential workplace dangers to determine relative health and safety practices: biological, chemical, ergonomic, and physical hazards .
SureHire explains Workplace Inspection
The conduction of workplace inspections often distinguishes a safe working environment from treacherous conditions where employees are vulnerable to injuries, illnesses, or death. Employers are legally obligated to establish guidelines that underscore health and safety standards for the protection of their employees in abidance to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. In many cases, hazards can be avoided with proactive strategies that can involve performing routine maintenance checks on equipment and machinery, drying wet surfaces to prevent slippage, removing debris around workstations, and/or replacing toxic chemicals in their designated areas.
A workplace inspector will survey the premises of a worksite to confirm whether observable hazards are an existing issue and need to be rectified for the benefit of employees. Different methods are used to accomplish this goal such as interviewing staff members to receive direct input about hazards, making ergonomic changes to facilitate heavy workloads, and referring to medical cases highlighting injuries/illnesses sustained on the job. Many hazardous variables are inherent to the workplace such as handling toxic chemicals, excessive noise, extreme weather conditions (hot and/or cold), and radiation exposure. As a result, employees are often susceptible to physiological disturbances including hearing loss, musculoskeletal injuries, and contraction of infectious diseases.
Communication between managers and their employees is the key to engendering a responsible level of care and interest in identifying noticeable and inconspicuous hazards. Although every company presents a certain degree of health and safety concerns, regular workplace inspections can effectively minimize or preclude accidents, incidents, and near misses from happening.
