Is Safety Part Of Your Office Design Discussion?

When it comes to designing a workspace, what should be your number one consideration? The brand appeal? The productivity of the team? Having a big office with a nice chair? All important, but there’s no doubt that health and safety rules the roost, unless you want to end up paying big for your mistakes. There are enough risks in a workspace that you might tempted to get rid of the office altogether to avoid them, but with a safety conscious mind, you can design a space that keeps you and your team in safe hands.

Don’t suffer from ergonomic anxiety

Ergonomics is becoming something of buzzword lately in the health and safety word, but that’s for a good reason. Musculoskeletal disorders caused by bad posture and other physical stressors are the leading cause of workplace injuries and back pain is the leading cause of disability across all age groups. Learning more about ergonomic office design and buying the furniture such as tables and chairs that offer the right support and positioning for your team can help you avoid a lot of aches and pains down the line. Standing tables are becoming much more popular as we increasingly learn the risks of a day with too much sitting in it, too.

The slip, trip, and fall of it all

The most common type of accident, regardless of workplace, is slipping, tripping, and falling. Most often, they’re caused not by any sudden obstacle in the way, but simply by the fact that an individual didn’t have the right footing on the ground. For outdoor areas, the best way to tackle this is through ensuring your team all wears appropriate footgear. For indoor areas, however, investing in the right flooring is crucial. High quality flooring such as polished concrete is not only safer, but it’s also easier to clean. Spills and mess can create slippery conditions ripe for falls. Don’t underestimate the harm a fall can have either, from sprained wrists, and ankles to serious head injuries, it’s not worth making room for the risk.

Make way

Poor visibility, especially in well-trafficked walkways, is another leading cause of slips, trips and falls in the office. But it also leads to other accidents, such as collisions with equipment in warehouses, failing to notice safety hazards, and so on. Ensuring you invest in a bright, clear, and healthy lighting in the office can make it much easier for people to see where they’re going and what they’re heading towards. Make sure that when it comes to busy walkways in the workplace that you have a policy of always keeping them clear. In practical areas like warehouses and storerooms, you should use floor markings to designate these areas and make it clear that they’re not meant for storage.

Of course, even after the design is complete, no workspace is forever free from risk. Constant cleaning and upkeep, as well as the occasional safety audit, can ensure you’re creating a place that’s safe to work, thrive, and grow in.