Preventing Factory Accidents

Employers have responsibilities for the health and safety of employees working in a factory, and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 says that they must take steps to make the workplace safe, and keep it free from hazards and risks to health.

There are a number of different ways that an employer can help prevent factory accidents. A sensible starting point would be to carry out regular risk assessments to highlight any potential hazards in the factory. 

Risk assessments and factory accident compensation

Risk assessments carried out by employers who want to prevent factory accidents could start with a walk around the factory, taking notes of any potential risks. If any serious risks are highlighted, the employer will be expected to act immediately to prevent an accident occurring. This is in the employer's interest as any injured employee could make a factory accident compensation claim if the hazard is ignored.

Employers or someone acting on their behalf should then discuss any safety issues with employees and safety representatives, understand how jobs are performed, and assess whether they are safe. Making sure all employees are aware of any factory-specific hazards is an important step, and any new employees should be given similar training.

Another way of preventing future accidents in the factory is to look at the accidents that have taken place in the past. This means looking at the accident book, and ensuring the causes of accidents have been properly addressed. Claiming factory accident compensation can also help make the factory a safer place for everyone, as it will draw attention to the cause of the accident, and ensure it's fixed.

Other simple but effective steps an employer can take include providing thorough training, and making sure everyone in the factory has the correct tools and safety equipment for their job.

Employee's responsibilities

It's not only the employer that can help prevent factory accidents. Employee responsibilities include;

• Taking care not to do anything that could put themselves or their colleagues in danger
• Understanding and working to the health and safety procedures in place
• Not interfering with anything put in place to keep them safe
• Use all safety equipment provided

Factory accident compensation

Essentially, if an employer ignores their health and safety responsibilities, and does not take steps to prevent factory accidents, they may be held responsible if an employee is injured. This means that the injured employee is entitled to claim factory accident compensation.

If you find yourself in this situation and want to find out more about factory accident claims, call us for a free chat or start your claim online now.