Things go wrong at every workplace. What separates a safe workplace from an unsafe one is what happens next: whether people say so, and whether anything changes.
Incidents and near misses
An incident is something that went wrong at work: an injury, damaged goods or equipment, a fire, a spill. A near miss is when something could have caused harm but did not, this time. A box falls off a shelf and lands where someone stood a second earlier. A forklift brakes just in time.
Near misses are free warnings. Nobody was hurt, and you can still learn from them. The same situation that nearly hurt someone today may hurt someone next week.
What to do when someone is hurt
If a person is hurt, get help straight away. Call for the first aider at your workplace. If it is serious, call emergency services. Do not try to treat injuries beyond what you have been trained to do. Once help is on the way, make the area safe so nobody else is hurt, and keep other people back. Do not move or clean up anything that is not needed to keep people safe until your manager or safety representative says so.
Report it, every time
Tell your supervisor or manager as soon as you can, and follow your workplace's reporting steps. Report near misses and small injuries too. Say what happened, where, and when. Stick to what you saw, not who you think is to blame.
Serious incidents may have to be reported to the authorities. Your employer deals with that, so your job is to report it to your manager quickly and honestly. If you are injured at work, you may be able to claim compensation through the compensation system for work injuries, often called COID. Make sure your employer knows about your injury, and ask your manager how it works at your workplace.
A driver in a yard has to brake hard when a worker steps out from behind a parked truck. Nobody is hurt. The driver reports it, and the supervisor finds that the walkway runs straight out from behind where trucks park. The yard moves the parking bay and marks a new walkway. Without the report, nobody would have known.
Building a safety culture
A safety culture means safety is part of how everyone works, not just something done when the boss is watching. It grows when:
- People can report problems without being punished for speaking up.
- Managers listen, act, and tell people what was done.
- Everyone, from new starters to supervisors, follows the same rules.
- Short safety talks at the start of a shift keep the subject alive.
You help build it by reporting honestly, following the rules when no one is looking, and helping new people learn how things are done safely.
What the full course covers
This short course gave you the foundations of workplace safety. Safe Freight Handling and Load Securing is the full MK Global course for people who load, carry and secure freight. It goes much further, with six lessons and a final assessment, on:
- The laws and rules that apply to carrying freight on the road, and who is responsible for what.
- Different types of load and the risks that come with each.
- Inspecting securing equipment, and knowing when to take it out of use.
- Methods for securing a load on the vehicle.
- Safe manual handling, loading order and pre-departure checks.
See Safe Freight Handling & Load Securing on our products page.
- If someone is hurt, get help first: call the first aider, and emergency services if it is serious.
- Report every incident and near miss to your manager, honestly and quickly.
- A safety culture is built when people can speak up and are listened to.
- Follow your employer's rules, and ask your manager or safety representative when unsure.