The True Cost Of Not Adhering To Workplace Safety Rules

For many organizations, workplace safety rules are often seen as an inconvenience. They view government demands for workplace safety as a clog in the system that inhibits productivity through restrictive rules and overly conservative procedures. Some managers wrongfully view workplace safety as a “necessary evil” that inhibits operational excellence.

Nothing can be further from the truth.

Organizations that are placing significant emphasis on safety and entrenching it as part of operational excellence are seeing improvement not just in operational issues but also the bottom line. 

Such organizations have realized the benefits of safety rules. 

Here’s a look at the opportunity cost of adherence to safety rules, and the consequences of not adhering to workplace safety regulations.

Financial Loses

Without a doubt, non-adherence to workplace safety rules will result in financial losses. Either you will be caught up by an external inspector or sooner or later, the inevitable will happen and there will be an accident.

Accidents are costly, first, there’s a loss of man hours, second, there’s possible damage or loss of property, injury to people or even death, fines by regulatory bodies, hikes in insurance premiums and an array of other financial losses. 

In 2017, a logistics firm in Singapore was fined $80,000 for flouting workplace safety regulations which caused the death of an employee, who was run over by a forklift. Assessors concluded that the company had not been facilitating forklift training for operators.

Employee Anxiety and Downtime

Non-adherence to workplace safety rules causes employees to always be on edge whenever there is a notice of audit or routine inspection. Anxious staffs are not very productive and they can cause accidents. 

Worse still, non-adherence is often the root cause of accidents and system breakdowns resulting in unnecessary downtime. 

If you are operating a warehouse, forklift operator training courses in Singapore are available through various providers who can provide follow-up meetings to ensure staffs continue to observe rules.

High Maintenance Costs

Equipment breakdown is often an outcome of wrongful handling of the machinery. If you use a forklift in parts of your operations, do not let anyone operate it unless you are sure that they have attended a certified training course and they have the requisite forklift license.

This way, you’ll be confident that the operator knows and understands how to handle the equipment and does not allow it to go through strenuous operations that in turn lead to faster wear and tear.

When you don’t adhere to workplace safety rules, it means that you are comfortable with unqualified staff handling equipment, faster wear and tear, frequent breakdowns and high repair and maintenance costs. And in truth, no owner or boss would even want to see that so get those safety rules down if you want to prevent such incidents from happening.

Seizing of Operations

It may sound extreme, but it can happen. When you don’t adhere to workplace safety rules, you expose your firm to the possibility of your license being revoked or a stop order being issued. 

Worse still, you could be jailed for breach or violation of the Workplace Safety and Health Act.

These outcomes of non-adherence to workplace safety rules are catastrophic, and it applies to any company which is notwithstanding the sector.

Often, many overlook the importance of adhering to workplace safety rules and as a result, the organization along with the many employees, have to suffer the consequences of it. So, now that you know of these adverse outcomes, you should do what you must to ensure that you create a safe working environment!