OSHA has been helping employers in Pennsylvania take steps to improve the safety of their employees. At first, it was thought that a top-down approach to worker safety was needed. With this approach, the management staff and business owners bear the brunt of the responsibility of enforcing safety techniques. Quickly, it was realized that a top-down approach is not good enough. This is why OSHA, in conjunction with the private industry, developed standards that work in the opposite direction. The standards make it possible for employees to work safely while handling electricity in the workplace.
In addition to minimizing workers’ compensation claims, this bottom-up way of looking at safety can improve efficiency. A lot of it has to do the mindset of the employee while going about their tasks. If an employee views these regulations as something they need to adhere to when someone is watching but avoid later, they not only set themselves up for injury, but they may minimize the efficiency of the work that they do.
Conversely, an employee can look at the standards as a code of conduct that can help them stay safe in the workplace. When individuals use these guidelines from this perspective, they usually see that implementing the guidelines improves their efficiency and safety.
One of the primary reasons why people get injured at work is because they are not going about their work in a methodical way. They may have insufficient information about the job. These OSHA guidelines are designed to organize the work a person does. It gives them the structure that allows them to understand the job and do it efficiently.
When an employee is injured on the job, they may seek benefits from workers’ compensation. An attorney who works with workers’ comp may be able to help a client understand the distinction between workers’ compensation and a personal injury claim. They may help their client see that filing a claim and accepting the settlement waives the injured worker’s right to file a civil lawsuit in the future.
