Top 8 Retail Workplace Hazards and How To Prevent Them With AI.
Retail work may seem like a fairly safe occupation, but workers often experience common hazards that lead to severe injuries.
In fact, retail workers experienced a combined injury and illness rate higher than the construction industry in 2016.
These are the top 8 workplace hazards in the retail industry:
- Injuries related to overexertion
In 2017, the Liberty Mutual Workspace Index report showed that overexertion tops the list of disabling work injuries (for a third straight year), causing employers to spend over $13 billion in worker compensation and regulatory fines.
Photo: Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety
A year later, the Bureau of Labor Statistics similar research reported that overexertion caused more than one-third (42,790) of 409,900 injuries and illnesses in the retail trade. And these injuries caused a worker to miss at least 1 day of work.
Overexertion is a non-impact injury resulting from excessive physical effort. It is a major cause of the inflammation of joints and ligaments. The problem with overexertion, which is the most common cause of illness, is that it builds up over time.
Lifting a 100 pound heavy product box today may cause no impact. But consecutively doing it over a couple of weeks can cause inflammation, leading to pain and discomfort.
If it is not addressed, overexertion can tear or overstretch muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
2. Poor lifting and material handling
Speaking about how retail workers can avoid ergonomic injuries, John Howard, M.D, the Director of NIOSH, noted that musculoskeletal injuries caused by poor material handling affect workers in the wholesale and retail trade at a higher rate.
Poor lifting and material handling is the leading cause of strains, sprains, and other severe musculoskeletal injuries among retail employees. Despite that, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has followed records of injuries and illnesses since 2001- when it was responsible for 36% of injuries involving missed workdays, workers in the retail trade still suffer MSDs and other related injuries today.
Improper lifting, pushing, pulling, lowering, and twisting can cause strains, sprains, and other serious injuries. Improper techniques, physical capabilities, pre-existing conditions, and other related issues can contribute to potential risks.
3. Slip, trip and fall
Slips, Trips, and Falls (STF) are the leading cause of worker injuries and fatalities in many industries today, costing businesses over $11 billion every year. Slips, trips, and falls are primarily caused by slippery floors, standing on unstable objects, tripping over items left on the floor, and loss of balance on stairs and ladders. It leads to serious injuries like:
- Muscle strains and sprains
- Back injuries
- Paralysis
- Concussions
- Head injuries
- Fractures
Perhaps this is why nearly 50% of all claims made against employers are slips, trips, and falls cases (Source). This does not account for lawsuits from customers. Yet, slip, trip, and fall injuries are only the third most common workplace injury among retail employees.
Looking to cut the number of slip, trip, and fall injuries to zero, your facility can benefit from an STF prevention solution that predicts injuries before they occur.
Both employees and customers may fall due to trips and slips, and many can be avoided with proper care, maintenance, and housekeeping. The severity of the injury is typically based on the velocity of the impact (how far and how fast you fall), the hardness and other characteristics (smooth, rough, etc.) of the surface that you land on, and the orientation of the body upon impact.
4. Stress at work
Safety is a state of mind. When employees are stressed/overworked, they tend to compromise on safety. This is a known fact.
Nonetheless, the retail industry is rife with overworked employees. A study by Havard researchers and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that Forty-two percent of retail stores and other workers feel that their jobs negatively affect their stress levels.
This is (partly) due to the nature of work in the retail industry which may cause fatigue and stress. The CDC notes that the nonstandard work schedules such as irregular and extended shifts, long periods of standing, and reduced staffing are some of the modes of work that cause health issues related to job fatigue and stress among retail employees.
Considering that the retail industry supports more than one in four American jobs, employers have increased pressure to maintain a healthy and productive workforce. However, the extent to which this fact has motivated increased safety in the retail industry is still unknown.
5. Being struck by or against
Workers in the retail industry are also in danger of being struck by something or colliding with anything. Items not correctly arranged on shelves may tumble over and crush an employee. Depending on the power of the hit and the sort of object that impacted the worker, these injuries might range from minor to serious.
Every year, about 700 workplace deaths are recorded due to these types of incidents, while hundreds of thousands are injured. In 2020, 716 workers died, and 196,140 were injured.
6. Knives, Box cutters, and other sharp objects
Cuts and bruises from knives, box cutters, and other sharp objects may seem harmless. Surprisingly, this research found that cuts, punctures, scrapes, bruises, burns, muscle strain or sprain from slips and falls, and other related injuries account for up to 265 days of lost time in restaurants. And a whopping $198.4 million in paid loss- for slips and falls only.
Inadequate training, failure to utilize appropriate personal protective equipment, failure to follow established safety protocols, and employees who are in a rush and take shortcuts are all common causes of retail workplace hazards.
7. Forklifts and pallet jacks
On March 23, 2013, a 19-year-old male employee lost control of a pallet jack, lost control of the pallet jack, lost his balance, and fell off, crushing his foot between the lift truck and a pallet rack.
This is just one of many cases of injuries caused by forklifts and pallet jacks in the retail industry. When the injury does not lead to death, the victim always suffers fatal damages.
In the case of the male employee above, the injury was even more severe because he wasn’t wearing appropriate footwear that would protect him from crushing injuries.
The moving components of mechanical equipment are responsible for many job risks. Bending, punching, pulling, caught-in, caught-on, and crush accidents are caused by mechanical risks, which can cut, crush, shatter bones, strain muscles, and result in further and even more catastrophic injuries.
8. Loud or intermittent noise
According to OSHA, exposure to excessive noise levels can result in permanent hearing loss that cannot be corrected with surgery or a hearing device. Exposure to strong noise can temporarily alter your hearing (your ears may feel blocked up) or cause ringing in your ears, even if the noise pollution is only temporary.
World Green Building Council (GBC) found that noise pollution at shopping malls produces a wide range of medical and behavioral effects, including earache or discomfort, annoyance, anxiety, and lower productivity; according to research by the World Green Building Council (GBC). These consequences can drive customers away, reduce employee happiness, and, as a result, negatively influence store earnings.
Employing proactive safety software helps maintain a safe working environment.
Investing in the right safety software is one of the approaches to maintaining a safe working environment. The statistics and facts above show that injuries related to slip, trip, and fall, struck by or against, and forklift/pallet jacks have the highest potential for severe consequences.
Due to its predictive technology and robust analytical insights, workplace safety software are integral to preventing the most dangerous causes of workplace injuries in the retail industry.
Traditionally, the procedure for preventing STF-related injuries among retail employees might follow a process like this:
- The organization identifies STF risks
- Prevents STF by carefully disposing of packing materials, fixing the leak in the pipeline, etc.
- Contains liquid spills with floor mat
- Removes spills with absorbent
- Task employees with carrying out routine facility inspections for leaks or liquid spills
This is a great start.
However, considering that retail employees are often overexerted, overworked, and stressed, as we have mentioned above, the procedure above might be insufficient, especially on days when a supermarket (for instance) is busier than usual.
Conversely, employing the predictive ability of our AI-powered safety software helps you stay ahead of the risks of workplace injuries. For instance, the software is programmed to detect water spills from any angle of the facility, even on the busiest day, and alert the facility manager. Similarly, it can detect an anomaly when objects are stacked inappropriately, preventing struck-by or against injuries before they happen.
Want to see how it works in real-time? Check here.
This article was written for beglobalsafety.com
