What is health and safety at work?
Workplace health and safety refers to all measures implemented to ensure employees' physical and mental well-being. It's not only about preventing accidents or work-related fatalities, or complying with legal obligations. It's about creating a healthy, safe, and fulfilling work environment where psychosocial and physical risks are identified, controlled, and reduced through a process of continuous prevention.
Employee health
Employee health at work covers two concepts:
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Physical health: This includes preventing both long-term physical hazards (musculoskeletal disorders, awkward postures, untreated work-related illnesses, etc.) and immediate physical hazards (dangerous machinery, falls, exposure to chemicals, noise, vibrations, heat, etc.).
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Mental health: Managing stress and fatigue, preventing burnout, addressing psychological violence, and promoting work-life balance are all essential for employee well-being – an important aspect of workplace health that directly impacts quality and productivity.
Employee safety
Workplace safety refers to the measures in place to protect workers from accidents. It includes:
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Physical safety: This encompasses the prevention of hazards such as falls, impacts, cuts, crushing injuries, poisoning, fires, etc.
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Psychological safety: Measures in place to protect individuals from harassment, poorly managed conflicts, excessive pressure, and psychological threats.
The roles of key stakeholders in workplace health and safety
Occupational health and safety is based on shared responsibility at all levels within and outside the organization. Each stakeholder plays a key role in the overall system, whether in decision-making, monitoring, or technical support.
The employer
According to safety legislation, the employer must provide a safe and healthy workplace. They bear the primary responsibility for health and safety at work, as they incur civil liability in case of accidents or non-compliance with the Labor Code.
This responsibility is even more strategic in the manufacturing sector as it involves the physical safety of teams often exposed to complex environments. The employer must ensure that solid safety practices are implemented to protect employees by adopting a good health and safety management framework tailored to operational realities.
The employees
Workers on the shop floor are both exposed to occupational risks and involved in preventing them. This critical role gives them legitimacy to perform risk assessments and identify potential hazards. Their involvement is essential for any health and safety policy to take shape in operational reality.
Worker representatives
Health and safety committees typically include worker and employer representatives. Their role is to ensure ongoing dialogue on workplace safety and health issues, relay concerns from the floor, and participate in developing solutions.
Unions ensure that health and safety rights are respected and support workers in case of incidents of violations of the employer's legal obligation.
Middle managers and supervisors
Foremen, team leaders, and frontline managers play a key role as they translate WHS policies into daily behaviors. Acting as a bridge between management and frontline teams, their strategic position enables them to uphold the WHS culture at all operational levels.
Human resources
Human resources play a central role in integrating health and safety matters throughout an employee's career path. HR is involved at key moments such as recruitment, onboarding, training, absence management, and return to work, which gives them many opportunities to raise awareness among workers about the critical importance of health and safety in the workplace and the prevention of occupational risks.
The negative effects of neglecting WHS
In industrial and manufacturing sectors, work environments are typically complex and potentially dangerous, with varying levels of risk for workers. Several industry-specific factors can explain this situation: heavy equipment, moving machinery, use of hazardous substances, industrial dust, loud noise, physically demanding tasks, and atypical schedules, heat, etc.
The lack of appropriate measures or negligence in dealing with these occupational risks has harmful consequences for organizations.
Direct and indirect costs of workplace accidents
The total cost of workplace injuries in 2023 was US$176.5 billion. This figure includes wage and productivity losses of US$53.1 billion, medical expenses of US$36.8 billion, and administrative expenses of US$59.5 billion.
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Direct costs: Medical expenses, compensation, time off, investigations, increased insurance premiums.
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Indirect costs: Reduced productivity, operational disruption, loss of talents, demotivated staff, higher turnover, and tarnished image.
Inadequate workplace safety measures can harm employee health, leading to higher insurance premiums and potential legal or contractual penalties. Beyond the financial consequences, they can also severely damage team engagement and morale.
Human and organizational repercussions
An accident affects more than just the victim. It affects their colleagues, work chain, manager, and sometimes the company's reputation. A poor health and safety culture leads to mistrust, insecurity, and increased staff turnover.
WHS must be seen as an investment, not a burden. Companies that promote good health and safe work environments reap long-term benefits and a real competitive advantage.
The importance of health and safety in the workplace
Significant cost reduction
As mentioned, accidents and illnesses related to occupational safety can generate colossal expenses. Implementing a proactive safety-health approach helps reduce direct costs and avoid indirect costs.
Increased productivity and quality
Healthy workers – physically and mentally – who feel safe are naturally more focused, efficient, and less absent.
The equation is simple: fewer disruptions = more stability = higher performance.
A good health and safety policy also promotes more rigorous task execution, with fewer errors or rework, especially for production lines or critical quality control operations.
Strengthened employee satisfaction and engagement
When an employer provides a safe workplace and shows genuine care for employees, workers tend to respond with higher engagement, increased job satisfaction and loyalty, and a more collaborative work environment.
With labor shortages in the manufacturing industry, this criterion has become strategic for attracting and retaining top talents.
Healthier and more serene work environment
Rigorous health and safety protocols help establish trust and mutual respect within the organization. When working conditions are safe and risks are taken seriously, tensions decrease, conflicts are less frequent, and interpersonal relationships become more fluid.
A positive workplace safety culture contributes to a calm and cooperative climate, protecting employees and improving health across teams.
Increased ability to innovate and adapt
A safe workplace creates an environment where employees feel listened to, supported, and involved. It promotes finding solutions, sharing improvement ideas, and building collective resilience when facing change or unexpected events.
Improved company reputation
Partners, customers, and investors increasingly value companies with a strong corporate social responsibility. An organization known for exceptional health and safety performance enjoys a stronger reputation, reassures stakeholders, and may even benefit from reduced insurance premiums or regulatory advantages.
7 Best practices to maintain a high level of health and safety at work
Implementing effective safety and health programs relies on concrete and consistent actions, executed over time and supported by strong leadership. Well-designed safety programs play a positive role in the company's operation and in workers' daily lives.
1. Get visible, long-term commitment from leadership
A WHS culture starts at the top. Leaders must be actively involved and embody prevention of occupational risks every day. This involves:
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Direct participation in WHS meetings or initiatives (e.g., prevention actions and campaigns, audits, dedicated committees, etc.).
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Transparent allocation of human and budgetary resources.
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Integration of WHS matters into business objectives (WHS key performance indicators in strategic dashboards).
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Constantly setting an example by prioritizing employee well-being and enforcing workplace safety regulations.
2. Continuously identify and assess risks
Prevention measures cannot succeed without in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of workplace risks specific to each position, task, or environment. In the manufacturing industry, such vigilance must be continuous as risks evolve depending on equipment, processes, or work organization.
Effective practices include:
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Risk analyses by position or process (criticality matrices).
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Structured shop floor observations (targeted Gemba Walks).
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Regular internal audits.
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Systematic reporting of incidents, near misses, and anomalies.
This information must be recorded and analyzed to contribute to continuous improvement. Each feedback or unfortunate event must become an opportunity for adjustment, reinforcement, or preventive innovation.
3. Establish clear and appropriate safety rules and procedures
Safety procedures are only effective if they are clearly understood, consistently followed, and regularly updated. Too often, these protocols remain theoretical, overly complex, or poorly communicated. To be effective, they must be:
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Specific to each position or area.
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Accessible (clear signage, digital formats, posted in the right places).
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Reviewed regularly, especially after an incident, a technical change, or feedback.
This also includes the installation and maintenance of appropriate safety equipment – including personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, helmets, or safety goggles – and the implementation of clear and visual instructions like pictograms, concise wording, and color codes.
4. Offer rigorous and regular training
Training employees on risks, equipment, emergency responses, and safety practices is essential to strengthen individual and collective accountability. This applies to all hierarchical levels.
Appropriate training must include:
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Initial and periodic training, tailored to environment-specific risks.
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Accident simulations to reinforce good reflexes.
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E-learning modules to reinforce knowledge between formal sessions.
Implementing mental health awareness programs is just as important, especially those that include modules on stress management, building resilience, and preventing burnout. Although these psychological risk factors are often invisible, they are very real and deserve the same level of attention as physical hazards like mechanical or chemical hazards.
5. Actively involve employees at all levels
Workers must fully embrace WHS initiatives for them to succeed. After all, they are best positioned to detect issues on site, find solutions, and report gaps.
Here are some concrete ways to involve employees:
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Continuous improvement groups with a WHS component.
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Participation in audits and floor inspections.
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Feedback system to report risks or improve safety guidelines and procedures.
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Recognition of safe behaviors.
When teams actively participate, they not only report WHS issues but also help prevent incidents and stop them from happening again.
6. Communicate with transparency, regularly
Information regarding risks and health and safety measures must flow smoothly. Effective communication is:
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Transparent about occupational risks, incidents, and lessons learned.
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Frequent, either integrated into daily or weekly meetings.
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Interactive with feedback and active listening mechanisms.
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Multichannel (displays, meetings, mobile apps, etc.).
7. Digitalize WHS processes
Digital tools, including dedicated safety software, structure and automate WHS processes, while facilitating team involvement. They help ensure that safety protocols are consistently followed and reviewed based on real-time data.
They provide:
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Digital reporting forms, accessible from tablets or phones.
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WHS checklists for monitoring safety standards on the floor.
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Dedicated dashboards integrating key WHS indicators in real time.
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Automatic reminders for inspections and training.
Digitalization amplifies the WHS company culture and accelerates its spread throughout the organization, creating routines that keep this vitally important topic top of mind.
How UTrakk supports health and safety in the workplace
Safety software enables structured and responsive management of WHS matters, while ensuring rigorous follow-up of corrective and preventive actions.
The UTrakk Daily Management System (DMS) helps proactively identify occupational risks, prevent incidents, and monitor WHS measures through powerful features designed to support employees on the shop floor:
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Digital Gemba Walks: Routine floor inspections allow for the quick detection of risks, identification of safety issues, and prompt initiation of corrective actions. They also ensure that management maintains a regular presence in the shop floor – an essential element of a strong WHS culture.
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Digital audits: UTrakk digitalizes the entire WHS audit process – from scheduling periodic audits to compiling data and creating checklists. By standardizing and integrating these audits into regular routines, the solution helps identify risks proactively, log hazards instantly, and ensure that corrective actions are implemented without delay.
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Checklists: With customized checklists, critical health and safety control points can be rigorously and systematically monitored. These lists make it easier to identify potential hazards before they cause an incident and ensure complete traceability of observations, strengthening occupational risk prevention.
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Management rituals: UTrakk helps structure daily or weekly meetings dedicated to health and safety, making it easier to prioritize WHS issues, follow-up on incidents or near misses, and ensure ongoing communication between frontline teams and management.
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Interactive dashboards: The DMS solution enables the creation of dashboards focused on WHS indicators, using tools like safety crosses, absenteeism rates, and diagrams of incidents by cause. Trend analysis helps anticipate risks, respond quickly to issues, and make informed decisions to enhance preventive measures.
By keeping management connected to the reality of the floor and promoting transparency around WHS matters, UTrakk helps build a healthy and safe workplace for the long-term.
Workplace health and safety: A pillar of performance in Industry 5.0
The challenges in health and safety at work are numerous for industrial and manufacturing organizations, but the opportunities for transformation are immense. Prioritizing health and safety means protecting people, improving processes, reducing costs, and building a resilient, efficient, and attractive company.
In a context marked by the rise of connected technologies, the digitalization of processes, new generations' search for purpose, and the emergence of Industry 5.0 – a people-centric revolution – occupational health and safety naturally becomes a priority.
A shift in health and safety programs is essential: the focus must move from reacting to incidents to proactively anticipating risks, empowering teams, and engaging employees through best practices and digital tools like UTrakk. When manufacturers place WHS at the core of their culture, they can prevent hazards and foster healthy work environments – key drivers of operational excellence.
The future belongs to companies that view the health and safety of their workers not just as a legal requirement, but as a core value and a driver of performance. Organizations that genuinely care for their employees and invest in their people will be the ones to thrive in the Industry 5.0 era.
