How to Prevent Facility Disasters with Safety Digital Signage

Digital signage software is vital to companies across multiple industries. It offers dozens of uses, and a big one is safety. Here's an example of how a digital signage solution can prevent facility disasters.

A major manufacturing facility recently had a fire, causing it to be offline for over six months. Upon investigation, an employee had been using a piece of equipment improperly. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed. After this mishap, the facility's leadership team reviewed different ways to cut internal costs and decided that ultimately digital signage was a line item that could get cut.

A few months later, they had a second major fire stemming from a different employee also misusing equipment. This incident may have been prevented with digital signage in place running fire prevention and safety content.

Workplace fires and other catastrophic issues can be prevented, especially when they are caused by employees using equipment or materials in an unsafe way (which is one of the top causes of workplace fires). Digital signage is an essential tool to mitigate the risk of disasters on the job.

Workplace accidents and disasters are caused primarily by just a handful of reasons. If the root cause can be proactively addressed, it minimizes the risk of it snowballing into a facility disaster. Let's look at how digital signage software can help prevent each type.

Slips, trips, and falls. These accidents can cause serious injury or death. Stepladders, slick floors, steps, poor lighting, inadequate footwear, a messy workspace, tired employees, and uneven flooring are the usual culprits. Injuries can range from a small bruise to head injuries and broken bones.

How digital signage helps. Safety content reminders to keep every employee alert for issues is key. Notices to keep workspaces uncluttered and the floor dry, alerting maintenance to quickly replace burned out light bulbs and repair uneven flooring, and periodically sharing reminders about wearing proper footwear all alleviate the instances of disasters on the floor are proactive ways to prevent the issues that cause slip and falls.

Misusing equipment. Taking shortcuts, not securing materials properly, climbing on items other than ladders, and using tools or machinery on tasks they weren't designed for is a recipe for disaster. Serious injuries or fatalities from burns, explosions, electrocutions, falls, and being stuck in or struck by moving machinery or materials can occur from misusing equipment.

How digital signage helps. Consistent digital content helps keep every employee vigilant of the dangers of using equipment incorrectly. Share videos showcasing the way to use equipment, promote reminders, and applaud employees for a certain number of days worked without accidents. Post pictures of employees using equipment correctly. Whether the employee is green or overconfident, they will be able to relate to these messages.

Distracted workers. Employees who are overworked, thinking about personal problems, or under the influence of drugs are alcohol can end up causing disastrous accidents. Loud music, chatting with co-workers, and checking text messages can be disruptive and unsafe, too. A mere couple of seconds of inattentiveness can cause a serious or fatal accident.

How digital signage helps. Digital messaging reminding employees to stay alert and even encouraging them to take their breaks can help avoid workplace disasters. A Do’s and Don’ts list that showcases how to avoid getting distracted with eye-catching graphics or video (in a location besides the factory floor, of course) drives home why concentration and focus is important.

Faulty equipment. Maintenance is vital in a workplace facility. Missing safety guards, poorly maintained electrical outlets, broken parts, and lack of general equipment maintenance can have dire consequences in the workplace. Fire hazards, explosions, leaks, and electrocution are just some of the disasters that can occur if a top priority isn't placed on equipment safety.

How digital signage helps. A regular message campaign centering around maintaining the facility's equipment is necessary and works far better than a sign or poster that easily fades into the background over time. Notices that it's time for the daily/weekly/monthly equipment checks, and reminders to look at the instruction manual of how to service a piece of equipment keeps this at the top of every employee's mind.

Investing in digital signage software takes resources from the budget, so it makes sense to do everything possible to make the return on investment (ROI) worth the cost. When using digital signage messaging to prevent facility disasters and promote smart safety practices, keep these tips in mind.

• Location matters. Choosing where to locate your digital signage displays is important, the use of safety messaging needs to be strategic. After all, you don't want to add to the risk of distraction by putting them too close to the workspace. A high traffic area like the locker room or break room where employees relax and spend their free time is a good idea.
• Employ more than words. Pictures, graphs, charts, and perhaps best of all, videos are clever ways to get and hold your employee's attention. The safety message can be conveyed faster and is less boring than requiring them to read several wordy paragraphs of safety information.
• Share the positive with the negative. Instead of coming down hard about employee shortcomings all the time, acknowledge and celebrate the safety successes your team accomplishes. Showcase how many days have been worked without an accident, injury or name a "Safety Superstar" every week. You can do all this with your digital signage platform.

Mitigating the chance of accidents and injuries is critical to the safety of your employees and workplace. By investing in digital signage software, your company gains a valuable tool to help keep your staff focused on and aware of safety protocols.