As per Statista, 2024 data, 15.43% of workplace injuries in the USA account for exposure to harmful substances and environments. It not only jeopardizes employee’s health or livelihoods but also substantially reduces business productivity. Moreover, it hampers business reputation and involves high cost implications, involving fines and injured workers’ compensation. However, regular inspection and hygiene management is a matter of concern for most businesses. Hiring certified industrial hygienists is the best solution to solve such obligations beyond production work.
The following section of the blog would discuss how industrial hygienists work. Additionally, the blog would explore the ways in which businesses can benefit from collaborating with qualified industrial hygienists.
The Responsibilities of Industrial Hygienists
Industrial hygienists possess the scientific knowledge and expertise to inspect, identify and mitigate workplace exposure to hazardous substances. Businesses working with heavy chemical and toxic substances are exposed to mainly five categories of hazards including. These are chemical, biological, physical, and ergonomic. Along with these noise pollution is also inspected and regulated by industrial hygienists.
They follow a systematic process following the step-by-step procedure to keep your industrial workplace safe and hygienic. These steps are:
- Workplace Inspection : The first step is to inspect your worksite, the kind of operation, work structure and methods. This inspection will inform them about whether your workplace is under risk or not.
- Identifying the Hazards : By applying scientific inspection they can identify whether your worksite is exposed to environmental risks or not. The extent of the exposure determines the level of risk.
- Assessment of Exposure : After identifying the hazardous substances, they inspect the rate of exposure.
- Checking the Exposure : The next step is to come up with a mitigation solution following the governmental regulatory guidance.
- Evaluation and Approval : After taking preventive measures it needs to be evaluated and approved whether the measures taken are adequate or not.
Key Advantages of Collaborating with Certified Industrial Hygienists
Every business working with harmful substances or processes would benefit by including an industrial hygienist in their team. Industrial hygienists possess the scientific expertise to judge the level of workplace exposure to harmful substances and take necessary steps. Below are some of the compelling reasons to hire environmental consultants.
1. Enhance Productivity
Work productivity is influenced by various factors apart from individual expertise and knowledge. One of the major factors is work environment and safety. People working in heavy industries are often exposed to harmful chemicals that are responsible for multiple medical conditions. Some of these include silica dust allergies, musculoskeletal conditions and many more.
These health conditions cause irreparable damage to workers’ health. As a result they fail to perform at the best of their abilities. Moreover, working in an unhygienic environment disrupts workers’ motivation to work. Industrial hygienists can ensure a safe and secure work environment for your employees enduring optimum workers’ productivity.
2. Reduce Overhead Cost
By hiring industrial hygienists companies can avoid overhead costs in the form of healthcare compensation to injured employees. These costs are exorbitant as medical costs are the highest in the USA. Moreover, many employees require long term medical help to recover from serious illnesses implying unbound cost implications for your business. Hiring industrial hygienists is much more cost effective than paying hefty medical insurance for multiple workers.
3. Avoid Absenteeism
Workers absenteeism is a major concern for work production rate. Long term medical leaves of employees cause workflow disruptions reducing profit margins. Exposure to harmful substances can lead to long term health impairment that keeps workers away from work. It is the sole responsibility of the businesses to ensure workplace safety. Industrial hygienists are the best partner of businesses to ensure a clean environment for employees ensuring unhindered workflow and production.
4. Professionalism and Reputation
Ensuring a safe and hygienic work environment is mandated by the government as part of corporate social responsibility. Companies are supposed to allot 2% of their profit for meeting their CSR duties. Investing in industrial hygienists must be prioritized within these 2% CSR. Moreover, It enhances compliance with CSR rules, significantly enhances business reputation and showcases their professionalism.
5. Employee Replacement Costs
Lastly, another cost implication of workplace injuries is worker replacement costs. Many employees take long term leave and companies need to conduct fresh hiring. Arranging the hiring process is cost intensive and time consuming. Moreover, the new joiners required training which would lead to additional cost and can slow down productivity. Instead of shouldering these additional burdens, companies can benefit a great deal by investing in certified industrial hygienists.
Summary
Businesses working in heavy industries must invest in certified industrial hygienists to ensure safe and secure worksites. Exposure to harmful substances can lead to long term health impairments in workers. This has a chain effect on business productivity. Thus, investing for an experienced industrial hygienist is extremely advantageous for businesses.