The manufacturing sector is one of the busiest and most dangerous industries for workers. Places like factories, construction sites, and warehouses are notorious for their hazardous environment and high susceptibility to workplace injuries. According to the International Labor Organization, about 2 million women and men die yearly from work-related accidents or diseases. This means that more than 6,000 deaths occur every day because of these brutal conditions.
Hence as an employer, you must take the necessary measures to ensure your workers are safe and healthy. Factories don’t make for an ideal working environment, and your employees may suffer numerous health ailments that can potentially be life-threatening. Therefore, your best move forward is to screen your workers and get updated on their health status. But how does this help? Here’s what you need to know:
- Health Screenings Can Detect Dangerous Ailments Early
Factory workers are constantly exposed to different chemicals, dust, and fumes. These gradually build up in their system and can lead to complications like severe pain, vomiting, blood in their sputum, or high fever. For instance, active factory workers around the 1940s to the early 1980s may have been exposed to high levels of asbestos. This was a popular raw ingredient used heavily by the industrial sector to manufacture goods.
Asbestos is a microscopic fiber that makes it airborne and easy to inhale. Eventually, these fibers can clump up, especially in areas like the lungs, and cause immense distress to the patient. Asbestos-related ailments like pleural mesothelioma cancer take decades to express themselves, but once the symptoms start, it is hard to get treated.
Most mesothelioma cases get detected around the fourth stage, which can drastically reduce the chances of survival. Therefore by early screening and regular appointments, you can ensure that if your worker has any benign condition developing in their body, they can get treated immediately. This prevents the illness from festering and getting worse with time, which saves them and is much more affordable to treat.
- Filters Workers Who Have Dependency Issues
Health screenings not only look for diseases but can also inform you about your worker’s lifestyles. If your employee has a habit of abusing substances, it will appear in their screening exam. As a result, you’ll be able to handle such workers appropriately and ensure that they look into getting help before they’re eligible to work for you again.
Substance abuse is a menace. It can make workers reckless, careless, and perilous to others around them. They may find it hard to focus on work and instead find ways to sneak out and satisfy their cravings. This is not a good reflection on your company standards and can also jeopardize the quality of your goods. Hence if you want to know the kind of workers you’re dealing with, it’s best to get them screened.
- Helps Improve OSHA Standards
Screening informs you what ailment your workers are commonly facing. This can tell you what part of the factory needs improving and what area is distressing your workers. For example, if there is a high metal level in the blood reports of all your workers, you must identify the source. Perhaps the drinking water is contaminated, or your workers are inhaling metal dust that is appearing in their blood work; in both cases, you need to take safety standards up a notch. This may include filtering drinking water and keeping the liquid away from the factory site, or it may involve providing your workers with a better face mask, such as the N95, that can prevent most particles from crossing the barrier.
In general, health screenings offer you valuable insight into what diseases workers are combatting and allow you to work on your factory in a precise manner. Sometimes the safety standards you have in place may not be enough to keep your workers healthy, which is why routine screenings can help.
- Boosts Employee Morale
The manufacturing sector is notorious for making workers feel like they’re expendable. It doesn’t help that most factories have deplorable working conditions with no safety regulations that can make workers feel exploited. If you make health screening mandatory, you may earn your workers’ trust and respect. A simple act of arranging for health screenings encourages your workers to trust you and keeps them in good shape. This, in turn, boosts their morale and motivates them to work harder. A solid relationship with your employees can also help you enhance efficiency and maximize workplace productivity. In general, for any sector to thrive, trust is essential.
- Reduces the Cost of Replacing A Worker
Factories need a constant supply of workers at all times. Therefore if you lose a worker, you need to fill their position immediately, but this is not easy. According to the Center for American Progress, replacing a worker costs immense money. For workers that earn less than $30,000 a year, it costs about $4,800 to hire new talent.
Sometimes you may even need to spend more if the worker is new, requires extensive training, and is struggling to keep up with the workload. On the other hand, registering your employees for regular screening and getting them treated right away is a much more affordable and cost-effective option for your factory. A simple act of health screening is enough to keep your factory afloat.
Final Thoughts
Health screenings benefit you and your workers alike. As an employer, the health and well-being of your workers fall on your shoulders, so you need to be willing to go the extra mile for them. One way you can do this is by arranging for routine screening exams. This checkup lets you keep tabs on your employees’ health and ensure they’re doing well.
Health screening can provide numerous insights, such as detecting hazardous conditions before they get out of hand and informing you about your worker’s lifestyle choices. Furthermore, caring for your employees encourages them to trust you and boosts their productivity on a massive scale. Finally, you save the costs of replacing older workers with new ones, which can also put you behind schedule and cause a discrepancy in the manufacturing process.
