Employee Handbook Templates

By Diane Dennis

Employee handbook templates - there's a good reason that many of my readers are asking me for recommendations. They're seeing an ever-increasing risk of death and/or injury to their employees.

Did you know that 17.5% of all worker fatalities in the U.S. in 2011 were in the construction industry?

Are YOUR employees at risk? Chances are that the answer to that question is a resounding YES!

Per OSHA the leading causes (known as the "Fatal Four") of worker deaths on construction sites were:

• Falls: 251 out of 721 total deaths in construction in CY 2011 (35%)

• Electrocutions: 67 (9%)

• Struck by Object: 73 (10%)

• Caught-in/between: 19 (3%)

721 deaths (that doesn't even include injuries and illnesses) equals 2.77 construction workers dying every single work day for an entire year! And that doesn't take into account injuries and illnesses.

In addition, these "Fatal Four" causes were responsible for nearly three out of five (57%) of those construction worker deaths.

Eliminating the Fatal Four would save 410 construction workers lives in America every year.

An employee handbook is essential in reducing and eliminating accidents.

The top 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards violated in FY2011:

• Scaffolding, general requirements, construction (29 CFR 1926.451)

• Fall protection, construction (29 CFR 1926.501)

• Hazard communication standard, general industry (29 CFR 1910.1200)

• Respiratory protection, general industry (29 CFR 1910.134)

• Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), general industry (29 CFR 1910.147)

• Electrical, wiring methods, components and equipment, general industry (29 CFR 1910.305)

• Powered industrial trucks, general industry (29 CFR 1910.178)

• Ladders, construction (29 CFR 1926.1053)

• Electrical systems design, general requirements, general industry (29 CFR 1910.303)

• Machine guarding (machines, general requirements, general industry) (29 CFR 1910.212)

These dangers need to be addressed, these risks need to be managed, your workers need to be protected - and the fines for not doing so could put you out of business.

Employee handbooks are the simple, easy solution; everything's in writing, no questions...

All employees are at risk, whether from their own actions or one of your other employee's actions

Think you don't need a handbook because some or all of your workers are family and/or friends?

That thinking could have serious consequences for your company!

If you don't already have an employee handbook don't waste any more time - get it together. You may end up saving the life of one of your workers and you may save your company from business-breaking lawsuits and/or fines from OSHA.

*Some of the above information is courtesy of the OSHA website.

Be Safe!
Di-

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