Around the world, every year, some 2.3 million people kiss the dust—and their deaths aren’t simply a result of a random car crash or a heart attack. These numbers are only for the number of people who die while at work—and while thinking they’re safe and sound.

For most people their workplaces are like a second home: which is also why they perceive no threats while at work. This is exactly the kind of lax attitude which results in injury, illnesses, and even death, as the numbers aforesaid suggest. Millions of people around the globe dying at work has of late, started to rouse employers. The general health and wellbeing of their workers, in addition to the losses their businesses have to face has become a major concern—and this blog aims to explain why.

The Blow to the Business

If someone placed a bomb at your factory, causing it to literally blow up, would your losses be worse than what you’re facing now? It might not appear that not having workers trained in basic workplace safety and first aid is tantamount to having your workplace blow up, but think about it: approximately 300 Canadians die and 240,000 are injured at work on a yearly basis.

These numbers indicate an alarming problem being ignored. You might hear of a man dying at a construction factory or a woman being killed by a rogue robot (yes, it actually happened), but the alacrity of the problem fails to shock you. Unless someone tells you that 300 people die on a yearly basis—and the stuffing together of the numbers in bulk does the trick.

Workplace freak accidents, muscular or heart-related problems, and fatalities aren’t just a record of dead employees (which by the way mounts by the month). They’re also affecting businesses at a large scale. The more accidents and fatalities, the more your workers are rendered unable to perform and deliver. Absences are frequent and there’s a generally low quality of health at the workplace. Since a company is only as good as its employees, losing workers to ailment and injury is injurious to your business goals.

The Unnecessary Loss of Life

People die. It happens all the time. In the course of a year 55 million people die in the world, and over 200,000 people die in Canada specifically on a yearly basis. But most of these people die unpreventable, inevitable deaths: heart attacks and cancer, road injuries and AIDS, suicides and chronic diseases of the respiratory track, etc. In most of the cases, people die natural deaths—and most of the 2.3 million people dying around the world in a year while at work die perfectly preventable deaths. Given timely action and basic knowledge of first aid, most of the people who die at work could have been saved. They suffered because not one person on site knew how to respond correctly to the situation as it spiraled out of hand.

How Workplace Safety Training Helps

Workplace Safety Training

It starts by making your workers more aware of the dangers and risks they’re facing while at the most innocuous-looking of workplaces. A heightened awareness is directly proportional to increased vigilance, which is in itself enough to prevent minor accidents—such as knowing how to safely move about in a confined space. Basic first aid training equips workers with the knowledge and expertise which they can utilize without wasting a minute in any situation. There’s no waiting for doctors, ambulances, or paramedics. The workers are no longer dependent on a third party to save them but can take matters into their hands from the get-go.

Equip Your Workers with All the Safety Skills They Need

We at Metro Safety have been providing workers with courses related to workplace safety and first aid since 2008. With a decade in the industry and countless valuable clients, we continue to impart professional technical knowledge and skills, helping arm workers with skills that keep them safe. We work across all kinds of industries and train workers across different levels. Give us a call at 604-521-4227 or get in touch to give your workers the training they deserve. We offer first aid courses Burnaby and across Vancouver, Coquitlam, Richmond, and Surrey.