If you own a garage that employs one or more mechanics, panel beaters, valetors, trades or administration staff, your motor trade insurance must also include Employer Liability cover, which protects your employees in the case of workplace incidents.

As a responsible employer you want to minimise the risk of accidents in the workplace or illnesses caused by the nature of the work taking place. Garages hide many pitfalls on a daily basis, so here are a few things you can do to keep your garage employees safe at work:

Trips and Falls

Falling, tripping and slipping is very common in garages, but so often these accidents are avoidable. There is a lot of equipment that can be fallen over if left lying around: cables, jacks, tools.

The key to avoiding falling or tripping is to keep the garage as tidy and organised as possible. Train employees early on to put equipment away when they have finished with it. Or if they are still using it, keep it away from walkways, or somewhere it cannot be seen.

With the many liquids used in car repair, slipping is also an occupational hazard. Make it common practise to mop up any spills as soon as they occur, remembering that oil and similar fluids can need extra cleaning,

Keeping eyes safe

It’s not only sharp items sticking out of cars and equipment that can be harmful to eyes. There can also be a lot of dangerous particles from metal flying around, as well as flicks of paint or other liquids.

The best way to protect against injury is by always wearing protective eyewear, such as googles. It should become common practise and second nature to put eye protection on as soon as you start work. There are many serious consequences to eye injuries, so it’s not worth taking any risks.

Burns

The best way to prevent burn injuries is to prevent fires or spills. There are a multitude of flammable liquids and parts in a garage, so it’s highly important to make sure these items do not get into the wrong hands and are carefully handled.

Make sure anything containing flammable liquid is tightly sealed and far away from anything hot. And there should never be any smoking in the garage!

Again, prevention is the best way to keep safe from burns, but always make sure your building is fire safe; it should have an escape route, fire extinguishers and smoke alarms.

Back and joint injuries

There are often heavy car parts and equipment to be lifted or moved. These maneuvers should always be carried out safely and properly, or else they can lead to short term and long term back, muscle and joint injuries.

Mechanics should also make sure that they are not working in the same position for long periods of time, especially if it’s putting pressure on any part of the body.

Training in manual handling and good monitoring of employees should make sure that they are observing safe working practices and minimising the risk of personal injury.

Equipment

Make sure all your equipment is safe for use and properly stored. In particularly the likes of lifts which requires statutory Inspections Checks. If you require the equipment assessed and inspected Britton Insurance can offer you advice on an engineering Insurance policy. In many cases this can be added on as an additional cover on your garage policy.