Creativity And Workplace Safety: Proactive Safety Practices Are Vital In Preventing Employee Injuries

Today's workplace is filled with hazards that can impact the overall success of an organization. Workplace injuries caused by such hazards can significantly affect the operation of an entire organization. Therefore, how to manage organizational safety issues has become a challenge in various industries. The concerns about workplace safety are forcing companies to reevaluate their operations and safety management practices in order to become more safety conscious while remaining competitive.An effective and progressive approach that is currently being taught and used in industry, places emphasis on proactive safety programs. Through the use of creativity concepts and techniques, proactive thinking can be developed to help identify and correct hazardous situations before injuries occur.As future leaders and professionals in industry, it's important for engineering and technology students to develop skills in proactive thinking to reduce workplace injuries.This paper will discuss how creativity concepts and techniques can be used to develop proactive thinking in order to reduce job related injuries. Common workplace safety concerns and proactive strategies to prevent employee injuries will be identified. The authors will also provide ideas on how engineering and technology faculty can incorporate workplace safety concerns into their courses to help prepare students for future leadership responsibilities in the 21st century workplace.