As you consider the safety of your classrooms, storage will almost always be a hot button issue with teachers and staff members alike. From textbooks to art supplies, teachers are challenged with organizing their classroom assets and maintaining a functional learning environment, making the most of tight quarters.
We encourage you to take a look at your unique classroom storage scenarios and approach each storage challenge with a focus on safety and injury prevention. As you tour your school classrooms, here are a few questions you should ask.
How Did It Get Up There?
If you encounter supply boxes stacked up to their ceiling, your first concern might be whether those items will fall, and rightly so. But if you are focusing on long-term safety and wellbeing, you also need to consider how those items were stacked in the first place. Did a teacher climb on a chair or desk to stack the items? Did the teacher lift a heavy object over their head? To minimize workers’ compensation claims and injury hazards in the classroom, you’ll need to consider each scenario from every safety point of view.
The R&R Insurance Recommendation
R&R Insurance believes in providing advice and resources to help schools minimize risks in the classroom. When it comes to classroom storage, we often encourage schools to create a storage policy that outlines a few key factors, including:
- Appropriate items to be stored
- Safe storage locations
- Height restrictions on storage items
- Weight limits on stacked items
- Staff assigned to move heavy objects
- Proper lifting procedures
With a policy in place, you can educate your staff members on best practices to help minimize injury and maintain a safe learning environment.
How Will It Come Down Safely?
If you see a hazard in a classroom your first instinct will often be to correct or eliminate the problem immediately. If items are stacked in a classroom, how can you remove those items safety? You might also question how the teacher was planning to safely remove the items and what standards you have in place to appropriately manage such hazards.
The R&R Insurance Recommendation
Focusing on being proactive, R&R Insurance would recommend educating staff members on proper storage protocol. If you draft a policy on who can add and remove items from storage spaces, you can ensure that appointed staff members follow proper safety recommendations. Simple things like using an approved ladder to reach an overhead item instead of standing on a chair, or using proper lifting technique, are very important safety considerations. By placing a focus on proper procedure, you can minimize injury risks in the classroom.
How Heavy Is The Item?
Teachers use a variety of materials to teach and demonstrate in the classroom, each with its own inherent risks. Consider the weight of classroom objects and assess the injury potential of each object.
The R&R Insurance Recommendation
We certainly understand that it is not always realistic to ask approved personnel to manage adding or removing items from storage. Placing size and weight specifications in your storage policy will provide your teaching staff with some flexibility to access items as needed, without asking for assistance. Consider a weight limit that teachers can lift without assistance and set safety protocols for your staff members who are responsible for lifting heavy items.
How Likely Is It The Item Will Fall?
There is always a potential for injury if items in storage have the potential to fall. Improperly stacked items, or awkwardly shaped materials, like microscopes, can often present a challenge for teachers in the classroom. Assessing the potential for injury is an important step in classroom safety maintenance.
The R&R Insurance Recommendation
Maintaining a safe classroom really comes down to properly identifying potential hazards and knowing how to safety manage each unique hazard. Your storage policy is a great place to start so everyone understands that safety is a priority. Educating team members on the details of the policy will provide them with the necessary tools to problem solve when hazards arise and ask for assistance when it is required.
At R&R Insurance, we are committed to helping schools minimize their risks, offering solutions and resources to help build safe environments for staff and students alike.
Interested in learning how R&R Insurance can improve safety in your school and reduce your costs? Request our free safety resources and case studies or schedule a call with one of our School Group Experts, today.