Tag Archives: workplace health and safety

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5 Ways To Make Your Company Office Safer

Regardless of the scale of commercial activity, an office is the control center, brain, and heart of any company. Various factors influence the efficiency of work, but one of them is the safety of office workers and their activities. Confidence in their security allows staff to work productively, and the leader – not to worry about the safety of their values, both material and informational. In this article, we tell how to make your office as safe and comfortable as possible.

Two Key Criteria for a Safe Office

Safety is a very comprehensive concept, but it is possible to emphasize two main indicators according to which the office can be considered a safe place to work.

  • Comfortable and healthy conditions for employees inside office premises, minimizing risks;
  • Reducing the negative impact on the environment through the rational use of material and energy resources.

Based on these two indicators, we suggest that you consider ways to make your office safer, more comfortable and environmentally friendly.

Prevent Germs and Infections from Circulating the Office

Office staff due to work in a stuffy room and a sedentary lifestyle can get sick up to 6 times a year. At the same time, about 70% of sick workers continue to go to work. Almost half of them do nothing to warn others about their illness.

Often offices are organized in the form of “open space” when a large number of employees work in the same room. This approach has its advantages (the convenience of organizing work and exchanging information, saving space), but also many drawbacks: increased noise level, difficulties in providing comfortable conditions for all employees, as well as an increased risk of infection during seasonal colds.

To minimize these risks in “open space” it is recommended to install devices for disinfection of the room from germs and viruses. It is also a good idea to implement the practice of wet cleaning in the workplace after the end of the working day. If finances allow, then it is possible to hire a cleaner on an ongoing basis.

Or, you can come up with a reward system for employees if they do it themselves. Motivate them to wipe the table and keyboard with a damp cloth – daily at the end of the working day. Regularly ventilate the room, arranging a strong, but the short-lived draft in the office – with it, the bacteria disappear as quickly as possible. Do this with colleagues after each visitor leaves or, if the source of the virus is in the office, at least five times per business day.

Add indoor plants

The biophilia hypothesis states: visual contact with elements of wildlife affects the increase in productivity and labor efficiency. Employees sitting surrounded by white dull walls will work worse than those who have the opportunity to see growing fresh flowers in the office or beautiful views of nature from the windows.

This will help them suppress the stress associated with working moments and continue to work in high spirits. Some companies even have cats in their offices, because as you know, talking with furry pets improves your moral well-being.

Cats are of course an optional idea, but fresh and clean air is necessary for the active work of the brain and keeping the body in good shape. Plants absorb chemical elements and microorganisms that are harmful to humans while producing oxygen. Studies by scientists from Cardiff University have shown that having plants in the office increases productivity by 15% and also reduces stress and tension. This means that your employees will be able to at least partially protect themselves from burnout syndrome, and this is an even more common office disease than acute respiratory infections.

Think of this simple, ecological, and inexpensive idea to make your office more secure and your employees more productive.

Pay Attention to Natural Lighting

It is worthwhile to carefully work with the natural insolation of the room and arrange the workplaces so that the employees receive a lot of sunlight. You may ask, what is the relationship with security? The relationship is completely direct.

Lack of lighting impairs vision, leads to a deficiency of vitamin D and a decrease in immunity. Incorrectly designed light will not only damage eyesight but also increase fatigue. It is all about the safety of your employees in terms of their health and work efficiency for the benefit of your business.

It is possible to control the level of insolation thanks to a special film that protects against ultraviolet radiation and allows indoor air not to heat up. If at some time of the day the sunlight is too active, you can use translucent blinds made from natural materials.

Lighting standards for offices are regulated by building codes. They indicate the necessary minimum illumination for the office. For some offices, this minimum of lighting is recommended to be increased – and sometimes at times (especially when there are few sources of daylight in the office). It is believed that the most favorable lighting environment for the office is soft daylight.

Protect Your Office from Fire

Many managers believe that fire safety measures in the office are needed only to comply with the law and to avoid problems during inspections of regulatory authorities. In this case, it is enough to install an inexpensive alarm system, which formally meets the legal requirements. It will cost 30–40% cheaper than a more technically sophisticated and informative alarm.

However, if you care about your office, employees and their safety within it, then, when choosing a security system, evaluate first of all its functionality. The system and fire safety measures in the office include burglar alarms, fire alarms, warning and evacuation systems for people in case of fire, video surveillance system, access control, and management system. From this set, the regulations oblige to install an automatic fire alarm, as well as a warning and evacuation control system for people in case of a fire in the office. However, we recommend that you not be greedy and choose the most innovative and smart systems. When it comes to the lives of people that a fire can take in a few seconds, money no longer matters.

Reduce the Environmental Impact

Everything that harms the environment harms people in the first place. And this, by the way, is also true concerning the reputation of your company and brand. Modern buyers want to know what environmental missions are implemented in the company whose goods or services they use. Therefore:

  • Do not use household chemicals in the office that contain chlorine and organochlorine compounds, as well as phosphates and phosphonates. Choose environmentally-friendly household chemicals that can be decomposed into safe components in the environment by at least 90% in a short time.
  • Do not buy stationery, home furnishings, and equipment made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) if there are alternative products on the market.
  • When replacing windows, choose modern wooden or metal double-glazed windows, instead of plastic windows made of PVC.
  • Discard disposable tableware in the office. If this is not possible for hygienic reasons, arrange the collection of all disposable tableware and hand it in for processing.
  • Organize the collection and recycling of used cartridges, batteries and office equipment, as well as the collection and safe storage of batteries. The same goes for prudent paper consumption. For example, if you received several options for translating documents from a specialized translation service like The Word Point, print only those copies that you need. Everything else can be emailed.

Conclusion

As you can see, it is not so difficult to make the office safer. It is enough to ensure a healthy and ecological atmosphere in the office, as well as protect yourself from emergencies.

Author Bio

Frank Hamilton has been working as a translator at translation service Frank Hamilton is a blogger and translator from Manchester. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.

General Safety Issues, Health Issues

The Roles and Responsibilities of a Workplace Health and Safety Representative

Written by Peter Scully

Employers have a duty of care towards their employees and that duty extends not just to talking (i.e. providing employees with relevant information and training) but also to listening, i.e. providing a channel through which employees can communicate any concerns they have about health and safety in the workplace.

One of the options for doing this is by means of a workplace health and safety representative. The team at ​Watson & Watson Health and Safety Consultants​ discuss the importance of appointing a health and safety representative in the workplace.

Companies may choose to forgo workplace health-and-safety representatives if they wish

It’s important to note that, at current time, it is optional for companies to have specific workplace health-and-safety representatives. If employees are happy to talk directly to business leaders then it is perfectly acceptable for them to do so and in smaller organizations this may be the most practical way of managing health-and-safety issues.

In larger organizations, however, the idea of having a direct line between employees and management may sound appealing in theory but in practice it could well turn out to be a recipe for confusion, which is bad news in any situation and, in particular, where health and safety is concerned.

Electing a workplace health-and-safety representative

Another key point to note is that workplace health-and-safety representatives are elected by workers, either directly or via their Trade Union, rather than being appointed by managers.

There are many reasons for this, not least the need for the workforce to have trust in them.  It is unusual for workplace health and safety representatives to be dedicated purely to health and safety duties, instead they are more likely to be workers who take on the role as an extra responsibility.

This can both promote trust and provide them with greater insight into how their colleagues feel about health-and safety issues.  At the same time, however, if the role is to have meaning, then the representative has to be given sufficient time (and resources) to perform it effectively.

The responsibilities of a workplace health-and-safety representative

According to the letter of the law, health and safety representatives appointed via a Trade Union are automatically granted stronger powers than health-and-safety representatives appointed directly by the workforce.

Specifically, they can inspect the workplace and also conduct investigations into accidents, hazards, near misses and any other health and safety related issues. Employers can, if they wish, grant these powers
to health-and-safety representatives appointed directly by the workforce and it may benefit them to do so in order to inspire a greater degree of confidence in them on the part of their staff, otherwise, the role of a directly-appointed health-and-safety representative is essentially one of a communicator and a facilitator.

Directly-appointed health-and-safety representatives will be expected to attend all relevant training, so that they are well-informed on health-and-safety matters (and so that their knowledge is kept up to date) and will act as a central point of contact for employees to raise health-and-safety concerns which they wish to be passed on to senior management.

Likewise they may be tasked with updating their colleagues with relevant information such as action taken by management on the issues raised. They may also be required to liaise with the HSE and any other relevant authorities.

Uncategorized

Tips For Writing Good Health and Safety Documents For Your Workplace

Tips For Writing Good Health and Safety Documents For Your Workplace

Writing health and safety documents is a job that requires a lot of knowledge and devotion. It’s necessary that every company should have these documents.

The dictionary and governments define these as a plan of action, a method of action that guides and influences future decisions on health and safety.

If you are not sure how to write these documents, here are some tips  that will improve your writing for health and safety documents.

  1. Make it simple

Simplicity is the key for clarity. Using long sentences packed with jargon that most employees will not understand will only lead to confusion. This is why you should strive to make your documents as simple as possible. This is not to say that you should not follow the guidelines given by the authorities but it means that you should make the text as simple as possible within the given boundaries.

  1. State the responsibilities

One of the things that each health and safety document should have is the part which clearly states who is responsible for what part. The names should be updated when necessary and there should be no confusion as to who employees should contact if they are ever in need or health and safety authority within the company.

  1. Describe everyone’s duties

This step is related to the previous one and it means that you should clearly state what the duties of each authority related to health and safety are. “The description should be simple and possibly in the form of a list so that it’s easier for both the one who holds the responsibility and employees to read and understand. Also, state what are the duties of each one of your employees”, – explains Jody Nelson, a Recruiting Manager at Academized and Revieweal.

  1. State your goals

Every document should be written with certain goals and in this case, you need to show your employees which goals you plan to achieve. Let them know how things will change and how they will change This will make them more motivated to respect and act on rules and regulations stated in the document.

  1. Pay attention to the accuracy of your documents

One of the most important things about your health and safety documents that is often neglected is, of course, it’s accuracy. Most people forget to proofread and edit and this can lead to many issues. If an employee reads a misspelled word and thinks it means something different entirely, they will likely do something that harms your health and safety policy. It can also make you seem unprofessional and uneducated. People are less likely to follow your guidelines if they are packed with mistakes. This is an easy fix, luckily, and you can do it by using some of these tools.

–Writing Populist and Via Writing are online writing guides that can provide you with tips on how to write properly and for maximum clarity of your work.

–Boom Essays is an online editing tool that can remove all of the redundancies and unimportant things in your documents. Learn more about it from Boomessays review.

–Academ Advisor is a plagiarism tool that you should utilize since everything you write needs to be original and unique to your company and your regulations.

–Essay Roo and Thesis help are online formatting tools that can help you turn your text into something readable.

–My Writing Way is a guide for proofreading and editing that can point you towards some of the most common mistakes and their fixes.

–Elite Assignment Help and Ukwritings are online copywriting services that can help you write your health and safety documents.

  1. State how health and safety regulations will be implemented

There should be a section where you’ll explain what you will do to make sure that these regulations are implemented. Write about some of the things you’ll do, investments that will be necessary, educational seminars within the company that you’ll organize etc.

  1. Format for clarity

Most documents are not organized in a way to be easy to read. However, this document is important for your entire organisation and it should be formatted in a way that is easy to read.

Most employees will be overwhelmed by a wall of text and they can rarely focus on the most important things when it seems so confusing. This is why you should use headings, subheadings, bold text, bullet points and lists to make it easier for them to read and understand. Use short paragraphs and simple sentences wherever possible. This is also good for later finding a specific part of the document that you need – you would be able to easily find it through subheading instead of going through the entire thing.

Conclusion

Writing important documents like health and safety documents is not an easy job and much relies on your ability to make the content of it clear and readable. This means that all of your employees need to be able to understand it clearly and understand who is responsible for what. Follow these tips and the guidelines that were given to you by the authorities for optimal results.

Freddie Tubbs is an Employee engagement manager at Big Assignments. He regularly takes part if workplace organization conferences and contributes posts to Ox Essays and Australian Reviewer blogs.

General Safety Issues

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY (GUEST POST)

Work Health And Safety – Knowing Your Responsibilities At The Workplace 

Employees spend a great majority of their waking lives at the workplace. As such, this greatly exposes them to risks and hazards that cannot be encountered elsewhere. This is the reason why both employees and business owners must put a premium on work health and safety, not only in relation to the physical wellbeing of a person, but also in relation to mental health. 

Risks and hazards refer both to substances and behaviours which can harm a person at the workplace. These can refer to toxic chemicals, and in the construction sector, falling debris and improper use of machinery. 

Stressing the need for awareness of safe practices, minimising risks and hazards, and keeping up with changes in the workplace, the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 came into effect on January 1, 2012, effectively replacing and updating the Occupational Health and Safety acts of the previous years. 

The major difference of this act from its previous iterations is its goal to harmonise the work and safety laws across Australia’s states and jurisdictions which, prior to the enforcement of the act, differed one way from another across different places. For business owners, particularly those operating in more than one area, this means complying with a single set of rules and regulations, effectively lessening costs. 

The act tackles several important issues. Most important of these is the need for the active participation of all stakeholders, from the workers to employees to unions, to actively work together to promote health and safety at the workplace through information, use of safety equipment and good work practices. 

In the construction sector, safety and health at the workplace is promoted through various practices and requirements including the requirement of a White Card or Occupational Health and Safety Certificate for those who work in construction. This includes labourers, apprentices, supervisors and project managers. A White Card can be obtained through either online or face-to-face training. 

Getting a White Card is not merely a mandatory requirement. It will teach those seeking employment in the construction industry to understand the various concepts involved in occupational health and safety as well as their responsibilities in promoting these. 

Should a worker without a White Card be found working in a job site, both the worker and the employer will be fined heavily. But apart from the economic cost, working without a White Card increases the likelihood of injuries and accidents both for the worker and for those who are around him. 

Author Bio

Sarah Miller is a business consultant by profession and a content creator, writer and blogger by passion. Having been exposed to the different aspects and faces of businesses, she frequently does research on useful information regarding the different methods and techniques to further improve business marketing, sales, performance and shares her passion of business management through blog/content writing.  She wrote this article for http://www.whitecardinfo.com.au.