It’s been a long and gloomy winter, but the end is finally in sight. With temperatures rising and days getting longer, many of us will be rolling up our sleeves and taking part in the great British tradition of spring cleaning.
Besides giving the office a much-needed scrub, spring is the perfect time to spruce up your health and safety practices. From eliminating tripping hazards to testing electrical equipment, here’s how you can make a fresh start this March.
Eliminate tripping hazards
Slips and trips account for a third of all serious injuries in UK workplaces. Many of these incidents can be prevented simply by paying attention to your working environment.
Over the course of the year, workplaces can become cluttered with everything from empty packaging to old furniture. Try walking slowly through your workplace, keeping your eyes peeled for trailing wires, jutting objects and any other hazards at ground level.
Throw away anything that’s no longer needed, and ensure that everything else is moved out of harm’s way. If waste has been allowed to build up, consider adjusting your cleaning schedule to ensure that it’s removed in a timely fashion.
Test electrical appliances
There are 22,000 fires a year in UK workplaces, a quarter of which are caused by faulty or damaged electrical equipment. In order to prevent an electrical fire, it’s important to make sure your appliances are in good working order.
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 make it every employer’s duty to maintain electrical equipment in a safe condition. How you achieve this is up to you, but we recommend performing annual PAT (Portable Appliance Testing).
Devices that undergo heavy use may need to be tested more than once a year. After testing, it’s a good idea to label the device with the current date. This will make it easier to see when the next test is due.
Replace PPE
Under The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, you are required to provide your employees with PPE if your risk assessment deems it necessary. You also have a duty to ensure that this equipment is properly stored and maintained. Faulty PPE can be just as dangerous as no PPE, so regular inspections are vital.
Perform a visual check on every piece of PPE, looking for obvious signs of wear or damage. Order replacements immediately where necessary, and remove faulty items from circulation in the meantime.
If your working conditions have changed, you may need to upgrade your PPE even if it’s in good condition. You should also make sure that there are clear instructions for every piece of PPE, and that warning signs are present in areas where PPE is required. If you would like an independent PPE review, lending an outside, expert eye, we can help.
Check vehicles
Working vehicles carry one of the highest accident risks, both to employees and to members of the public. An MOT checks roadworthiness annually, but for commercial vehicles used heavily you may need to check them more regularly – for operations as well as health and safety. Regular and thorough checks may include checking windscreens for cracks, tyres for damage and acting upon any driver feedback about the state of the vehicle.
Most vehicles will also come with manufacturer’s instructions for planned maintenance. These will outline pre-emptive measures that you can take to prevent damage to brakes, steering systems, mirrors, windscreens and warning devices. As part of your spring clean, check these instructions and carry out any actions that are recommended.
Update training
Much like cleaning, health and safety training is never finished. As time passes it’s easy for employees to forget best practices, making a workplace accident more likely. This can be compounded by staff turnover, as new employees enter the workplace with little knowledge of health and safety procedures.
Help from The Health & Safety Dept
For everyone’s safety, it’s important to provide regular refresher training and to make sure that all safety qualifications are up to date. Whether it’s food safety or first aid, we can provide fully-licensed expert training for every situation. We also offer informal toolbox talks and e-learning modules on a wide range of topics. Give us a call to find out more.
