Work Place : The Environment

There can be many dangers at work. Safety hazards include slips, trips and falls, and fire. Health hazards include poor seating, lighting and ventilation.

Assess your own working environment by using the guidlines in this section. Dont forget any people with disabilities who may need things like special toilet and washing facilities, wide door ways and gangways.


A safe place of work

You must have:

1. buildings in good repair
2. precautions where people or materials might fall from open edges, e.g. fencing or gaurd-rails.
3. floor openings, e.g. vehicle examination pits, fenced or covered when not in use.
4. space for safe movement and access.
5. floors, corridors and stairs etc free of obstructions, e.g. trailing cables.
6. good drainage in wet processes.
7. windows that can be opened and cleaned safely. they should be designed to stop people falling out or bumping into them when open. You may need to fit anchor points if window cleaners have to use harness.
8. weather protection for outdoor workplaces, if practical.
9. outdoor routes keep safe during icy conditions, e.g. salted/sanded and swept.

Lighting

You must provide:

1. good light - use natural light where possible but try to avoid glare.
2. a good level of local lighting at workstations where necessary.
3. suitable forms of lighting. Some fluorescent tubes flicker and can be dangerous with some rotating machinary (because the rotating part may appear to have stopped).
4. special fittings for flammable or explosive atmospheres e.g. from paint spraying.
5. light coloured walls to improve brightness, but darker colours to reduce arc-welding flash.

Moving around the premises

You must have:

1. safe passage for pedestrians and vehicles – you may need separate routes.
2. level, even surface without holes or broken boards
3. hand-rails on stairs and ramps where necessary
4. safe doors, e.g. vision panels in swing doors, sensitive edges on power doors
5. surface which are not slippery
6. well-lit outside areas – this will help security

Designing Workstations

Make sure that:

1. Workstations and seating must fit the worker and the work.
2. back rests support the small of the back and you must provide foot rests if necessary.
3. work surfaces are at a sensible height
4. there is easy access to controls on equipment
5. well-designed tools to reduce hand or forehand injury from repeated awkward movements

Cleanliness

You must:

1. provide clean floors and stairs, which are drained and not slippery
2. provide clean premises, furnitures and fittings
3. provide containers for waste materials
4. remove dirt, refuse and trade waste regularly
5. clean up spillages promptly
6. keep internal walls or ceilings clean. They may need painting to help easy cleaning.

Hygiene and Welfare

You must provide:

1. clean, well-ventilated toilets (separate for men and women unless each convenience has its own lockable door.
2. wash basins with hot and cold ( or warm) running water
3. showers for dirty work or emergencies
4. soap cleansers, with nail brushes where necessary
5. barrier cream and skin conditioning cream where necessary
6. special hygiene precautions where necessary e.g. where food is handled or prepared
7. drying facility for wet clothes.
8. certain facilities for workers working away from base.
9. lockers or hanging space for clothing
10. changing facility where special clothing is worn
11. a clean drinking water supply (marked if necessary to distinguish it from non-drinkable supply)
12. rest facility including facilities for eating food which would otherwise become contaminated.
13. arrangements to protect non-smokers from discomfort cause by tobacco smoke in any separate rest areas e.g. provide separate areas or rooms for smokers and non-smokers or prohibit smoking in rest areas and rest rooms.
14. rest facilities for pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Display Screen Equipment

For Habitual Users must :

1. assess display screen workstations and reduce risk
2. plan so there are breaks or changes of activity
3. train and inform display screen users about health and safety aspects of their work.
4. provide eye test for users on request and at regular intervals afterwards and special spectacles where required.

Fire Precautions

You must :

1. provide enough exits for everyone to get out easily
2. provide fire doors and escape routes which are clearly marked and unobstructed
3. provide fire escape doors which can be opened easily from the inside whenever any one is on the premises – don’t forget “out of hours” working
4. never wedge open fire doors – they are there to stop smoke and flames spreading
5. if a wall is meant to be “fire resisting” ,stop up any holes (e.g. around pipe work) and make sure the wall continues above the false ceiling.
6. if you have a fire alarm , check regularly that it is working. Can it be heard everywhere over normal background noise.
7. provide enough fire extinguishers of the right type ( and properly serviced) to deal promptly with small out breaks.
8. everyone should know what to do in case of fire. Display clear instructions and have a fire drill periodically.
9. do people know how to raise the alarm and use the extinguishers?
10. call the fire brigade to any suspected out break of fire.
11. you may need a fire certificate for the building this will depend on the kind of business you run and the number of people employed in your building.
12. if your do not need a fire certificate you will need to carry out a fire risk assessment.

Comfortable Conditions

You must provide:

1. a reasonable working temperature in workrooms – usually at least 16 degree centigrade, or 13 degree centigrade for strenuous work
2. local heating or cooling where a comfortable temperature cannot be maintained throughout each work room (e.g. hot and cold processes)
3. thermal clothing and rest facilities where necessary , e.g. for “hot work” or cold stores.
4. good ventilation – avoid draughts
5. heating systems which do not give off dangerous or offensive levels of fumes into the work place.
6. sufficient space in work rooms.
7. remember noise can be nuisance as well as damaging to health.