Asbestos is one of the most significant health risks in the building trade, with the Health and Safety Executive estimating that around 5,000 workers a year die as a result of past exposure – more than the annual death toll from road accidents. Any building erected or refurbished before the year 2000 may contain asbestos, so taking precautions against exposure is critical.
No matter how small or large your organisation, all businesses have a responsibility to manage their impact on the environment. For some businesses, this could be as basic as ensuring your paper recycling bin has clear signage. For others it could be ensuring that environmental hazards such as chemical spillages are carefully managed. A good environmental policy can support your business’ corporate social responsibility as well as reducing costs and ensuring the good health and safety of your workforce.
A risk assessment is a process in which you thoroughly examine any factors in the workplace that could cause harm to your employees. Knowing how to complete a risk assessment is essential to managing health and safety in the workplace. If you are an employer you are required by law to complete a risk assessment of your premises and this must be written down if you have more than five employees.
Unfortunately, no matter how many instructions are given in training or afterward, lifting injuries are still commonplace in warehouses and workplaces up and down the country. Incorrect lifting can seriously damage the neck and back, and if staff bite off more than they can chew, valuable stock can also be broken or put at risk.
Safety at work should be a priority for any business, particularly in high risk environments such as building sites or warehouses, but who is ultimately responsible for wellbeing?
Safety is paramount when operating a forklift, and while there are numerous health and safety regulations in place to ensure proper and secure use of machinery, there are plenty of ways you can make sure you’re safe around the workplace. Here are some important things to remember every time you use a forklift. You should check these every time you use a forklift, first starting with your personal equipment, before the forklift itself, the route, the load, and additional steps when completing your shift.
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It’s not just fast-moving traffic that you have to watch out for when it comes to health and safety; even slow-moving and stationary vehicles in car parks come with plenty of risks attached. A car park is a surprisingly dangerous place with plenty of potential hazards, such as these…
Isaac Newton was a physicist who thought that, by staring up at the sun, he could better understand how the universe worked. Fortunately, he was not hired by any organisation to undertake such damaging research: this sun-staring routine was his decision entirely. However, research suggests that employers and organisations are regularly subjecting their employees to as much daily eyestrain as poor old Newton.
Although you’ll hear people grumble about health and safety strictures, there are many really serious hazards in the world that it pays to be aware of. Did you know farming is the UK’s most dangerous industry? Using the right farm signs is necessary to meet legal requirements and protect the landowner from legal exposure if someone is injured on their property, so it’s vital to display farm signs properly.
Faced with the threat of criminal activity such as burglary and vandalism, increasing numbers of property owners and businesses are installing CCTV systems to provide a constant watchful eye over their homes or premises. CCTV can act as a deterrent, warning would-be criminals that their actions will be monitored and recorded, and can provide the police with vital evidence to assist in the arrest and prosecution of offenders. However, it is worth knowing that anyone who installs CCTV may have legal responsibilities to display warning signs that are easily seen.
Many people think that health and safety is just red tape put in place to stop businesses being productive and making money – but this is the opposite of the truth. Affixing health and safety signs around your workplace can have a significant and positive impact on the productivity of your employees, and therefore your business as a whole. Here are three reasons as to how safety signs can help boost productivity:
Safety signs play an important role in protecting a business’s employees and customers. But for those of us operating within an environment around water, the use of health and safety signs couldn’t be more important. Yet astonishingly, many businesses still choose to operate without these mandatory signs; given the risks involved with water, this could have serious ramifications for any business!
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