Reviewing the views
Ensuring health and safety at workplace
Mohammad Shahidul Islam
HEALTH and safety at workplace deals with the health, safety and welfare of people in employment. It deals with the protection of lives of all those people, who, in some way, are connected to the work environment. It is also concerned with the welfare of the family members and dependents of the working employees.
People spend a major part of the day at their workplace. It is at work that they exercise their talents and use their expertise for the benefit of their organization. It is at their workplace that they devote their time and effort for the welfare of their company. They need to be motivated by providing them with a positive atmosphere and most importantly, they need to feel safe and secure. In Bangladesh generally health and safety at office has never been considered importantly. Every day any way employers from different organizations face the risk of disfiguring life, even examples of death prevail.
It should not be forgotten that office safety is very essential in today's world. It is very important to be aware of several workplace safety rules and regulations as this could hamper the smooth functioning of office due to legal issues.
The best course of action is to plan ahead for all kinds of workplace emergencies. Fire and electric shock absolutely anything and everything, we can think about seriously. There is no alternative of making a list of all these emergencies. Based on list, we have to make another list of things we need to have at workplace to ensure the safety of employees. And then we need to install these things.
It also makes sense to look at the local regulations concerning office safety. These may not be comprehensive, but may provide you with enough guidelines to work on.
Other than that, here are a few safety measures for the office or for the workplace:
* Keep your working area neat and clean. One cannot emphasize on this enough. Piles of papers and stacks of files combined with a tangle of wires are a disaster waiting to happen, on several fronts. A clean workspace will also enable you to identify a problem and tackle it faster and more effectively.
* Ensure that all your doors and windows have security locks. If you are an establishment that deals with cash on a daily basis, then you may attract burglars. Install security cameras at doors and exits. This will help you record the images of thieves and such and help the police in locating the culprit.
* Install fire alarms. Practice fire drills with your employees. During the practice sessions, ensure that all the employees follow the rules (such as getting low on the floor, closing doors and windows to contain the fire etc.). Mark the exits with noticeable signs so that employees know where to go to in case such an emergency occurs. Never lock these exits, but be sure to install security cameras on these doors. Also, it might be sensible to install fireproof furniture.
* Ensure that all the workstations, machines etc are installed properly. While installing such electric equipment and appliances, ensure that the wiring and switchboards are earthed properly so as to prevent electric shocks.
* And most of all, insurance is essential. Although it is not an office safety tip, it often helps to have it just in case an emergency occurs.
With these safety measures for the workplace we can be sure to avoid most common accidents and emergencies of electric shocks and fire.
Why is it important to establish safety at workplace? There are many reasons. Firstly, the absence of safety at workplace penalizes the organization, and has to incur costs of employee compensation, medical treatment and social security payments. The employing organizations also have to incur economic losses in the form of compensatory benefits that they have to pay to the employee. Secondly, they lose their goodwill among other employees as well as their customers. Also, it is a moral responsibility of an employer to ensure the safety of his/her employees. When an organization utilizes human beings as an important resource, it is the organization's duty to look after their safety.
What are the factors that need to be considered for health and safety at office? One of the most important factors to be considered while ensuring health at workplace is the need for safety. Once the safety needs of each occupation are determined, it is necessary to devise effective measures to satisfy the health and safety needs of the employees in that occupation. It is essential for the employing organization to distinguish between a hazard and a risk. A hazard is something that can prove to be harmful if it is not controlled, while a risk refers to the probability of the occurrence of a certain outcome and is often expressed in numerical form.
After the potential risks and hazards are identified, it is important for the employing organization to evaluate the risks and ascertain the required safety measures. In order to calculate the risk, it is necessary to gauge the risk factors and analyse the severity of their adverse effects. Theses calculations need to be reviewed and revised periodically and changed whenever required.
When evaluating risks, the employing companies need to take into account all the different workplace hazards. Employees may have to face equipment and machinery-related injuries. They may have to suffer from physical injuries resulting from accidents at the workplace. Harmful chemicals, radiation, pollutants and biological agents like the harmful bacteria and viruses pose a threat to the life of the employees. Certain water or air pressure conditions and artificially maintained temperature conditions as well as noise from machines can cause damage to the overall health of the employees. Certain mechanical processes involve danger of causing injury. Besides these tangible risks, there are several important psychological issues to be dealt with. Employees have to undergo work-related stress. Moreover, they might fall prey to bullying, sexual or verbal harassment or even violence. It is very important for the employing organizations to consider these hazards while planning for occupational health and safety measures.
Implementation of the safety measures is the essence of occupational health and safety. There is no point in calculating the risks and documenting the risk factors and hazards, if no safety measures can be put into effect. It is extremely important for the employing organizations to devise practically feasible safety measures and ensure their strict implementation. After all, we are dealing with the safety of human life, which is indeed priceless. The government should enact some proper laws regarding health and safety at workplace and thus monitor the matter whether is incorporated.
The writer is a Hospitality Education and Training Consultant.
