Know your business
What do your workers do at work? Do they sit for extended periods? Or stand? Perform manual tasks that could cause strains? Use hot liquids or poisonous chemicals? Drive heavy machinery?
What do your workers do at work? Do they sit for extended periods? Or stand? Perform manual tasks that could cause strains? Use hot liquids or poisonous chemicals? Drive heavy machinery?
One of the easiest ways to understand the safety issues in your workplace is to look at all the tasks and environments in the workplace, and the hazards and risks workers are exposed to on the job. Also, ask your workers about problems they may have encountered, like near misses, aches and pains, and anything else which may concern them about their safety.
‘Often the risk has never occurred to them because it’s how they’ve always done it or been told how to do it. And unfortunately, it’s often only when an accident does occur that the penny drops.’
SafeWork Assistant State Inspector
Case study
A spray painter worked in a booth while listening to a portable radio. It was what he had done for years. The radio was a potential ignition source for flammable fumes but it wasn’t until a SafeWork inspector pointed out the danger that the radio was removed.