The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
As an employer, did you know:-
The workplace and the equipment, devices and systems shall be maintained (including cleaned as appropriate) in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. And where appropriate, the equipment, devices and systems shall be subject to a suitable system of maintenance.
So make sure the workplace is kept clean and tidy and that any plant, equipment or machinery is kept serviceable, clean and is serviced regularly and that records are kept!
Effective and suitable provision shall be made to ensure that every enclosed workplace is ventilated by a sufficient quantity of fresh or purified air.
So ensure that where smoke or fume is generated, that doors and windows are open and if employees are working in close proximity to the generation of smoke or fume (such as welding) that an extraction ventilation system is provided to remove the smoke or fume.
During working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable. A method of heating or cooling shall not be used which results in the escape into a workplace of fumes, gas or vapour that they are likely to be injurious or offensive to any person. A sufficient number of thermometers shall be provided to enable persons at work to determine the temperature in any workplace inside a building.
This means that where employees are working they must be kept reasonably warm (depending on location and type of work). A guideline of 16oC for office workers and 13oC where work is physical is useful. Whatever heating system is used, it must not emit dangerous or noxious fumes (such as a paraffin heater).
Every workplace shall have suitable and sufficient lighting, and shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, be by natural light.
Dim and dingy workplaces are accident spots waiting to happen.
Every workplace and the furniture, furnishings and fittings therein shall be kept sufficiently clean. The surfaces of the floors, walls and ceilings of all workplaces inside buildings shall be capable of being kept sufficiently clean. Waste materials shall not be allowed to accumulate in a workplace except in suitable receptacles.
Keep the workplace clean, and tidy.
A suitable seat shall be provided for each person at work in the workplace whose work includes operations of a kind that the work (or a substantial part of it) can or must be done sitting. A seat shall not be suitable unless
(a) it is suitable for the person for whom it is provided as well as for the operations to be performed; and
(b) a suitable footrest is also provided where necessary.
If work can be done sitting down, then it should. Chairs that are issued must be suitable and if required by the person sitting, a footrest must be provided. For workers using Display Screens such as computers, additional requirements are found in The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992.
And so on, and so on. Don’t get caught out. Ensure that you are fully compliant with these regulations. Employees are more likely to be happier in a clean, tidy, warm, comfortable and safe environment and hopefully will look after the facilities they have. Check out www.opsi.gov.uk. Or just type in ‘The Workplace (health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. The HSE website has much to offer in the way of guidance on these regulations.
For more information contact C&G Safety & Environmental Ltd and speak to one of our safety consultants on 01453 800100.
