How to Control Hazards in the Workplace

Don't be afraid of health and safety rules. Although there are many complex laws and legislations on health and safety, not all of them will apply to your business. It is actually quite easy to set up an effective health and safety policy and ensure you are complying with the rules.

You can also get lots of help and support from independent health and safety experts. They will be able to provide guidance on issues like writing policies, training your workers in basic health and safety and training your managers in managing safely.

Why You Need to Follow the Rules

No matter what size business you have health and safety is important. This is an effective way of identifying potential hazards and putting measures and precautions in place to control or eliminate risk. This enables you to safeguard your employees and the general public in all your working activities. In modern times health and safety in the UK has significantly improved the working environment.

The number of fatalities at work has dropped by a massive 82% in the last three decades. This shows just how important it is to invest in safe working practices for all business sectors. Following health and safety rules may be tedious at times but it is clear that these measures really do work to protect and safeguard the working nation.

Identifying Hazards

The first step to any health and safety policy is to identify potential hazards and manage risk. You need to consider all of your working activities and what factors might potentially cause harm to others. Once you have identified hazards you will then need to decide how you could control or eliminate the risks and implement the appropriate measures and precautions.

Tips to Help You Get Started With Risk Assessment

A risk assessment does not have to be time-consuming or cause a lot of paperwork. Here are just a few tips to help you get started with your health and safety risk assessment:
  1. Walk around your workplace and look carefully for potential risks. This could be in terms of the working environment itself (trip or fall hazards for example) or the materials, equipment and procedures in use.
  2. Consider potential hazards and who might be at risk. Also consider how serious the potential harm could be. This will help you focus on the real risks that are most likely to cause harm to others.
  3. Don't forget to assess potential risks for the general public who may come into contact with your working activities.
  4. Specific employees may also be more at risk than others such as expectant mothers or those with disabilities.
  5. Ask employees for their input. They may have more insight into day-to-day hazards and may also be able to offer effective ways of reducing or eliminating risk.
  6. Depending on the type of work you carry out there may be specific measures that you need to put in place by law. For example there are a number of laws in place for the control and management of electricity, gas and flammable liquids and asbestos, etc.
  7. You will need to make sure you are meeting any controls that are required by law to ensure you are complying with health and safety rules and regulations.
  8. You can get more help from independent health and safety officers. They can assist with inspections of work places and working activities and identify hazards and ways to control risk.
  9. These experts can also provide health and safety training for staff and ensure you are meeting your responsibilities fully when it comes to health and safety rules.

Complying with Health and Safety Rules

Complying with health and safety rules does not have to place a burden on your business. With the right expert help and advice you can easily put in place an effective health and safety policy for all your business activities.

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