Health and Wellness

Workplace hazards

What are Workplace Hazards?

A workplace hazard is anything within the workplace that could potentially harm an employee or customer by causing an injury or accident. Workplace hazards could include:

• Chemicals or other hazardous substances
• Exposure to harmful bacteria
• Live electrical wiring
• Slippery floors
• Exposure to asbestos
• Gas Leaks
• Or even less obvious potential hazards such as noise, vibration and working in a confined area

Risk Assessment

All businesses should carry out a risk assessment of the workplace to establish where the risks lie and work towards either eliminating those risks or reducing them to a safer level.

• When carrying out a risk assessment all aspects of health and safety within the workplace should be considered and the severity of any potential risks should be evaluated.

• All hazards or possible hazards should be recorded and all employees potentially at risk from those hazards should be informed.

• Steps should then be taken to either eliminate or control the risks and this could include aspects such as

1. hanging or replacing the equipment used within the workplace
2. Altering or improving the layout of the workplace
3. Adapting the work to better suit the employee
4. Providing employees with training and information to get a better understanding of how to avoid possible risks and carry out their daily routine safely
5. Ensuring that, where risks cannot be completely eliminated, staff take the appropriate measures to protect themselves such as wearing protective clothing, ensuring good ventilation when working with chemicals and making sure any spillages are cleared up immediately

Risk assessments should be reviewed on a yearly basis or more frequently if changes occur within the working environment.

Risk Assessment Legislation

In some circumstances, there is specific health and safety legislation in place which should be adhered to when carrying out a risk assessment. These pieces of legislation include:

• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH)

This piece of legislation involves:

• The identification of hazardous or toxic substances within the workplace
• The risks those substances present
• The specific employees at risk from those hazardous substances

The legal obligation of the employer and employees with regard to those hazardous substances such as:

• Ensuring the Maximum Exposure Limits (MELs) are not exceeded
• Substituting a hazardous substance for a less hazardous substance where possible
• Providing and utilizing protective equipment
• Adhering to stringent instruction
• Implementing the appropriate emergency procedures

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations
This piece of legislation involves:

• Assessing the particular task to be carried out
• Assessing the employee who will be carrying out that task
• Assessing the type of load the employee will be required to move
• Assessing the environment in which the task will take place
• Adhering to the lifting and lowering weights guidelines
• Controlling manual handling where possible by implementing the use of lifting equipment and handling aids and making necessary changes to the working environment to reduce the risk of injury