Health and Safety is a team effort, therefore we need to look after each other to ensure health and safety in everything we do. Health and safety is all about people! It is about practical steps to protect people from harm and suffering and it’s about ensuring a culture whereby, we all look after each…
Ensure all ladders are inspected monthly to ensure safety and meeting legal requirements. Make sure the inspection is logged and kept on record so that, if need be, you can refer back to it.
Demarcation inside your workshop and warehouse areas is of great value as this allows for a clear indication of safe walking areas, work areas, danger areas as well as identification of emergency equipment such as fire hydrants.
The culture of an organisation makes the greatest contribution to its health and safety performance. Unfortunately culture is not an easy concept to understand, measure or manage. A good health and safety management system can go some way to setting the scene for developing a good culture, but it goes much deeper than that.
It is important to properly select, install, use and maintain all electrical systems and equipment. Any use of electrical and mechanical equipment has the potential to create very serious injuries, which can have fatal consequences. As a result, it is of utmost importance to ensure that any use of electricity or mechanical forces, be it…
When you receive a calibration certificate from your supplier a few things should be noted: The certificate is giving you the outcome of the inspection and is NOT an indication that your equipment is fit for use. READ the certificate. Check that the certificate indicates traceability to the equipment that your supplier has used to…
When you write up a system do it according to your processes and departments and not in a format that follows the ISO clauses. The system needs to make sense to your staff, let the certification auditors pick out what they want. Use your policy section to create references in your documents to the standard…
Did you know it is a legal requirement stipulated in the OHS act that all companies need to have a Health and Safety meeting at least quarterly? It is a good idea to ensure you have representation for all levels or departments in your business to make the meeting effective and have overall input. Each…
Always ensure fire hydrants are strategically placed in the workshop so you can access any fire hydrants within 25 meters of where you are standing. Make sure that fire hydrants are hung securely on the required hooks and are no higher than 1.5 meters off the ground. Ensure that fire hydrant indication signage is placed high…
The inquiry into the Grayston bridge collapse has revealed shocking short cuts being taken by construction companies South Africa’s building-industry code could be set for major changes following damning evidence of a cowboy culture and unprofessional practices that emerged during a probe into the collapse of a temporary structure over a highway in Johannesburg. This…
