Welcome back to The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast!
Today, whilst waiting for a meeting, Colin is thinking aloud about office safety. Colin wants to cover 2 areas; People who manage offices & People that work in offices.
Whilst it is generally accepted that office-environments are low-risk, it is still important to be aware of potential hazards and risks to you and your colleagues/staff. Primarily things like;
Fire safety - appropriate risk assessments and ensuring everybody knows the protocols in the event of a fire (safety points, fire exits, where extinguishers or blankets are located)
Electrical safety - Making sure fixed wiring is inspected and tested, but also everything has the appropriate level of testing and safety risk assessment (Portable appliance testing for example).
Simple Risk assessment - you may have unusual equipment or non-standard setups that require specific assessments when approaching the job and environment from a hazard perceptive view. This needs to be applied across the office, equipment and jobs& tasks involved. This doesn’t need to be confusing or long winded, but just a simple guide or set of instructions.
Manual Handling - Moving paper, desks, chairs, boxes and so on all involve manual handling. Many jobs in an office will include some modecum of manual handling so it is imperative all staff are trained in the basic procedures involved to avoid injury and risk.
Regular Activities - Colin gives the example of moving hot drinks from the kitchen to their desk; does this journey traverse stairs? Is there a clear and safe path in and out of the canteen? There could be a fall or trip on the stairs as they are unable to hold on due to carrying cups of hot drink. Perhaps spilling the drink will create a slip risk for themselves or other people in the office? Is the canteen safely setup to avoid any accidents involving hot water? Is the equipment easy to use and is there simple instructions to explain how?
If you need any assistance, or have any questions, get in touch with Colin and IMG and they can gladly help with office risk assessments or office safety training!
ABOUT THE HOST
Colin Nottage
‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’
This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.
He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.
Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.
Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.
He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
