HEALTH, SAFETY & WELLBEING
HIDDENHAZARDS
From digital innovation and sustainability to staff shortages and value engineering, facilities managers have a lot on their plates, but ensuring the safety of employees and visitors is possibly the most important aspect of the FM role, says Scott Saunders, Technical Service Manager at Watco.
How to control risks Risk assessments are second nature to a facilities manager. Carried out annually and then reviewed regularly, particularly when working practices or equipment change, risk assessments allow you to identify high risk areas and hazards in the workplace and who may be a risk so that you can put the appropriate control measures in place.
Assessing risks should be a continual process. As working practices and environments change regularly, individual employees, particularly lone workers, also need to carry out a dynamic risk assessment before they start a task so they can make an informed decision in regards to their safety.
Risks will of course vary depending on the environment you work in, and there are some basic risks that are common, whatever the facility. There are also some risks that are not so obvious, and these are the ones that could quite easily end up becoming a costly injury.
How to identify the not so obvious
hazards According to the latest HSE statistics, three of the main causes of non-fatal injuries in the workplace during 2020/21 were slips, trips and falls on the same level (33%), struck by a moving object (10%) and falls from height (8%).
Many accidents can be avoided by putting measures in place to either remove the hazard or reduce the risk of
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an injury, but sometimes that may not be possible. What happens if the hazard is not obvious, how can you remove it or lessen the consequences of an incident?
Unseen or sometimes overlooked hazards can include the following:
Hidden dangers underfoot: Floors, steps, ramps and any surface underfoot face constant wear and tear. This could be from vehicles, heavy machinery, equipment or regular foot traffic so it’s important to do all you can to make sure people are safe as they walk around your premises. A floor may appear to be clean and dry, but that does not mean it isn’t slippery. Oil and grease can leak onto a floor from equipment and then be spread around on shoes or tyres or your cleaning company could be using the wrong type of product on the floor so rather than cleaning it up, a contaminant is merely spread around, leaving a thin, slippery film.
Simple measures such as using a powerful degreaser to remove oil and grease from the surface or applying a slip retardant coating will help to prevent someone from slipping.
Always treat any signs of damage as soon as you are aware of them. You may think a small hole is insignificant or a slightly cracked joint isn’t a problem, but these can develop into a serious trip hazard and a major repair job if not tackled quickly. Holes and cracks can be filled with an epoxy resin mortar while joints are easily repaired with a flexible filler.
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