Health and safety is a big issue at workplaces nowadays. Special courses are being offered by universities to train people in safety measures. Everything is taught about hazard prevention at a place of work. One gets to learn how to go about risk management. People, who complete these courses, take up jobs as OHS officers with companies. These officers are aware of all policies related to occupational health and safety.
What kind of risks are there at a workplace? There are many risks and those also of different kinds. At many places there are hazardous substances around the place. Substances like chlorine, micro organisms and benzene can be injurious to a person. Workers need to be informed about these things. They are taught who to protect themselves from these.
Machinery around a place of work can cause serious accidents at times. There can be short circuits, breaking away some part of the machine, improper functioning of the machines and other mishaps. Workers are given aid after the accident, but it is of greater help when they are told about how to use these machines in a proper manner.
Risk is there in every profession. It is also present in restaurants, takeaways, hotel kitchens, cafes and roadside eating joints etc. At eating places an owner has to make sure that floors of these kitchens are kept clean. Anyone can fall and be injured on a slippery floor. Gas pipe lines should be kept in good order, any leakage of gas from any point can result in serious accidents. Dishes need to be cooked with care and should be served in clean dishes as per the laws related to hygiene.
There can be danger at beauty salons. Some people might be having some skin infection; this infection can be easily transmitted to another person via scissors, tweezers, nail cutters, soaps, towels and other pedicure/manicure equipment etc. After every client has been served, everything should be properly cleaned for the next client.
Cleaning industries often have to deal with things like back injuries and other hazards posed by industrial equipment. Vacuum cleaners and detergents used for cleaning can be of low quality, and as a result they can harm the worker.
Perchloroethylene can be dangerous for drycleaners. Many cancer patients have been detected to have become prone to the disease due to long exposure to this substance.
Asbestos is a substance used to manufacture materials used in buildings etc. Mesothelioma cancer is slow disease that slowly takes away a person’s life due to exposure to Asbestos.
E coli O157 is found in farm animals. When these are butchered and their meat sold, people become infected and become sick. Workers should be made aware of this fact so that they do not become responsible for this sickness.
Risk at tea garden is caused due to pesticides, fertilizers, machines, agro-chemical and terrain etc.
There is lot of danger in fishing. Competition makes different fishing companies force workers to go on hazardous journeys.
All these health and safety risks need to be looked into.
Rivo
This is a guest post by Ruth from Rivo Software, a world class provider of incident management software and risk assessment software to help businesses manage risk and compliance.
