Safety Equipment
I was recently asked about safety equipment use in the workplace including when we need it, for how long etc. However, selection of safety equipment and related questions should be the last step in the process. The first step is to determine if in fact you need the safety equipment. This may seem obvious but there are many companies who are sold on the need to purchase safety equipment by well intentioned safety equipment sales people. Therefore it is important your business has carefully considered and confirmed there is a need before selecting any safety equipment.
How To Confirm The Need For Safety Equipment
The first step is to conduct a hazard identification exercise within your workplace. Look around and find out what could be dangerous or hazardous to your staff. Look at your work environment with the eyes of a parent surveying their house for the first time as the baby starts to crawl. All of a sudden everyday objects suddenly become a possible hazard because you are looking at objects from the viewpoint of the baby with less coordination and experience about what could hurt them - remember teaching your child not to touch that hot oven? Imagine then a new person walking in and having to explain to them what is dangerous within your workplace, rather than let them learn form experience.
Having listed all the objects and tasks that could be dangerous (you have just started a hazard register) now it's time to find whys to reduce the harm to people. According to New Zealand legislation you must first identify the hazard. Check. We now need to look at managing the hazard, which is the part where people get stuck i.e. confirm the hazard really is a hazard. For example, noise is a classic. One workers noise is another person’s music, and having a radio turned up loud might be the cause of friction amongst workers. However, will the noise levels actually cause long term hearing loss? The difference is critical. One is an HR issue and while important to resolve, is not a safety issue requiring issue of safety equipment. However, many people pull out the safety red-card with no scientific basis. Therefore it is important to confirm the identified hazard is a safety hazard or whether it is another type of management issue.
If confirmed to be potentially dangerous then its time to manage the hazard. We now have to first attempt to eliminate the hazard. Do you need to use this piece of machinery, or can some other chemical be used instead, or can the process be changed to completely eliminate the need for a particulate hazardous step. Do you see, if the hazard is not there, you will not need to worry about wearing safety equipment. Often though, elimination is not a practical option, so we move onto isolating the hazard.
This means separating the person form the dangerous or harmful element and could be as simple as putting a guard in place on a piece of equipment. However, the guard must be fit for purpose and installed by a qualified specialist. For example, air ventilation systems are used to separate harmful chemicals in spray painting booths form those workers working outside the booth. If isolation can not be done then we drop down to the last form of defence, which could include the use of safety equipment.
How Effective is Safety Equipment?
Minimisation of exposure to a hazard is the least effective means to control a hazard, but tends to be the most used method. But even so, having confirmed the need for safety equipment it is critical that your business has systems in place around the use of this safety equipment. Handing out a set of safety equipment is not a system.
The business needs to articulate a clear policy around the use of safety equipment. Staff must clearly understand the use of safety equipment is a requirement of keeping their job. While this may seem harsh, the alternative is to try and tip-toe around the use of safety equipment which will cause a multitude of HR management problems down track. And if an accident occurs it is the business that will be defending why the staff member was not wearing their safety equipment. Make it clear to your staff what and when they must wear the safety equipment.
Of course, you need to explain why they are wearing the safety equipment which is a simple matter now that you have built a hazard register. But ensure you teach them how to use the safety equipment, how to correctly store it and how to check for ongoing functionality with individual checks and an employer audit or maintenance program. Also note that a safety equipment allowance can not be paid to the employee, as a means to shift the management of the safety equipment on to the employee. There are exceptions to this when an employee may use different safety equipment for comfort reasons etc, as long as the same level of protection is provided. As an example, I saw an innovative in a factory. Ear defenders were issued to workers in an extremely noisy section of the plant doing long, repetitive work. The company though would credit the cost of the basic ear defenders to an upgraded version which had an inbuilt radio, a classic win-win. The morale and productivity of the workers improved and the company provided a safe working environment.
Finally, Selecting Your Safety Equipment
You now understand that there is no one particular 'widget' that will meet all needs. For example, if you are being told to buy a ladder that meets A/NZ OHS standards you now know there is no such thing. The ladder may meet certain design specs but a short ladder is not fit for purpose when a long ladder is required, and so on. With this understanding, other considerations for purchasing safety equipment include:
-cost
-long term durability
-service support from the safety equipment supplier and
-the ability to provide the quantity and type of safety equipment
Safety Hub is on the search for the best New Zealand based supplier of safety equipment which will meet these conditions. We will provide an update as soon as we have a company to recommend, and why we recommend this safety equipment provider.
