There are a lot of obvious factors regarding office health and safety. But have you considered these? Some of them aren’t too obvious at all, and are actually forgotten by many office managers. Don’t let your business fall victim to the same lack of precaution!
Germ-killing measures
Think of the modern office: we touch pretty much everything, right? We’re grabbing at telephone receivers. Swiping away at tablet screens. Typing away at keyboards. Holding onto a computer mouse.
There’s no denying that allow this touching and grabbing and rubbing allows for germs to spread easily. It’s no surprise that office workers get ill more often than other kinds of workers! You may want to consider having hand sanitizing stations in your office, though many people may just need to be reminded of the need to wash their hands often.
Proper documentation
Wide access to proper safety documentation is often forgotten about when we think about office health and safety. But it’s a crucial factor to think about. Documentation is what educates your workers in how to use equipment safely, and also highlights other safety and hygiene risks.
Equipment manuals should always be available in some form. Any health and safety documentation should be easily accessible as well as complete. Shared paper documents is a good idea, but access to relevant documents using the cloud or office network could be better.
Fire measures
The average modern office is usually pretty hectic. A lot of them are also not very roomy. Everyone is busy and there are budget restrictions, so what are you supposed to do about that, really? Problem: these factors can become serious problems if a fire break out.
First off, there should never be obstructions along the exit routes. Ensure there isn’t equipment or boxes in anyone’s way. This should apply all of the time! Not only when there’s a prearranged fire drill. You should also look into something like CFS Fire Protection Services to ensure action is taken if something does happen.
Food protection
When people think about office refrigerators, they often think about people stealing each other’s’ food (and the passive-aggressive notes you get as a result!). But that’s not all we should be thinking about: the fact is that many office refrigerators aren’t cleaned as frequently as they ought to be. You’ve got several people bringing in various types of food. Sometimes there are spills or bad mixes.
Getting the fridge cleaned involves getting everyone to take everything out. This is a task that most people know needs to be done often, but it’s usually put off. The refrigerator should be cleaned every few days!
Experts!
Health and safety is more complex than many business owners think. There are so many aspects of business law that come into it. You also have to take into account so many medical or physical standpoints.
Not every business owner has the luxury of getting to go into all of this in as much detail as is optimal. You can still have these bases covered, though. Consider getting staff trained in first aid. Health and safety consultants, as well as business law experts, can also be sought from outside the office.