Be vigilant in the office

A few years ago I became aware of a large company head office that had a safety record worse than some of the processing plants that operated across Australia. Notwithstanding the great tea trolley disaster and the fact that road incidents and injuries were included, it demonstrated that the office is not a place where safety can be ignored.

A safety management system needs to be developed and implemented for the office environment. High risk areas pertain to stairs, electrical equipment, trip hazards and of course manual handling.

I have investigated several serious injuries where heavy and/or awkward objects have been moved or attempted to be moved. A particularly frequent occurrence is when the work area is being redesigned or new furniture is being delivered and set up.

I can only urge you to hold on to the handrail when using stairs as the consequences of a fall on stairs can be dire. Many companies have ‘use of handrail’ advertisements as a golden safety rule with no negotiation and zero tolerance. The risk of fire in an office setting is always there and attention to fit-for-purpose, tagged electrical equipment is critical.

Ensure any apparatus bought in from home is fit for the task and approved, such as heaters during the winter period or radios.

Remember all incidents and injuries are preventable. The better planned and prepared we are the less likelihood of an incident.

Kevin Bassett
Corporate Safety Manager