Important health and safety rules at work include eliminating slip and trip hazards, prohibiting the use of mobile phones while walking, practicing good housekeeping, not running heat-generating equipment unattended, avoiding overloading plug sockets, conducting risk assessments, wearing appropriate PPE, promoting good posture, keeping health and safety training certifications up to date, and ensuring that employees are aware of the location of evacuation routes and emergency equipment.
Let’s look at each of these workplace health and safety rules in more detail:
1. Eliminate slip and trip hazards
Slips, trips, and falls are the most common causes of workplace injuries across all industries, and are responsible for a huge amount of lost work days every year. Prevent these injuries by identifying and eliminating slip and trip hazards in the workplace.
Follow these slip, trip, and fall prevention rules:
- Fix uneven floors and paving
- Use yellow hazard signs for wet floors
- Apply non-slip strips to stairs
- Provide handrails on stairways
- Display warning signage to alert people of floor level changes
- Don’t leave drawers and cupboard doors hanging open
- Neatly stow extension leads, cables, and wires out of the way
- Practice good housekeeping by keeping storerooms, walkways, and workspaces neat and litter-free
- Ensure adequate lighting
- Implement a ‘No Distracted Walking’ policy to prevent people using their phones while walking
2. Implement a ‘No Distracted Walking’ policy
Scrolling, texting, or taking calls while walking causes people to lose awareness of their surroundings, resulting in falls and injuries. Implement a ‘No Distracted Walking’ or ‘Safe Walking’ policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones while walking to prevent trips and falls.
3. Practice good housekeeping
Good housekeeping refers to keeping work areas, storerooms, and walkways neat, clutter-free, organised, and clean. This is an important workplace health and safety rule, as it provides a host of health and safety benefits.
Benefits of good housekeeping:
- Neat, clean, clutter-free areas present fewer slip and trip hazards
- Evacuation routes remain clear and unobstructed
- Preventing the accumulation of flammable materials like cardboard boxes, paper, and litter lowers the fire risk
- Hygiene and cleanliness deter vermin and reduce the likelihood of disease spread
- Properly storing and labelling hazardous materials reduces the risk of dangerous spills, poisoning, and fire
4. Don’t leave heat-generating equipment unattended
Heaters and other heat-generating equipment pose a serious fire risk and as such should never be left unattended while running. Always ensure that office heaters are switched off at the end of the workday.
5. Don’t overload plug sockets
Overloading plug sockets by plugging multiple high-wattage devices or appliances into a multiplug (also known as a power strip) can lead to overheating, wire damage, electrical shock, and fire.
Follow these electrical health and safety rules:
- Check the wattage of devices and appliances before plugging them into a multiplug to ensure that they don’t collectively exceed the socket wattage (standard South African sockets are rated for 2,300 watts)
- Stick to using one high-wattage appliance per wall socket
- Don’t ‘daisy chain’ extension leads; rather purchase an extension lead that is the correct length
- Don’t plug additional multiplugs or adapters into a multiplug
- Regularly inspect cords and sockets for damage, melting, or scorch marks
- Don’t cover extension cords with rugs as this can lead to overheating
6. Conduct annual risk assessments and implement controls
Risk assessments should be conducted once a year to identify and eliminate any new hazards and risks in the workplace. Newly identified health and safety hazards should be reported to the Health and Safety Supervisor or Health and Safety Committee as soon as possible. The most crucial aspect of risk assessments is implementing appropriate and effective risk control measures.
7. Wear appropriate PPE
Wearing appropriate, well-maintained PPE (personal protective equipment) is especially important in factories, workshops, warehouses, construction sites, healthcare settings, laboratories, etc. The use of mandatory signage can be helpful to remind workers to put on their PPE before entering an area or beginning a task.
8. Maintain good posture to avoid injury
Ergonomics is an important aspect of health and safety in any workplace setting, including offices. Workstations and work areas should be set up to encourage good posture and minimise the risk of injury.
Follow these ergonomic health and safety rules:
- Include ergonomic considerations in your annual risk assessments
- Encourage workers to take regular, short breaks to stand up, stretch, and move around
- Set up desk workstations to encourage correct posture (feet flat on the floor, thighs parallel to the ground, elbows at 90 degrees while typing, and screen at eye level)
- Teach workers safe lifting techniques (bend at the knees, never twist while lifting, and don’t attempt to lift heavy loads alone)
- To avoid strain due to repetitive motions, alternate tasks frequently if possible
- Encourage workers to report pain, stiffness, and fatigue early
9. Keep all Health and Safety Team training and certifications up to date
Occupational health and safety training certifications are valid for a set time period, after which Health and Safety Team members need to attend refresher training. Keeping your Health and Safety Team’s certifications up to date is essential for ensuring compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and for keeping your team’s knowledge and skills current.
Health and safety training certification validity periods:
10. Familiarise yourself with the evacuation floor plan and location of emergency equipment
Ensure that all employees are aware of the location of the evacuation floor plans, escape routes, first aid boxes, firefighting equipment, and any other emergency equipment on the premises. In addition, all businesses are legally required to clearly display evacuation floor plans, affix emergency signage indicating the location of first aid boxes, firefighting equipment, emergency exits, etc., and conduct bi-annual evacuation drills.
Your workplace needs a tailored health and safety management programme
While these workplace health and safety rules can be applied across most businesses and industries, they alone don’t constitute a comprehensive health and safety management framework. It’s crucial to properly assess your workplace to develop a tailored health and safety management programme based on your particular needs, work activities, and risk profile. To help you do this, Absolute Health Services offers the following services:
- OHS Management Services: a monthly recurring service to assist you in implementing and maintaining a tailored OHS management system.
- OHS Compliance Assessment: we assess your current OHS compliance status and provide a detailed compliance rating with regards to the OHS Act and regulations, and by-laws.
- OHS Risk Assessment: on-site OHS risk assessment aimed at identifying hazards, assessing risks, and suggesting appropriate control measures. This assessment is an OHS Act compliance requirement.
- OHS Equipment Assessment: we assess your entire working environment to identify gaps in your OHS and emergency equipment supplies and provide a quote to supply you with outstanding items, e.g., first aid boxes, evacuation floor plans, OHS Act posters, etc.
- OHS Files: we assist you in creating an up to date OHS file, which can be showed to the Department of Employment and Labour inspectors, should they arrive at your workplace.
- Evacuation Drills: we assist you in conducting on-site evacuation drills and provide a written report including details such as evacuation times, positive actions, suggested improvements, and photographs for record-keeping purposes.
- Health and Safety Training: we provide fully accredited, high-quality OHS training for your Health and Safety Team at our countrywide training centres or on your premises (for groups of eight or more delegates). Courses include First Aid, Firefighting, Evacuation Planning, Health and Safety Representative, Health and Safety Supervisor, and Health and Safety Officer.
