Ensure Workplace Safety
When challenges like budget management and urgent customer requests to meet sales targets take up the company’s time and resources, managers may find it difficult to prioritise workplace safety and health (WSH). However, a safe workplace is essential, and employers should ensure that the workplace is as safe as possible by implementing procedures that can help to eliminate potential dangers. Every workplace needs to build sustainable, iterative WSH procedures. Profound implications for individuals, communities, and organisations can result from neglecting workplace safety.
Workplace Safety and Health
In Singapore, the Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA) was adopted in 2006 due to numerous public tragedies that left many people hurt or dead. The act seeks to make the workplace safer for workers and citizens by establishing laws based on three principles.
- Reduce or eliminate the risks posed by each stakeholder.
- Increase the sectors’ sense of responsibility for safety and health results.
- Increased fines for safety management compromises can prevent accidents.
Holistics Framework Combining Risk Assessment Training & Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
These guidelines created a new holistic norm for WSH integrated across numerous bodies.
Personnel can detect and eliminate actual hazards to their health and safety by combining risk assessment, training, and efficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), reducing some risks associated with a more modular approach.
Risk assessments can be formal and carried out by a WSH expert or safety officer, but they can also provide insight into how employees make decisions. Employees in high-risk industries are constantly faced with choices affecting their safety. A training component helps employees understand the dangers to their field and develops their decision-making abilities to reduce the likelihood of accidents. PPE is necessary to guarantee that workers are physically protected in the case of a disaster.
Challenges Faced
Due to the high expense of highly specialised equipment, many businesses may be reluctant to invest in adequate PPE. Additionally, specific workplaces could need help getting their workers to follow PPE regulations. Because the PPE sometimes hinders their ability to perform their job duties, employees struggle to comply.
These worries can be eliminated by pointing employees toward PPE solutions that are
affordable, cosy, comfortable, well-fitting, and don’t get in the way of their work. The PPE needed will vary significantly among sectors and vocations to account for the many hazards.
Comprehensive Overview of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Personal protective equipment (PPE) falls into various categories that only apply to some industries. For instance, a nurse is more likely to use an N95 mask than a welding face mask. The different PPE categories can roughly be divided into safety systems, safety tools, and safety clothes. Safety systems include the workplace setting and personnel, while safety apparels are PPEs that cover the entire body. Safety tools are equipment that helps people execute their jobs safely.
1. Safety Apparel
Almost all sectors employ safety clothing to safeguard workers from potential harm and to keep their clothes clean and debris-free. For instance, one sort of safety clothing is the coverall, which increases worker visibility while protecting from flames, chemicals, and particulates.
Disposable eyewear, hand and arm guards, footwear, head, ear, and face protection are other examples of safety clothing. Choosing safety gear constructed of high-quality, appropriate materials and intended to protect users in the proper situations is crucial.
2. Shoes and Boots
Shoes are needed to shield the feet against chemical spills and blunt force damage. They can be set up in various ways depending on the task. Due to slipping being a prevalent hazard, anti-slip shoes are often used in hospitals, research, and the food and beverage sectors.
Additionally, more durable footwear used in logistics and construction has protection plates to shield workers from the numerous physical risks. Choosing a pair of shoes can be challenging, with many options. When buying safety shoes, be sure to watch out for these three things:
Comfort: Try on footwear with thick insoles and midsoles, which can help to provide the feet with enough support and protection. To test the comfort of the shoe, walk and squat in it. To ensure that the shoe fits properly, mimic movements at work. As weather protection is not a top requirement, mesh and microfibre mesh materials provide excellent breathability.
Safety: Based on the job’s demands, select the appropriate footwear. S1, S1P, and S3 safety shoes are available.
- The toecap of S1 shoes shields the feet from flying debris.
- The toecap and midpalate of S1P shoes are penetration-resistant. They offer protection from ground penetration as well as falling items.
- S3 footwear features a weatherproof mid-palate, toecap, and toe. They are ideal for demanding tasks.
Make sure to ascertain whether third-party testing has approved the ratings.
- Check out our selection of the lightest safety boots and shoes. Low-cut composite toecap safety shoes and mid/high-cut composite toecap safety boots are the two available styles.
- There are two styles of steel-toe safety footwear available: low-cut steel toecap safety shoes and mid/high-cut steel toecap safety boots.
Cost: Manufacturers of unsafe safety footwear frequently try to save money by forgoing testing or utilising defective materials. Pick shoes that strike a balance between price and quality. Long-term financial savings aside, this could also save lives.
3. Eyewear
The eyes must be shielded from all dangers because they are both vital and vulnerable. Workers should wear the appropriate protective eyewear in fields exposed to bodily fluids, chemicals, flying wood or metal, or flying bits of wood. Reputable eyewear companies put their goods through extensive testing to ensure they are safe for workplace requirements, including UV protection from intense sunlight.
Eyewear falls into one of three categories:
- Prescription or non-prescription safety glasses
- Security Glasses
- Overspecifying safety
To meet various needs, various protective eyewear is offered. Consider a high-risk profession where metal shavings fly around. In that situation, choose safety goggles more resistant to debris than workers who may only require a barrier to keep certain items off their skin.
There are choices for protective prescription glasses that fit over or attach to the side of the eyeglasses. Spectacles must be covered by protective clothing that meets industry standards because they are not considered protective equipment.
PDS Safety’s eyewear complies with the strictest impact protection standards because it has undergone rigorous testing and certification. In addition, our Asian-fit design guarantees a snug, comfortable fit regardless of the shape of the face.
4. Safety Tools
Safety tools supplement and improve workplace safety procedures. These tools include working at heights (WAH) equipment, respirators, electrical safety, and other items. They ensure that safe working practices can be implemented in all sectors of the economy.
To maximise staff productivity and efficiency throughout product transportation and shipment, StreamPeak provides a range of workplace safety solutions.
Stream Peak provides safety cutters and knives of good calibre and precision. Cutting-edge Safety Cutters and knives provide the highest level of safety when opening and cutting large retail boxes and dealing with challenging cutting needs. They can help to lower worker accidents, prevent product damage and reduce the expense associated with replacing lost cutters.
Furthermore, with the help of a forklift monitoring solution from the HIT-NOT series, protect users on forklift systems and provide a safe workplace. Hit-Not is a sophisticated and accurate method for detecting pedestrians in work locations like factories and warehouses. Its proximity sensor alarm mechanism benefits mobile equipment sectors, like ports, docks, and many others where pedestrians and equipment are frequently close. Our Hit Not solution uses modern technology, which uses a low-frequency magnetic field to protect workers’ lives at work.
5. Work-At-Height (WAH) Tools
Edge protection, horizontal and vertical fixed systems, roof anchors, ropes, carabiners, and rescue gear, including steel slings, rescue winches, absorbers, and stress-relieving devices, are all included in work-at-height (WAH) protection. The risk of WAH injuries extends beyond the construction industry. Working at heights risks the marine, engineering, and even hospitality industries.
Use WAH gear at extreme and average heights to reduce workers’ risk. In contrast, WAH equipment is mandatory in high-risk industries like construction and maritime, where a fall can result in harm and death.
Tools for WAH must be of the highest calibre. Before beginning WAH, ensure all hooks, anchors, and ropes are securely in place. To reduce injuries in the event of a fall, the worker should, whenever possible, wear a full-body safety harness.
All WAH protective equipment should be used under supervision and with reasonable safety procedures. Additionally, workers need to remember to undertake suitable risk assessments. Sometimes it is unnecessary to work at heights because the task may be completed safely on the ground.
6. Electrical Equipment
Exposure to electricity is one of the main reasons for fatalities in the building industry. Arc flashes are another frequent electrical disaster that results in a high-temperature explosion that vaporises nearby metal, starts flames, and leaves victims with severe burns. These risks exist for overhead line workers, engineers, electricians, and construction workers. Using electrical safety equipment, ensure the workplace is prepared to handle electrical hazards.
Grounding equipment and eye and head protection are necessary when working with electrical currents. Workers will be safeguarded from shocks by insulated electrical safety devices. Gloves, mats, and ladders are insulated equipment that reduces the electrical current that passes through a person’s body. Overalls for protection that are heat- and arc-flash-resistant are also effective.
Before using electrical equipment, always test it in low-risk situations. Damaged insulation, tools, and equipment can endanger someone’s WSH. Make sure that all of the equipment is correctly grounded, as well. The risk of electrocution can be decreased by using proper grounding techniques to remove extra power.
All electrical PPE should be worn with full WSH training and procedures tailored to the accident. PPE will reduce the severity of an individual’s injuries, but the best defence is knowledge of good health and safety procedures
7. Safety Systems
There are safety mechanisms in place to support best practice techniques in all workplaces. Detectors, spill-control mechanisms, safety containment tools, emergency stations, and safety cabinets are all safety system equipment. These will guarantee that a hazard is found or removed as soon as feasible.
When operating in locations with little ventilation, detectors are helpful. They can distinguish between different airborne particles, including dangerous gases like CO, that cause thousands of fatalities worldwide. To detect alcohol in the breath, detectors can also be in the form of breathalysers.
Safety systems also include the field of healthcare. First aid supplies, sanitisers, thermometers, water filter jugs, oximeters, blood pressure monitors, and other items ensure the business is ready to handle any injuries.