“A HEALTHY WORKSITE”
A healthy worksite must be clean and safe and promote the overall well-being of the employees and visitors. It reduces the exposure to job hazards and communicable diseases that can lead to injuries and illnesses, increased expenses and lost productivity. Safe & Healthy worksites also promote employee morale and reduce employee turnover.
Characteristics of a Healthy Worksite
1. Provides clean bathrooms, wash stations, eating areas and running water.
Make sure there are proper toiletries and cleaning supplies available.
2.Eliminate slip, trip and fall hazards. Use signs, colours and shapes to denote locations, aisle ways and means of egress.
Employees are able to observe and correct hazards. Once a hazard is identified, the correction is made and reported.
This level of documentation facilitates an on-going safety program within the entity.
3. Ensure there is good ventilation in work areas proportional to the risk involved with the work.
4. Establishes and adheres to all Personal Protective Equipment requirements. Employees always “dress for success” by wearing the appropriate protective equipment.
Employees know which PPE to use for which task, how to use the appropriate equipment to do the task, how to keep PPE well maintained, when to dispose of it and how to dispose of it safely.
5. Ensures blood-borne pathogen training has been provided and response kits are available. Limit the use of smoking and oral tobacco to designated areas only.
6. Establishes a pre-shift stretching routine to keep muscles loose.
7. Makes sure Material Safety Data Sheets are available and accessible to all employees.
8. Ensures spill response and fire suppression equipment is available.
9. Provides Emergency First Responders and have at least one designated for each work area.
10. Sets high cleanliness and housekeeping standards: Does not let dirt and debris accumulate.
11. Keeps waste receptacles from over-filling: Designate the type of waste that should go into each waste receptacle, and establish good recycling procedures.
12. Implements a comprehensive auditing program that assesses compliance to expectations; most Healthy Worksites have an effective auditing process.
“To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection” Jules Henri Poincare
Thanks, TO
