Do you ever get the tingling feeling when you step into your workplace? Does your gut tell you that something isn’t quite right or in place?
If you have alarm bells ringing in your head, then you should turn your anxiety into action. Look out for these warning signs and proceed to fix them. Your actions could save your life as well as your colleagues’.
1. Malfunctioning emergency lighting and exit signs
Emergency and exits lights may seem like an omnipresent office lighting fixture, but they’re no mere ornament. Their function may not seem crucial until the occurrence of an adverse event, by which time a person’s life could be saved or lost due to emergency lighting. The way to fix it may seem obvious enough, that is to repair or replace the light. However what’s more crucial is its long-term reliability and assurance that it will fully function and serve its purpose during an emergency. Hence, emergency and exit lights must undergo a 90-minute discharge test every 6 months. In order to achieve this, it’s best you contact a professional who specialises in emergency lighting and exit light testing.
2. Lack of or outdated fire extinguishers
Fire extinguishers are the ever crucial go-to equipment in case of a fire. Immediate control of a fire could spell the difference between a minor incident and a major disaster, the latter which could result in the loss of lives. According to Fire and Safety Australia, 95% of fires are found to be extinguishable if the fire extinguisher is applied promptly. Therefore, it’s crucial that your workplace stores functioning and ready fire extinguishers for immediate use should the worst happen. As made compulsory by the Building Code of Australia (BCA), fire extinguisher testing must be carried out by trained fire extinguisher testing professionals every 6 months to meet the Australian workplace safety standards.
3. Faulty power points
Electrical safety is of great importance no matter where you are. So if you find any power points in your workplace showing unsettling signs of damage, you should call in an expert. It’s the process of having your electrical installations and power points tested to avoid electric shock and injury. Coming into contact with an electrical installation that is active due to a fault condition can cause someone to suffer a severe electric shock, which can result in serious injury and even death.
So avoid your organisation from being vulnerable to health and safety risks. These steps will reduce not only the risks of accidents and injuries, but also prevent the dire consequences that often accompany them; financial compensations, legal issues, reputational damages, or worse, death.
