For any business owner, the safety of his premises, where an employee works daily and customers are served should be in the first place. Providing security will help protect you from unforeseen losses and lawsuits.
First of all, you must protect your business from fire, electricity, explosions and industrial accidents. How can you ensure the security of your business?
Choosing the Right Fire Extinguisher
Not every fire extinguisher can extinguish an electric fire. The fire extinguisher must necessarily have the seal of the testing laboratory, special designations of the fire classes that they can extinguish. There are 3 main classes of fires:
- Class A – conventional combustible materials such as wood, paper, plastic, fabric and rubber.
- Class B – flammable liquids such as gasoline, grease, paint, gas, resin and varnish.
- Class C – electrical equipment, wiring, circuit breakers, various household electrical appliances, fuse boxes and manufacturing equipment.
An inclined red line on the marking indicates that such a fire extinguisher cannot be used to extinguish a particular class of fires.
A small fire extinguisher is not an option for a business. The fire extinguisher should be large enough to put out a large amount of fire. For fire extinguishers, the label indicates the rating, for example, from 1 to 40 are suitable for extinguishing Class A fires. The higher the rating, the greater the fire that this fire extinguisher can put out.
You can also choose between a rechargeable fire extinguisher and a disposable one. Disposable will need to be disposed of after the first use.
The installation of a fire extinguisher must be approached wisely. You can often see cases where a fire extinguisher is somewhere under the table or in some corner. A fire extinguisher must be installed in an accessible place that is on the way while evacuating from the room.
It is also necessary to carefully monitor the condition of fire extinguishers. It must be fully charged. Fire extinguishers have a special sensor that shows the pressure in it. Make sure that the indicator is always within acceptable limits.
Antidust Equipment
Too much dust in the workplace is a serious danger and risk of fire. A large amount of dust is obtained when working with coal, stone, cement, asbestos, grain, flour, wood, leather and even rubber. Dust can significantly affect health. Quite often, dust causes damage to the eyes, nose, asthma, silicosis and even lung cancer, if the dust is associated with asbestos.
You can reduce the risks of dust by using special anti-dust equipment, for example:
- Exhaust ventilation systems — helps get rid of dust in a certain area;
- Dilution ventilation systems. Such systems ventilate the entire workplace;
- Special vacuum cleaner. You should use such equipment to regularly clean the workplace.
In addition, your dust removal system must meet local requirements. When planning the system, fire safety must be taken into account. When installing the system, be sure to follow all standards and carefully study the designations on the equipment.
Protective Equipment
Fire, electric shock, flying chips and droplets of toxic materials can cause serious injury or illness. You must protect your employees from all the potential injuries. You can significantly reduce the risks if all your employees wear special protective clothing and use special protective equipment such as:
- Respirators
- Protective glasses
- Face shields and masks
- Safety helmets
- Earmuffs and earbuds
- Safety belts
- Protective vests
- Safety boots.
You must inform, train and instruct your employees on how to use, store and maintain the protective equipment in good condition. It is necessary to convey to employees that the importance of protection is primarily necessary for them.
Choosing the Equipment
When choosing protective equipment, you should think about:
- Are the sizes suitable for each employee?
- Is it comfortable to wear a work uniform? Workers must be able to work in it all day long.
- Does the uniform protect workers from all potential risks?
- Individual circumstances and characteristics of medical workers.
- Environmental impact of the equipment.
Cabinets
If you are working with chemicals, poisons and varnishes, flammable and water-polluting liquids, such substances can be safely stored in dangerous goods cabinets.
These cabinets can protect your employees from the harmful effects of the materials placed in them. The cabinet walls are made of many layers of sheet metal, which does not allow the spread of toxic gases, odours, fumes. At the same time, cabinets are most often arbitrarily explosion-proof in order to minimise damage from possible fire, explosion or evaporation of hazardous substances. At the same time, cabinets protect substances from an external fire so the content of the cabinet may take a long time to heat up.
Conclusion
Don’t neglect safety. It’s very important to have the right equipment and good infrastructure of the working space. Having security equipment and following all safety instructions can significantly reduce the risks for your business and for your employees.
Stay safe.
