Performing regular inspections using health and safety checklist templates is a proactive approach to preventing work-related incidents, injuries, and illnesses.
The use of health and safety inspection checklists can also help organisations apply the latest best practices for situations or changes in the workplace that impact lives and livelihoods.
How can you identify Health and Safety Problems?
Every workplace will have hazards; depending on the industry, businesses will have to contend with different types of hazards that come with the job. Ask yourself, are these hazards avoidable, and can they be identified before they cause untoward incidents? It is an employer’s responsibility to look after employees and protect them from health and safety hazards in at work.
Being aware of the common types of hazards in your industry is the first step in avoiding work-related accidents and injuries.
- Physical hazards
This is the most common workplace hazard. Contrary to popular belief, physical hazards don’t need to make contact with a person to cause harm. These include extreme temperatures, prolonged exposure to the sun, radiation, and constant exposure to loud noises.
- Chemical hazards
Chemical hazards are present if workers are exposed to any harmful chemical substance in any form (solid, liquid, or gas). Different substances have different levels of risk and different people will have different levels of tolerance to different chemical substances. Chemical hazards include pesticides, cleaning solvents, flammable substances, dangerous gases, and vapors and fumes from welding or solvents.
- Biological hazards
Biological hazards are present when the nature of work involves working with animals, infectious plants, and bacteria and viruses that can cause adverse health effects.
- Ergonomic hazards
Ergonomic hazards are present when the nature of work places employees under stressful conditions or in situations where the body is put under significant strain. Ergonomic hazards are often unrecognized because the harm that they cause is not immediate. Some conditions that pose ergonomic hazards include non-ergonomic workstations, frequent lifting without following best practices, repetitive movements, repeated forcible motion, and exposure to constant and excessive vibration.
Download our health and safety assessment here and take a proactive approach to safety!
