Day in day out, people not just in Australia,but also all over the world end up suffering serious injuries, due to either a fall or any other office safety hazard, that may have slipped the yearly safety inspection.
This means that there are plenty of labour hours lost and a whole lot of money being paid as compensation, due to entirely preventable reasons. As a matter of fact, if we were to vector in the total productivity lost due to office accidents, we can easily ascertain that it has the potential to lead to a considerable drop in national productivity rates, overall.
And if we were to forego the financial aspect of such tragedies and concentrate on the purely physical ones, then we would be able to see that they cause a lot of pain and discomfort. However, many if not most, such accidents can easily be prevented with a bit of foresight and care.
In other words, the age old adage “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure” certainly comes to the fore and we are able to see that taking a few precautionary measures can turn out to be a great idea in the long run. Let us see check out a few of the more common safety hazards in an office:
-
Extension cords
The inappropriate use of electrical hazards is a cause for concern, in many office blocks. Often the vast amount of equipment such as printers’ PCs, monitors etc. lead to an inevitable ‘daisy chaining’ of extension cords with appliance plugs being haphazardly fitted together. Apart from the fact that it creates a trip hazard, it can also lead to something far more serious such as electric shocks, or even fires caused due to short circuits.
-
Hallway and working space clutter
This is another common hazard as well. People can trip and fall on empty boxes and other debris casually tossed around working spaces and corridors.
-
Lighting is always very important
Proper lighting is always very important at the workplace. This is due to the fact that poor or dim lighting can lead to people walking ‘blind’ in the dark and this can mean they are potentially more prone to tripping and falling, especially if the place is already cluttered. This is why all malfunctioning light bulbs should be replaced as soon as possible.
There is a lot of helpful advice available with regard to office safety tips available at the trip safe website
-
Fuse boxes
Since fuse boxes are discreetly ducked away in out of the way places, they are seldom regularly checked. However, every fuse has a certain life cycle and once it has worn out or is too old, it should be replaced post haste, in order to avoid a potential short circuit.
-
Plugs, sockets, and appliances
It is imperative that the right socket should be used for the right appliance. Forcing a high power appliance in a socket meant for a low power plug, would cause the switchboard to overheat and potentially short circuit, thereby leading to a full-fledged electricity meltdown.