The Importance of Study
The Importance of Study
The Importance of Study
A serious workplace injury or death changes lives forever for families, friends,
communities, and coworkers too. Human loss and suffering is immeasurable. Occupational
injuries and illnesses can provoke major crises for the families in which they occur. In
addition to major financial burdens, they can impose substantial time demands on uninjured
family members. Today, when many families are operating with very little free time, family
resources may be stretched to the breaking point.
Every person who leaves for work in the morning should expect to return home at night in
good health. Can you imagine the knock on the door to tell you your loved one will never be
returning home? Or the phone call to say hes in the hospital and may never walk again?
Ensuring that husbands return to their wives, wives to their husbands, parents to their
children, and friends to their friends that is the most important reason to create a safe and
healthy work environment.
But it isnt the only reason.
Identify hazards
You have to identify your main hazards (things that could cause harm).
Assess Risk
You have to assess your risks (the probability that significant harm will occur) and
again, if you employ more than five, record the results of your assessment.
Risk assessment is the key to working out what needs to be done - but don't make it
over-complicated. Remember, although you have to do it by law, it is really only any
use if it can be used as a working tool - to help you prove to yourself and your
employees that you have identified the main things in your business which could
cause harm and that you are doing everything you should to prevent that harm from
happening.
For the most part the law sets out certain health and safety goals to be achieved and
indicates appropriate 'benchmarks' to help you work out whether your controls are up
to 'reasonably practicable' standards. There is an underlying requirement to reduce or
eliminate hazards at source, or isolate people from them (for example, by guarding
machinery) before using other forms of control. Relying on the use of personal
protective equipment - like respirators or protective footwear - is a last resort and is
only acceptable when all other options have failed.