Workplace Health and Safety

The AS/NZ 3760 : 2003 is document written by Standards Australia that specifies the procedures and criteria for the in-service safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment which is designed for connection by a flexible cord. It also applies to cord extension sets, portable outlet devices, portable residual current devices. Appendices include detailed test methods.
1. Visual Inspection
The most important test is a Visual Inspection of the device, especially its lead/s. Cords should be firmly anchored in plugs, connections made solidly with no frayed ends. Copper terminals should be clean and not pitted.
There should be no sign of heat or melting of plugs. Leads should be visually inspected for their entire length to ensure that there are no cuts, cracks or breaks. This test alone represents 80% of the testing process.
2. Polarity
A Polarity test is done on leads, power boards, etc, and is functional check that Active, Neutral and especially Earth are not incorrectly wired.
3. Insulation Resistance
This test is important on appliances which come in contact with water such as pumps, cleaning and cooking appliances etc, but must be performed on all items. This will reveal if there are any hairline cracks or cuts in the lead which will result in a low insulation resistance.
4. Earth Resistance
This test will pass a larger current (up to 25 Amp) through the lead to ensure the earth wire has a strong connection.
5. Earth Leakages/ Touch Leakage
A leakage test must be preformed on a circuit that must be energizing to be switched on. i.e. circuits with electronic switches. The appliance is tested under load and the amount of current that leaks from the circuit is tested
6. The Tag Itself
A tag will be applied to the plug end of the appliance’s lead. It will clearly state the date of the test, date it is due to be retested, and who tested it.
7. Database
A complete test record will be databased, including; the asset id; test results; sites and locations; retest date; asset description, make, and serial number; and any additional notes that our test and tagging specialists wish to include.
All Safe Test and Tag is your No. 1 resource for all your electrical testing and tagging queries. We at All Safe are dedicated to providing only factual information about the AS3760 and portable appliance testing to ensure you are fully informed to make you workplace a safer environment.
All Safe Test and Tag | Electrical Testing and Tagging Resource

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Now that the Movie the Secret has been featured on Oprah, I am sure it will be getting even more attention. So how can you apply the principles of “The Secret” to workplace safety?
When I worked as the safety directory for a converting operation that was part of a major corporation, I was always frustrated at the negative approach that was taken toward safety. When I had one of my maintenance workers injured while trying to implement a safety suggestion, I knew that we were taking the wrong path to creating a safe workplace.
Long before I knew about the law of attraction or any of those concepts, I knew that wherever we put our focus, we got more of it. When we focused on accidents, we got more accidents. Even if we thought we were trying to prevent them.
Almost every safety program that I have studied has shown an increase in TCIR or whatever measurement is used during the first few months of implementing the plan. This spike is usually blamed on people reporting accidents that they once ignored and other factors. However, the law of attraction explains it clearly – what you think about expands.
It usually takes a while for a safety program to mature to the point where you stop focusing on accidents and removing hazards and start focusing on designing a safe and healthy work environment.
Once that shift in focus occurs, the injury rate seems to magically go down. For those still using a cause and effect model of life, they have a hard time finding just what was the cause of the drop in injuries. They will often pick one item from the program and try to implement it corporate wide. Usually to the ire of other safety professionals.
Now that I understand the law of attraction, I can point you to some factors that will improve any safety program:
1. Create a positive atmosphere where people enjoy working. This goes against the instincts of many mangers, but it will not only reduce injuries, but will also improve productivity.
2. Promote a feeling of safety. Teach people the right way to do a job so that they will not be subject to hazards. Don’t tell the how to avoid injury. Tell them how to do the job safely.
3. Expect employees to work safely. Many safety directors seem to take joy in catching people without their safety gear. Handing out STOP cards and petty fines only adds to the vibration of unsafeness.
4. Design safety into machines and work practices from the start. A well designed machine and efficient work practices will promote doing a job safely and efficiently. There will be no reason for an employee to look for an unsafe shortcut if the proper procedure works like it is supposed to.
5. Make sure employees know that you care by maintaining that safe work environment consistently. Nothing is worse than having safety being thought of as “the flavor of the month” until the next accident.
These five simple steps can be the key to not only reducing your injury rates but also to creating a more profitable workplace as well.
Mike Strawbridge is a performance improvement coach who loves to teach people how to apply the law of attraction to creating safer more profitable business situations.
Learn more workplace safety tips at: http://mikestrawbridge.com/safety-resources.htm

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We have all been doing fire drills since we were in grammar school. But in a modern industrial environment there is a lot more to consider than just marching the students down the hall.
In a manufacturing situation, there are specific actions that need to be taken by machine operators to shut down the machines safely and to minimize the restart expense. And if you are not actually shutting down your machines for a drill, then you don’t know if your procedures actually work.
OSHA and other regulating bodies have various rules about how often evacuation drills are to be practiced. This article in no way supersedes those requirements. This article is designed to give you advice on how to make your actual fire drill practice a more valuable experience.
When I worked in a printing facility handling flammable liquids, each employee had specific duties that he was expected to perform on his way out the door in the event of a fire. These duties included things like pressing an emergency stop button, releasing a safety latch to cover flammable liquids or closing a door to a room where flammable liquids were stored.
In a standard evacuation drill, there was no way to observe if every one did their jobs correctly or if they even knew what these jobs were. Practicing these jobs only once or twice a year was ineffective in making sure the workers were trained in the tasks.
Because it was very expensive to restart the printing presses after any shutdown, we had to minimize the actual machine stoppages as well.
The most effective method we found for training personnel in their evacuation duties was what we called the one at a time fire drill.
About once a month, our fire and emergency procedures team would take a list of employees and arrange with their supervisor to have them lead the trainer through their evacuation duties. The trainer would observe their actions and compare what they did to the written procedure. If necessary, the trainer could take corrective action immediately and give feedback on how they followed the written procedure.
If there was a deviation in the actions of the employee from the procedure, the team member determined if training was required or if the procedure need to be modified to match current work practices. Therefore, the one at a time fire drill accomplished two valuable purposes – Procedure review and training.
Since the machine was not actually shut down and the work crews not fully evacuated, the cost of this training exercise was minimal. Usually the only cost involved was that of having an extra staff member on hand to fill in for the one being trained.
We found this method of training to be very effective. Many operators who had been in their jobs for several years had never been given the opportunity to actually walk through their fire control duties before we instituted this program. We found several procedures that were unworkable as they interfered with the primary action of evacuating the building.
When executing a one at a time fire drill training plan, be sure to include every one. Even those whose only duty is to get themselves out of the building. Walk with them to the exit so you know they know which one to use.
Also consider lines of progression as an employee may be temporarily promoted to a different job task from time to time. Make sure you arrange to train them on the emergency duties of the temporary advancement position as well as the regular duties.
Another aspect to consider in evacuations and evacuation drills is the event of inclement weather. It does not help to have employees evacuate a burning building only to die from hypothermia on the outside.
Make sure you have considered the possibility of an evacuation during cold or wet weather. Make arrangements for alternate shelter or protective clothing and practice the use and distribution of such during your actual evacuation drills.
Another very important aspect of evacuations is the accounting of personnel. You must have a quick and accurate method of accounting for all personnel including visitors, vendors and contractors that are on the site during the evacuation. Many modern electronic attendance monitoring systems have made this task even more challenging as you don’t always have a computer print out of who is at work with you during an evacuation.
You must prepare in advance a system that is accessible to supervisors so that they can accurately account for their personnel in the event of an emergency. Overlooking a single person in unacceptable in such an instance. So is the needless endangerment of emergency responders looking for a person who is not really trapped.
Assigning small group supervisors or team leaders the responsibility of tracking their employees and keeping a written record of their presence or absence in the facility is one simple method of handling the accountability issue. Make sure you practice this accountability during your full evacuation drills as well as one on one with he supervisor or team leader.
Evacuation drills are not just a required nuisance. They serve a very important role in responding to an emergency and minimizing your business loss. Through proper planning and training you can minimize the business interruption and restart costs.
Injured workers will significantly delay your restart and impact your future productivity and profitability. Money spent on training and planning for an emergency will save your many times the cost in the event of an actual emergency. The one at a time fire drill training procedure can also be used to build familiarity with equipment making your employees even more productive. And, if they feel safe at work, they will be work more effectively as well.
Mike Strawbridge is the owner of Straw Solutions Performance Improvement Consulting. http://www.mikestrawbridge.com

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Maintaining a safe workplace is almost but not entirely totally unlike following OSHA regulations. If complying with OSHA regulations at your lowest up front cost is your goal, then I suggest you read another site. However, if you are truly interested in keeping your employees safe and productive in your workplace then here are some workplace safety tips for you. They might even help you comply with some OSHA regulations along the way.
My Top Ten Workplace Safety Tips:
1. Maintain a clean work area. Not only will you remove many hazards from a work area by keeping it clean, but you will also provide a more productive work environment for your employees.
2. Use guards and engineering solutions wherever possible instead of relying on PPE – personal protective equipment. PPE is hard to police and uncomfortable to wear. Find a way to prevent the exposure in the first place. Your workers will be much more productive if they are comfortable
3. Assume your employees want to work safely and give them that chance. Many safety incentive programs seemed to be based on the idea that employees want to get hurt and you have to bribe them not to stick their hand in the machine. If you have that idea, then these tips are not for you.
4. Give clear work instructions. Make sure your employees know the right way to do what you expect of them. Don’t just give them a list of things not to do. Include safety instructions in every procedure you write.
5. Don’t dwell on worst case scenarios but focus on what is most likely to occur. Start by focusing your energy in preventing your most common incidents. That means you will have to keep an accurate OSHA incident log even if it looks bad to some manager you report to.
6. Love your employees. Don’t confuse this with something that might get you a sexual harassment claim. I mean, care about your employees and let them know you do. If a machine is becoming unsafe, shut it down before someone gets hurt.
7. Spend time getting to know the work your employees do. Even if you once did that job, it is likely it is done differently by different people. Look at what people are actually doing and compare this to what is written in procedures. If the procedures are different from the actual practice , find out why.
8. Maintain the machinery in good working order. Many times employees get into dangerous situations by having to compensate for a machine defect or wear. In the case of wear, it may have occurred so gradually that they think it is normal. A strong preventive maintenance program makes for a strong safety program.
9. Avoid unnecessary hazards. Look for new materials or equipment that can eliminate the hazards your workers are exposed to.
10. Maintain a clean work area. See workplace safety tip number one above. Potential exposures to hazardous material and conditions can be dramatically reduced simply by keeping the work area clean. And the benefit in employee productivity and morale is worth the effort even without the safety incentive.
Mike Strawbridge is the owner of Straw Solutions Performance Improvement Consulting http://www.mikestrawbridge.com
For more workplace safety ideas see http://www.mikestrawbridge.com/workplace-safety-training.shtml

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Safety precautions in the office or factory has never been of greater value. The simple truth is that Although workers may be at risk of injury, employers are vulnerable to being reported to tribunals, specifically with the growing amount of unscrupulous lawyers. According to the Royal society for the prevention of accidents almost 1.6 million company injuries happen in england every 12 months, nonetheless in most cases the accident might have been avoided quite easily.
We all know that a safer office or factory environment benefits everybody. By chosing a few easy steps it’s easy for both individuals and companies to advance safety in the office or factory.
Consider ergonomics
You will constantly think about your work environment from an ergonomic angle. If we take an office situation as an example – ensure that office desks are at the appropriate height, computer screens aren’t overly close and office chairs confer adequate lower back support.
Perform risk assessments
Risk Assessments are a superb method of reducing risk of accidents before they happen. One top technique is to undertake cross-departmental risk assessments, where individuals from other departments in an organisation audit each other. A fresh pair of eyes may frequently see things differently, furthermore it gets staff from other departments working in concert.
Take frequent breaks
Taking enough breaks has been shown to eliminate stress and is scientifically proven to eliminate drowsiness. Have a ‘brew’ and a biscuit!
Change tasks
This is particularly essential for somebody who have to do monotonous chores over sustained periods of time, such as working on assembly lines or being a computer operator, as it avoids Repetitive strain injury. Ask if there is an alternative job which might be done instead – a change is a good as a rest.
Emergency medical aid lessons
In the event of an tragedy it is worthwhile to recognize who in your company has the required skill to administer emergency medical. If you’re the sort of individual who likes to become involved think about adding your name to the list for first aid edcuation – it’s an additional skill on your cv, businesses look at it as a positive and it’s quite interesting. Furthermore businesses should be encouraging people to get qualified.
Organise your workload
Spending a little time organising your workload can be really useful, still it is often overlooked, particularly when going through hectic periods of time when it is more important than ever! Each day plan the jobs you want to complete. Try to make it reachable though – make the productivity bar too high and you will just increase your problems.
Make sure you understand relevant health and safety laws
For a few organisations, such as those involved in the manufacture of volatile substances, keeping aware of complex safety laws is of immense importance. Nevertheless safety legislation of some form is important for all businesses. The best step for any business is to check with the Health and Safety Executive. They are given the responsibility for increasing awareness of the array of health and safety legislation that covers businesses in The uk.

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The workplace should be one place an employee can expect to feel safe. Maintaining a safe workplace should, therefore, be a primary goal of any business owner. The easiest way for an employer to prevent injuries in the workplace (and the associated costs that inevitably come with them) is to ensure that every eventuality is considered, and appropriate safety measure are put in place. The twelve Workplace Safety tips below are a good start.
Workplace Safety Tips:
1. Encourage your employees to maintain a clean and tidy workspace. This will have the dual effect of improving safety AND productivity by removing any potential hazards or distractions from your working area.
2. When working with heavy machinery, use specially constructed guards and engineering solutions combined with PPE (personal protective equipment) to protect your employees from injury.
3. Recognise employees that conform to the safety standards that are set, and ensure appropriate discipline is handed out to employees that flout these rules.
4. Give clear work instructions. Make sure your employees know the right way to do what is expected of them. Include safety instructions in every procedure you write.
5. While you should consider every aspect of your workplace safety, you should focus on the most common problems for your particular workplace first and foremost. You should keep a log of any workplace accident, which will allow you to identify and solve the most pressing issues.
6. Try to care for your employees more than your profits. If a machine is unsafe shut it down. If an expensive repair job is required, or a project delayed because of this, then so bet it. Better that than and injured employee.
7. Spend time getting to know the details of the work your employees do. Even if you once did that job, it is likely it is done differently by different people. By knowing the details of your employees daily work routine, you can help to ensure it is done safely.
8. Do not wait for your machinery or work tools to become defective before repairing them. Many times employees get into dangerous situations by having to compensate for a machine defect or wear. In the case of wear, it may have occurred so gradually that they think it is normal. Regular maintenance of your equipment will ensure optimum safety and productivity.
9. Ensure unavoidable hazards (such as wet floors or hot surfaces) are clearly labelled.
10. Ensure your workplace is well lit, allowing your workers to see what they are doing and reducing eye strain, which can be damaging over time.
11. Ensure your workplace is well ventilated, ensuring a fresh supply of oxyggen and removing any contaminents from the air.
12. Ensure optimum visability in your workplace. If possible, keep areas open and opsticles at eye level and above to a minimum. In some cases, however, reduced visability will be unavoidable. This can be improved with the use of observation equipment, such as cameras or convex mirrors, which can provide wide angle views on blind turns caused by tall obsticles.
By: James Davids

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There are a number of specific dangers linked to construction sites; the major hazard is falls from high places, although there are significantly more hazards, including those related to scaffolds, confined spaces, and electric equipments and lines near water sources. Construction workers often put their health at risk as well, with the materials they use and handle, such as lead. The irony is that the protective equipment worn by construction workers to reduce their exposure to lead and other toxic substances can actually increase accidental incidents by reducing vision, clarity, hearing ability, and dexterity, and increasing heat stress.
Even the safety of non-workers in and around construction sites is put at risk—particularly for drivers making their way past road construction sites who can come into contact with barricades and safety signs, causing accidents and injuries.
How can accidents in construction sites be prevented and thus reduced? In the U.S., safety and health standards in the workplace—including construction—are put in place and enforced through the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). Accidents are almost always caused by either unsafe acts or unsafe conditions, so it stands to reason that the best way to prevent and reduce accidents is by attempting to eliminate unsafe conditions and unsafe acts.
Eliminating unsafe conditions begins with a general understanding of what types of conditions can cause an accident, and then removing those conditions. Learning that workers are more at risk for accidents when unprotected and then making sure all construction workers are wearing the necessary protective equipment and gear is an example of becoming aware of an unsafe condition and then working to remove that condition.
Accidents are also caused by workers themselves acting in unsafe ways. Construction workers can help reduce the number of accidents and injuries that occur onsite by working carefully and safely, doing the job right, acting alert, and by being conscious of the particular environment and conditions in which they are working. A construction company can help in this manner by making safety awareness and training a mandatory part of the job both as part of the hiring process as well as on an ongoing basis. If there are safety manuals for certain construction jobs or equipment, have them serve as required reading for all staff.
Construction safety essentially boils down to accident prevention and reduction, and this is best accomplished when construction workers—both as a team and individually—act proactively rather than reactively. Reactive workers only take action in response to a problem as (or after) they occur, whereas proactive workers can anticipate crises and potential accidents before they happen, and then take the appropriate steps to prevent them from happening in the first place.
Always strive to have proactive construction workers and teams. Make every effort to eliminate unsafe working conditions and decreasing unsafe acts to work toward safer construction site environments for everybody involved. Always have a Health & Safety Plan onsite. This HASP can help you comply with OSHA’s rules and keep you from having headaches later on.

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It’s the law – employees should be safe at work. If they aren’t, in Australia the consequences can be severe. A failure to take safety in the workplace is a failure to care about the people who work alongside you. Companies get off lightly if the only ramification is an unwelcome fine. Apart from the obvious legal ramifications, there are moral obligations. Who wants to be held responsible for someone’s injury or death?
On the opposite end of the spectrum, then, there can be great benefits derived by actively showing you care about the welfare of your staff. People respond positively to and are motivated to please those who care and support them – that’s just human nature. To reach this point, though, there may need to be some attitude changes. Let’s look at the key ones:
1) Get proactive about safety in the workplace
Employees know when management doesn’t really care about them, and it sends a really negative message. Don’t wait until an accident occurs to take your safety responsibilities seriously. Not being proactive leaves you reacting to incidences as they happen – and you can be sure if you’re not proactive about safety, incidences will happen. Only a proactive attitude enables you to prevent rather than react.
2) Create incentive by rewarding attention to safety
Do you reward a moral or legal obligation? Yes. Reward doesn’t have to be financial, it can be recognition of service to fellow workmates. A proverbial pat on the back; showing appreciation of a job well done. Encourage and reward an attitude of proactivity towards keeping the workplace safe, and you can bet you’re going to help reduce injuries or fatalities.
3) Create a business value system that includes safety as a priority
What is your company’s goals and priorities? To increase revenue? To cut costs? To be more competitive through hiring and retaining the best talent?Well, the good news is that safety in the workplace supports all those goals. People are more motivated to increase productivity if they believe the company cares for them. The best employees are attracted to good employers and actively seek them out. Your business can avoid hefty fines that add to its costs if it can remain incident-free or can, at the very least, demonstrate that it has done everything humanly possible to reduce the opportunity for accidents at work to occur. Unless safety is a priority, and unless it is intertwined with other business goals, and unless management walk the talk, it will not happen.
4) Get the team behind it
One person cannot make a whole workplace safe, it’s everyone’s job. Put it on everyone’s job description. Reward active participants in the safety prevention program. From the management at the top that allocate budgets and set goals and priorities, right through to the lowest paid staff who can spot “an accident waiting to happen”, it’s everyone’s job to speak up, protect each other and make safety happen.
5) Prevention is better than cure.
Complacency and apathy has no place in a workplace dedicated to being safe for its employees. Prevention is better than cure. Don’t wait for the accident to happen, get involved and stop it before it occurs. If your team is mobilised, and everyone knows its safe to speak up about potential hazards, you can make your workplace safer for everyone.
If your business decides to implement a safety manual, make sure it also includes a suggestion box and audit program.Getting ideas from your team is often the best way to implement preventative programs. After all, who knows your workplace better than the people that work there? As for an audit, they can be used to measure improvements and progress – and are a great tool for demonstrating to your people that their suggestions are acted upon (thus further improving productivity). People that don’t care about their own welfare – or the welfare of others around them – don’t care about what they do or the quality of their work either. It’s time to let employees like that find another employer.
We have plenty more safety tips and advice at our website. Visit us at the Safety Superstore to find out more.
Chris Mason is Director, and Sales and Marketing Manager, for Absolute Safety, a well-respected safety equipment and protective clothing retailer in Melbourne, Australia. To find out what you need for workplace safety, talk to Chris on (03) 9543 7888.

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