How can you protect yourself, your fellow Dutyholders and your business? Remember it isn’t what you do – it’s the way that you do it!
Health and safety performance varies across UK industries, and some sectors are naturally more exposed to accidents and incidents than others.
🤔Why do safety systems matter?
H W Heinrich, a leading industrial Safety Engineer, developed the Domino Theory, a series of dominoes standing on edge – when one falls, it can trigger the next, just like a row of dominoes.
Heinrich believed that accidents could be modelled with a chain of five factors, and if the chain could be broken before the accident, injuries could be eliminated. One of the most effective ways to break the chain, is to eliminate the factor of an unsafe act or physical hazard, which greatly simplifies the approach to electrical safety.
There are 3 building blocks of Electrical Safety:
⚙️Safe Systems – How you do what you do – the methods and systems you choose to adopt.
🏢Safe Places – Where you do it – the environment you create and the state of the equipment etc.
👥Safe People – Who does it – the competence of your employees and/or subcontractors to perform their tasks in a safe manner.
Under Health and Safety legislation a Dutyholder or employer has responsibilities towards their employees (and others).
The extent of what has to be provided will depend upon your undertakings, environment, complexity of processes and so on.
Let’s take an example of the 4 basics listed below:
🛡️Information – You provide signage showing fire points and fire exits.
🛡️Instruction – You tell everyone by various means how to access exits, the routes, assembly points.
🛡️Training – You hold fire drills and simulated emergency procedure.
🛡️Supervision – You appoint fire wardens to oversee the system.
These four responsibilities apply to all aspects of Dutyholders, including that of electrical safety.
The 3 building blocks of safety will keep you safe, keep you in business and keep you within the law.
Contact Guardian today to find out how we can help you achieve complete compliance on your site:
📩 info@guardianelectrical.co.uk
📞 0114 257 2080
#Electricalsafety #SafeSystems #SafePeople #SafePlaces #HealthandSafety
