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Who needs a health and safety consultant?Workplaces, which can cover factories, shops and offices but also
schools, hospitals, hotels and places of entertainment, are subject to
wide-ranging government regulations to maintain adequate health, safety
and welfare standards. A health and safety consultant can assess how
your workplace measures up against the regulations.There is
more to meeting the regulations than you might think at first. Health,
for example, covers such aspects of working conditions as ventilation,
temperature, working in hot or cold environments, lighting,
cleanliness, room dimensions and workstations.Safety looks at
all potential workplace hazards, including the proper maintenance of
the place of work and all equipment used within it, the state of the
floors and routes for pedestrian traffic, doors and windows, and any
dangerous substances or machinery that your workers might come into
contact with.Welfare addresses such issues as the standard of
sanitation and washing areas, provision of drinking water,
accommodation for clothing and facilities for changing, and places to
rest and eat meals at work.It’s important to realise too that
the government regulations aim to ensure that workplaces meet the
health, safety and welfare requirements of the entire workforce,
including any disabled people.Once appointed, a health and
safety consultant will commence with a full health and safety audit of
your workplace. This audit will assess how well you comply with the
relevant health and safety regulations, reviewing your health and
safety policies, arrangements and management system, and looking at a
wide range of safety issues.The next step is likely to be a
health and safety inspection. Here, the health and safety consultant
will inspect your whole premises extensively, provide an overview of
your health and safety status, and offer advice on how to comply with
the regulations if this is falling short in any area. You should also
expect your consultant to provide a full written report of findings and
recommendations.You could of course handle all these functions
internally. But this would mean taking up some or all of the time of
one or more employees, ensuring that these people person was properly
trained, and devoting management time to this issue. The
alternative is to outsource your health and safety management to a
reputable firm. This would avoid your organisation having to maintain a
full-time internal health and safety resource. You would also have the
peace of mind that comes from knowing that your company’s health and
safety is not compromised due to lack of expertise.Again,
health and safety consultants from a high quality firm will be fully
trained, highly qualified and certified to national safety standards.
They will stay abreast of all legislative changes and amendments,
ensuring that your workplace always complies with the latest
regulations. The result: your staff can focus on their main job
functions, while your health and safety management is in excellent
hands. |
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