Ensuring that employees are kept safe within your business is such a key focus point. With a list of safety regulations to adhere to, more and more owners are taking note. This therefore means learning and looking at how to reduce the risks upon your staff. At IPF Electrical we are specialist electrical installation experts. In our latest article we take a look at electrical safety in your business.
Electrical safety refers to any safety precautions that are taken to negate risk to others or yourself when using specific equipment. The rise in accidents and injuries with electrical equipment has meant that there has been a large focus on ensuring that you are safe when it comes to using appliances within your business.
Protecting your employees is definitely something you need to consider when in the workplace. So much so that in 1989 the government introduced the electricity at work regulation. This is in place to ensure that all employers, employees and even self-employed individuals are safe in the workplace. Duty holders are responsible for the following:-
As this is law which has been passed in England failure to comply could lead to prosecution and also large fines. Ensure that you have your electrical safety sorted within your workplace.
As an employer you are responsible for making sure that your employees are safe as well as ensuring that all necessary preventative measures are being taken. This means that you need to ensure all is being done from an electrical safety standpoint. Alongside this, you are responsible for the following elements of electrical safety in your business:-
These are just some of the things you can do to ensure that you staff are safe within the workplace. Failure to do so can result in accident or injury.
Before an accident is to occur it is key to make sure that you have taken all the preventative measures possible. This helps to make sure that from a legal standpoint you have done all you can. This will take someone with knowledge of electrical safety to implement, but in the long run it can be very beneficial. Some of the preventative measures include the following:-
Maintaining the equipment that you have is one of the best ways to ensure that your electrical safety is up to date. With most appliances being used regularly there may be signs of wear and tear which you need to look at. By doing this you can ensure that all staff are protected from accident or injury whilst using that said piece of equipment.
Testing equipment is another way to ensure the safety of your employees. PAT Testing is one of the most popular ways and allows electrical specialists to see if that item is fit for purpose or needs remedial work carried out. A PAT test is denoted by a green or red sticker on the back of an item. If the item has a green sticker then it is good to use. If it has red then do not use it. This is a very good way to also track testing.
Outside of the usual electrical testing methods, ensure that all users know how to operate specific equipment safely. This will ensure that your employees also take the right preventative measures when using the equipment in and around your office.
Identifying risk is just as important as preventing it. The first port of call would be to carry out a risk assessment. Here you can negate risk as well as ensuring that you are legally compliant with those safety regulations we mentioned at the start of this article.
Electrical safety within your business needs to be a top priority. With more and more electrical equipment being used than ever it is key to make sure that all of your staff are safe from accident or injury. Some of the measures you can take are very basic to ensure this is the case as well as being legally compliant. At IPF Electrical we are specialists in electrical installations. For more information on our services and the areas in which we cover please feel free to Contact Us.