Workplaces - General

Every working environment has risks. The most common hazards in the working environment generally are:

• Working space
• Lighting
• Hot and cold working environments
• Noise management 
• Housekeeping
• Atmosphere
• Electricity
• Fire prevention
• Manual handling
• Risk of falls
• Confined spaces

Prevention of Accidents and Injuries in the Work Environment

Working space:

• Provide sufficient working space to allow people to work safely
• Ensure that floors and surfaces are constructed and maintained to minimise the possibility of slips, trips and falls
• Ensure that people are able to move about a place of work safely and unhindered.

Lighting:

• Provide adequate lighting to allow workers to work safely, move safely, and enter and exit the workplace safely (including from emergency exits)
• Ensure that there is not excessive glare or reflection
• Ensure that lighting allows persons who are not workers to move safely within the place of work.

Hot and Cold Working Environments:

• Provide adequate ventilation and air movement in indoor environments that may become hot
• Provide adequate access to heated or sheltered areas and warm clothing or other personal protective equipment if employees are exposed to cold
• Provide appropriate work and rest regimes relative to physical fitness, general health, medication taken

Noise Management:

• Do not allow exposure to noise levels that exceed an eight-hour noise equivalent of 85 dB(A) or peak at more than 140 dB(C)

Atmosphere:

• Keep exposure to atmospheric contaminants as low as practicable and maintaining adequate

Risk of Falls:

• Prevent risk of falls, falling objects, scaffolding, lifts, brittle or fragile roof, building maintenance

Fire Prevention:

• Put an emergency plan in place including provision of fire fighting equipment and appropriate emergency training

Electricity:

• Preventive maintenance of all electrical equipment including a test and tag regime in place according to Australian Standards

Confined Spaces:

• Ensure assessment and control of all identified confined spaces with a Permit to Work system

Manual Handling:

• Identify manual handling risks and initiate risk controls
• Provide training to minimise employee risk of injury through manual handling activities
• Periodic review of manual handling injuries and risks to initiate continual improvement