Maintaining a Strong Health & Safety System
From safety instrument maintenance and updates to general safety practices, ensuring the overall health and safety of your workers is a time-consuming process. The first step in understanding the health and safety needs of your workers in order to maintain a strong health and safety system is understanding the risks your employees face.
Reviewing your operations and procedures to evaluate the amount of risk present to your workers. For example, toxic gases utilized and stored are identified as leak risks. Mixing chemicals to achieve a product can create additional gases that can have harmful side effects. Several industries possess lone workers, who work by themselves in confined spaces. They have a high risk of exposure if a leak is present due to the limited oxygen available in tight spaces. Once managers review all risks, the next step is to review safety training and equipment.
Safety training is a key aspect of maintaining a strong health and safety system. Workers should be aware of the risks they face in their role, as well as the potential safety hazards that can occur when exposed to hazardous gases utilized. Having a safety manual with information on the gases present, signs of potential exposure and what to do in an emergency is also a useful tool for workers to have a reference to.
Lastly, your safety equipment, maintenance and inspections are the last key item in maintaining a strong health and safety system. Investing in the proper gas detection suitable for your application will help workers identify potential safety hazards while working. When a leak is detected, alarms and alert notifications will occur for surrounding personnel and your safety communications team. From there, personnel can notify the correct individuals and ensure everyone in the area of the leak is safely removed. Keeping up with maintenance also ensures your equipment is working correctly and at peak performance. Maintenance schedules should be performed periodically to avoid life-threatening situations. Inspections of each area over time can ensure the detection system is working as it should, and that all areas are properly covered in the detection range.
Otis Instruments offers various Wired and WireFree easy-to-use, robust and configurable gas detectors. Made in the USA, our high-quality products are capable of detecting both toxic and non-toxic gases for diverse applications. We also offer resources and training information to ensure you are utilizing your instruments correctly as well as identifying potentially hazardous situations.
If you would like more information about gas detection solutions for your application, or have a question for us, contact our team today.