Replace the Deck when it's rotting

Nothing worse than mums in their best trying to cross the bridge only to put their heels through a rotted piece of timber or worse a child has kicked his shoes off and a nail has come out of the warped boards and he cuts his foot on it! This walkway no longer poses as a hazard for little feet.

Trip Hazard

Even the tiniest step or lip or uneven surface can cause someone to trip. This tape is pretty extreme but it shows you in any public area where people may catch their foot on a lip, kerb or step, we must show duty of care and identify that a step is there.

Cords

Large cable tangles can be detrimental to certain electronics' performance, and in extreme cases can be outright dangerous.   Power cables are the only cables that can actually present a physical threat to you and your possessions. For every device you plug into the wall, you're running at least 110 volts of electricity through a length of wire. It's usually insulated by a thick layer of rubber, but if the wire is frayed, damaged, or loosened, it can expose electrically "hot" metal to the tangle of cables and dust behind your equipment.  

Instead of "double-a-double-a-daptoring" or using extension cords, purchase larger power boards rated for safe use on outlets, or rearrange equipment and desks to access adequate wall outlets.

If cords become frayed or nicked, replace them, as they could cause a shock when handled. If you have to temporarily run a cord across an aisle or doorway, tape down the cord and mark the hazard, or close off access to that area until you remove the cord.

Kids

Power point covers are widely recommended to protect curious children for touching power point outlets or inserting a foreign object like a fork or stick

Bleach is a cleaning agent. It can be a hazard because it has the potential to cause eye and skin damage. Let's say you've been painting props on a concrete slab and you get paint on the concrete. You find your way inside the cleaning cupboard of all sorts of cleaners and decide that bleach will be the best thing to get that pesky paint off. If an untrained or careless person splashes bleach about without skin and eye protection, the risk of injury is high. Yes that's most of us - untrained in chemicals.

One of the staff has brushed her hand on a sharp metal edge protruding from a filing cabinet. The resulting injury appeared to be a few small cuts, and she did not bother to report it. The cuts then become infected; while not serious, this injury prevents the worker from undertaking her duties. She now wishes to put in a leave claim under worker's compensation.

The incident should have been recorded on an Incident Report form. This record would enable the worker to claim worker's compensation if the injury worsened.

Missing Piece

A missing carpet tile is a hazard. If this was in the corner of a private office, the risk of injury resulting from the hazard is low. If the tile is in a busy walkway frequented by church members or visitors to your location,  the risk is much higher.

What should you do about the hazard to minimise the risk of injury?

There are a number of ways you could handle this. Call someone to come stand at the spot so no one else trips over it while you find some gaff tape, or get help from another person. If it can't be taped down, something needs to be placed on the carpet tile, like a chair with a note, so people don't trip over it.

What shouldn't you do?

Ignore it. 

Down the stairs

You are walking down a set of stairs and slip, but you don't hurt yourself.  This near miss may seem unimportant. However, a co-worker thinks you should submit a hazard report.  As it turns out, a number of people have noticed the same thing and submitted hazard reports as well.  An investigation of the staircase reveals a loose stair tread due to exposure to the weather.  Action to fix the hazardous stair tread is taken.

Replace the Tiles

When these 6 pavers just popped out of the ground, no one was hurt, but it was a Sunday and it was between services so there were people around. A staff member jumped into action to stand at the site to make sure no one stepped into the hole. A church member collected the broken tiles. Another person got some bollards to section off this area. Someone put this hazard on the maxpanda system and within a few days the tiles were filled and a hazard no longer exists. This was an obvious hazard that had to be dealt with but with multiple people getting in to place, making sure not one stepped in it, someone actually pouring the concrete, the hazard did not become an incident. 

Risk Assessment

As you consider crossing a busy street, you assess your chances of being hit by a car and make your decision based on the flow of traffic. You assess the risk based on your knowledge that the fewer cars there are and the further away they are, the less the risk there is of you being hit by a car and being injured.

Based on your assessment, you choose to either cross the street now or wait for fewer cars. If the road is very busy, you might reduce the risk further by walking on until you reach a marked pedestrian crossing or traffic lights.This is an everyday example of assessing risk. 

A Dripping Urn

The urn in the staff area has been dripping hot water onto the sink and this has splashed onto the floor. You have two hazards – the dripping urn and the wet floor.

The wet floor presents the most immediate or acute risk. Following the hierarchy of hazard control:

1. Can you eliminate it?  Yes, you can mop it up. However, this is only a temporary solution as water continues to drip.

2. Can you substitute something for it?  No.

3. Can you separate it?  Yes.  It would be a good idea to place a ‘Wet floor’ sign as a barrier until something can be done about the urn.

The urn is still dripping hot water, so you also need to take steps to remove that hazard.

1. You can eliminate by switching it off and removing. However, staff would no longer be able to make tea so this is not a solution.

2. You can substitute another urn or an electric kettle.