Being safe around the workplace is of paramount importance to any business – whether it’s your staff or your clients, you need to guarantee that everyone can carry out their business on the premises without fear of being harmed.
One of the big problems with this is that electricity is such a common necessity in any workplace, and protecting people from electricity faults and damages can be quite the problem depending on the size of your business location.
Electricity can, without a doubt, kill you – and quickly. Every single year, roughly 1,000 accidents take place on workplace premises as a result of electrical faults, according to the Health & Safety Executive.
Whether it’s just a shock that someone gets or it’s a full-blown explosion, you need to make sure that the risks of any electrical damage in the workplace is minimized completely – the last thing you want on your hands is a lawsuit from a customer;
- It’s imperative that your business premises are protected properly from any issues that could be caused by the environment – for example, all electrical that is in a public location (i.e. a reception or a shop floor) has to be protected. This is the same for any outdoors electrical equipment like power boxes and junctions
- Make sure that your business has a go-to electrician when any work is required. Your handyman might fancy himself as a bit of a DIY expert, but it’s not worth risking their lives over – workplace safety is for everyone, and dealing with the volatility of commercial-sized electrical fittings is something the professionals should be dealing with
- Any live parts of electrical fittings or equipment must be protected, as contact with any live parts can cause shocks, burns and worse – this should be part of an annual risk assessment check that makes sure things like power boxes and the mains are safe as well as fully operational
- Give all electrical fittings in the workplace plenty of room to breathe – you don’t want to cram up electrics as it can reduce their performance and also increase the risk of hazards like fuses burning out and fires becoming more common
These simple suggestions should make it much easier to keep people safe when they are on the workplace premises, guaranteeing that you can keep everyone safe and sound with just some simple changes to procedure and the layout of electrical fittings within your building.