Published: 27/04/2021, 15:30
World Day for Safety and Health at Work: working safely during COVID-19
The 28th April marks World Day for Safety and Health at Work, a campaign run by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to promote safe, healthy and decent work around the globe. It is fully supported by the HSE.
This year’s World Day focus looks at how organisations anticipate, prepare and respond to crises in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of investing in resilient occupational safety and health (OSH) systems. The pandemic has touched nearly every aspect of the world of work, from the risk of transmission of the virus in workplaces, to OSH risks that have emerged as a result of measures to mitigate the spread of the virus.
Brammer Buck & Hickman has not only been implementing a raft of OSH measures to protect staff and prevent the spread of Coronavirus, but we have also been providing customers with advice and solutions from our vast array of products and suppliers. Our latest ‘Working safely during COVID-19’ guide is available to download now.
A useful guide to products that meet specific government advice on preventing the spread of the virus in the workplace is included within the Working safely during COVID-19 guide, with page numbers included for ease of use. These products include:
• PPE, including handy pre-packed care packs
• Professional sanitising and cleaning products
• Individual employee tool kits, to reduce tool sharing
• Portable hand wash and sanitising stations
• Clinical waste bins
• Spill kits & disinfection mats
• Protective screens & temporary walls
• Social distancing signage
As we now know, the transmission of Coronavirus is primarily spread in indoor environments by people breathing in infected droplets and smaller ‘aerosol’ particles in the air that have been exhaled from the nose and mouth of an infected person. PPE, ventilation and social distancing are therefore essential indoors.
However, transmission through surface contact remains a concern. At this stage, it is still unclear how long the virus can remain on a surface, but ultimately good hygiene is key. Regular washing of hands and surfaces is important, but so is regular cleaning of tools, which is not something most people are used to doing.
As a minimum, hand tools should be wiped down at the beginning and at the end of each shift, and more frequently depending on the number of people using the tools and their access to hand sanitising facilities. If multiple people are sharing a tool, best practice is to clean that tool after each person. To minimise unnecessary contact, shared tools could be laid out in transparent tool trays so the user can locate the required tool quickly and accurately without rummaging around.
However, the safest and most convenient option is to eliminate sharing tools altogether and to use individual tool kits. Tools would only need to be cleaned daily in this case. To prevent accidental tool sharing you should label them with the relevant person’s name, job function or department. This can be easily achieved with laser-etching.
If you haven’t considered tool hygiene previously then use World Day for Safety and Health at Work to take a fresh look at all your OSH systems.
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