Inside this issue...

-    Treat your workplace conditions like a possible date!
-    The deal breaker...
-    Your workplace obligations don’t end here...
-    The Ultimate Job Description Toolbox

Dear Reader,

My friend Rachelle does a lot of online dating. She’s so busy with her career, she literally hasn’t got time to doll herself up and go out to meet people. She’s had a lot of success with it so far, and has developed a formula for choosing prospective dates. She calls it The List (yes, in capital letters). Included are her non-negotiable requirements for a partner. If someone fails to meet even one condition, he’s out the door! You might think this is a little ruthless, but it saves her time and fuss.

Treat your workplace conditions like a possible date!

I realise it sounds completely ludicrous, but in health and safety, checklists are a good way to guarantee you’re following the OHSA to the letter. They help you maintain and strengthen your policies and procedures, and alert you to errors quickly and efficiently.

One area where you can’t afford to be on a “dud date” is with your emergency lighting. In such a situation, with its heightened panic and hysteria, you and your employees don’t want the added stress of being unable to properly find your way out of the building.

Use this checklist to ensure you and your emergency lighting is a winning combination...

6 emergency lighting prescriptions

Ensure your lighting:

1. Activates within 15 seconds
2. Lasts long enough to ensure safe evacuation of the entire facility
3. Is kept in good working order
4. Is tested at least every three months (keep a register of all your tests!)
5. Has directional lights at least two metres above floor level
6. Has directional lights not between 10 degrees above and 45 degrees below the horizontal line to which you installed them 

The deal breaker...

To know for certain whether you and your emergency lighting have the potential for a lasting relationship, ensure your lighting is 0.3 LUX at floor level, and that it’s 20 LUX as a minimum for heavy moving machinery (Section 3, Environmental Regulations).

Your workplace obligations don’t end here...

To make sure you and your workplace are a perfect fit, read W01: Workplaces: Environmental Regulations. You won’t only save yourself time, but money too by avoiding penalties for non-compliance!

In the name of safety,

Christel Fouché
Editor-in-Chief: Health and Safety Advisor